Interview with High Voltage about Ground Zero

By Hard News 27 August 2014

High Voltage (also known by his Hardcore alias ‘Nosferatu’) will perform at Ground Zero – Dark Matter this weekend. He has been chosen as ambassador of the raw hardstyle stage and he’s going to show Ground Zero what kicking ass really means! For more information about Ground Zero go to Groundzerofestival.nl.

You’re also an established name in the Hardcore scene, why is it that back then you also decided to start a Hardstyle alias?
Because I also started to appreciate Rawstyle at that time, and because I don’t like to think in ‘boxes’, I wanted to see what I could do producing Rawstyle. I liked it very much and it has brought me a lot of inspiration for both genres.

In the period of 2004 / 2008 it was very quiet around you, but then you came back with a bang when you made the collab ‘Shiverz’ in 2009. What was the reason for this long absence?
For the simple fact that I thought the style had become too soft.. So I didn’t know what to do with it. The label was also turned down to a minimum; therefor High Voltage was brought to a halt.

Are both aliasses also a reflection of your different sides as a person?
Since when do I have different sides as a person?? Haha!
Music wise I love the raw and the hard, it’s like a thread right through my music.

We can imagine that your life is very busy, what do you do to relax?
Relaxing, what is that? ;)
No, lying on my couch while I watch movies is a good way to relax for me, and there will probably be more things like that, but actually I try to plan my days in such a way that there’s always something to do. Otherwise I will fall into a routine and that would make me pissed off hahaha!

Do you get your inspiration from doing things like this and could you name an example?
I can get my inspiration from basically everything; my life, a movie, an event, a discussion with someone, a clacking mailbox, the contents of a trashcan, I don’t know. In my head its complete chaos, and I can create order by producing my music.

Take a track like ‘Dead Stars’ for instance, where did you start and how did you get the idea for the samples?
I was watching a documentary about the cosmos and the so called ‘black holes’, and that really appealed to me for a new track. I searched for a good vocal sample and the rest came easily. The atmosphere around the sample was made pretty fast; I just turned down all the lights in the studio and went on producing by using only the lights of my equipment hehehe.

If you had to choose, would you pick Hardstyle from 2003-2008 or Hardstyle from 2009-2014, and why?
2009-2014, it has become a lot bigger and the Rawstyle is more dominant now. The tracks keep getting better, popularity is sky-rocketing etc. etc.

Do you ever think that High Voltage will collab with a Hardcore artist and Nosferatu will collab with a Hardstyle artist?
No. I want to keep the Hardcore and Rawstyle seperated. Personally I don’t really like the Hardstyle/Hardcore ‘crossover’ thing going on right now.

Which games do you play on your phone?
None, I don’t like them at aaaaall. I’ve played 8-ball Pool once, but that didn’t last long. I’d rather play with my Playstation, that’ll keep me going for days.

Is there something not a lot of people know about you?
I’m actually a very very very very VERY VERY VERYYYYYYYY quiet person….!

You’ve done several new collaborations, among them Crypsis and Titan. Are there any other projects that we can expect in the near future?
I’m currently working on a lot of projects, among them a solo that will be finished soon. My studio is being up-dated at the moment, so for now it’s a bit of a chaos ;). However, I do have some collabs planned, but you’ll hear more about that later.

Name something that people can wake you up for?
Nothing! If someone wakes me up, I’ll punch them :P.

Follow High Voltage online:
https://www.facebook.com/HighVoltageHardstyle
https://twitter.com/HighVoltage_RAW