Interview with The R3belz about his return on-stage

By Laurens van Beers 18 January 2018

A while back you published a post on your Facebook page saying “about 4 years ago..” It’s a very long time, what happened back then?
Well, nothing special I realized that I was in front of a choice to make. I’ve always spent 100% of my life working hard in studio. It was just a combination of various aspects that coincided my personal will to stay active behind the scenes. I expanded my work on all musical genres, including hardstyle of course.

While you were away a lot of people have been asking for your return. Did you follow these comments throughout the years, and what would you like to say to these people that have always supported you?
Yeah, I noticed that in many people the ‘R3belz style’ has remained in heart, I feel thankful to them. It’s an extra reason to be proud of what I do and what I did during the years.

After almost 4 years of performing-silence, you will now perform at Origins on February 24. How does it feel to finally step back behind the decks again?
It’s a big dive into the past, expecially at Origins it’s like continuing from where I left. The whole event is built around the early days of darker, raw, hardstyle. I’m really looking forward!

Was it a tough decision to make? What made you decide to do it?
The dedication behind this event is real for sure, when I understood that having The R3belz on the lineup was such an important thing, I did not hesitate to say: ”Ok, we can make it!”

The hype around the event is real, and people are very much looking forward to your set. When they heard that you were playing again, they completely lost it. Were you aware that so many people still love you?
Well during these years behind the scene I always received messages from true followers asking for new R3belz stuff, btw I didn’t know such many people were so dedicated to be honest, maybe because I’m not much in the whole social-media world, of which I’ve never been a big fan..

Back in 2010 when raw hardstyle gained a lot of popularity, you were already crushing speakers with tracks like ‘Straight To Da Beat’ and ‘Bionicle’. You could call yourself a pioneer of raw hardstyle. Where did your love for “harder hardstyle” come from?
I think it was all a matter of personal taste, back in the days there was no need to divide every single style in a new subgenre, specially in hardstyle. I never intended to go beyond something, I just did what I preferred

Which tracks are you the most proud of and why those?
Well it is very difficult to make a choice between all the works done, let’s say I keep a special memory to the very first releases on vinyl.

What is the difference between the music then and now, according to you?
Music is part of a continuous evolution, largely influenced by the trends of our times: it seems we live on a disposable world, everyone is in a hurry, we buy expensive phones that after six months are old.. I was used to listen to tracks that last for 8 mins or more, now I see releases with a 3,15 extended mix. So omitting all the various aspects inside nowadays music production, I see that unlike the past also our music seems to be in a hurry, and thats why we have a huge amount of tracks that sounds the same, albums filled with 30-40 songs but, do you remember all of them?

Can you name a few (hardstyle) artists that were an inspiration for you back in the day, or who you still appreciate nowadays? Why them?
Back in the days (really back!) mostly I was inspired more by the first Italian labels that started to print hardstyle regularly than by specific names. I’m still very attached to the classics of that period (2001-2002), I think they still retain a genuineness that we have lost today.. In particular I can name ‘Navimel’ by Dj Vortex & Arpa’s Dream, K-Traxx ‘Noise tool’ and Twister Silence ‘Listen to me mama!’, Scot Project Rmx.

If hardstyle was a company and you were the boss, what would you have to say to everyone?
I will surely congratulate to those who are creative without borders, and those who don’t follow trends but create new ones, but first of all big up just to everyone who create good music and shows what hardstyle is.

On February 24 The R3belz will make his return on-stage after almost 4 years. Tickets for Origins – The Darker Side of Classics are available at www.originsofhardstyle.nl.