Musical Madness started without a masterplan, but over the past twenty years it has grown into one of Germany’s best-known hardstyle organizations. In an extensive anniversary interview, founder Benny looks back on the origins of the organization, the growth of hardstyle in Germany and the strong connection with the community that, according to him, still remains at the center of everything.
ALSO READ: Into The Madness unveils line-up for 5-year anniversary
Today, Musical Madness has built an extensive portfolio with concepts like Apex and Into The Madness, alongside hostings and club shows across Germany. In the coming weeks, several major events are on the schedule once again, including Sub Zero Project – Our World in Halle Münsterland and special nights centered around artists such as Rebelion, The Straikerz, Rooler, Dual Damage and D-Block & S-te-Fan.
“Hardstyle didn’t really exist in southern Germany”
“When we started, we actually had no vision at all,” Benny explains. “We simply wanted to organize events.” The first Musical Madness parties were relatively small and attracted around two to three hundred visitors. Musically, the focus at the time was still closer to hard trance than hardstyle. “Hardstyle didn’t really exist in southern Germany.”
According to Benny, most of the inspiration came from northern Germany. Clubs like BamBooo, Tunnel Club Hamburg and Ziegelei were already organizing larger hardstyle events there. “Because I was traveling a lot as a DJ back then, I saw those parties there,” he says. “And somehow I had the feeling: we need this in southern Germany too.”
One of the defining moments for him was hearing DJ Isaac for the first time. “That was absolutely new.” Not long after, Musical Madness managed to book him as well. “DJ Isaac was actually the first big booking we did back then.” From that moment on, the organization kept building towards bigger events and stronger line-ups.
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
First headliners
One of the first major milestones for Musical Madness was Evolution at the former Club Zapata in Stuttgart. “An amazing location, something that felt unthinkable for us back then,” Benny says while looking back on that period. “Suddenly organizing an event in a big city in 2006, in a club with a capacity of 1200 visitors, that was huge for us.”
Not much later, another important moment followed: the first hardstyle events at Bootshaus in Cologne. Musical Madness organized an event there with Headhunterz. “It sold out immediately.” In the years after that, Musical Madness also worked together with Brennan Heart for four years on I AM HARDSTYLE Germany.
“Into The Madness was created during corona”
Like many event organizations, Musical Madness also faced major setbacks during the pandemic. At the same time, however, new ideas for the future started to emerge. “Corona was obviously a huge setback for us,” Benny says. “But after corona, we created Apex.”
During that same period, the idea for Into The Madness was born. “During corona we shared our ideas for a festival and that’s when Into The Madness originated.” In a short period of time, the festival grew into the biggest harder styles event in Germany. The upcoming edition will also celebrate the festival’s fifth anniversary.
With Apex, Into The Madness and multiple hostings and club shows, Musical Madness has grown into far more than just an organizer of standalone events.
“The energy here feels different”
According to Benny, the strength of Musical Madness mainly lies in the atmosphere at the events. “When I go to our own events and see the incredible energy there… it feels different,” he explains. “I also visit a lot of other events. I can’t even explain exactly why, but the energy is different.”
According to him, that uniqueness mainly comes from the combination of production, line-up and crowd energy. “I think that uniqueness comes from the combination of production, line-up and the energy of the visitors.”
“The hardstyle community is unique”
According to Benny, one of the biggest strengths of the hardstyle scene is its community. “I think the hardstyle community is very unique,” he says. “You can basically go to a party on your own and you’ll always meet someone. You will never spend the evening alone.” He says that open atmosphere can be found at almost every event. “People know each other at parties, greet each other and simply have a great evening together.”
The dedication of fans still amazes him as well. “People come from everywhere to visit our events.” He also mentions fans who have tattoos of Apex or Into The Madness logos. “That’s unbelievable to see.”
He is also impressed by how far people are willing to travel for hardstyle. “The most surprising thing I’ve learned from the community is that no distance is too far. People travel all over the world for events.”
Footage via: Musical Madness
