Sefa has managed to start quite a discussion with his Spotlight at Defqon.1. His endshow (in collaboration with Q-dance) keeps people’s minds even more occupied than ever through impressive acts and unexpected twists. But what happened at the iconic RED: did Sefa really smash a CD player and did a fan actually climb on stage…?
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The 24-year-old harder styles revelation raises the bar every year at the largest harder styles festival in the world. After the famous Opening Ceremony in 2022 and the Defqon.1 Theater last year, Sefa has once again gone for the extra mile, but with a completely different approach. “I was just done with it,” Sefa tells Hard News. “When Q-dance asked me for the Spotlight, I started thinking about what would be expected of me. I think every artist nowadays feels an unbearable pressure to go harder. But harder is not necessarily better.”
In his Spotlight on the mainstage of the largest dance festival in the Netherlands, there are once again months of preparations: for example, the Dutchman took more than 65 crew members (!) to The Holy Grounds – from violinist to accordionist and even a full choir. A bizarre operation that requires almost more work for Q-dance than the famous final show on Saturday.
Question marks from the audience: “What happened to Sefa?”
During the weekend in Biddinghuizen, videos about This Is Sefa at Defqon.1 2024 go viral. But now that the set can be seen in full on YouTube, the pieces of the puzzle are falling together. Sefa starts his set backwards: where most DJs build up their music, he starts with “The Fall of Tantalus” – loosely and in modern times translated into clickbait. In other words: immediately grab the 70,000 visitors at the RED by their throats at breaking speed. “That’s where those first seven minutes of ‘terror’ come from. So, that’s done. We know the tantalus torment: you want something, but you never get there. I have that with hardness and drive. It’s never enough.”
“I close that segment with the CDJ smash,” Sefa continues about the moment where the speculation started. “That thing was already broken of course, but it’s the idea that counts. It made sure that I had time to change, haha. All endshows and a large part of the RED sets are synced. I can pretend I’m using that thing, but for whom? I have the utmost respect for the DJ craft. I also play live every weekend. But surely a light, laser and fireworks show cannot be pre-programmed if you are mixing on the spot? Let alone playing the piano, that’s not possible either. The show and the audience experience are number one for me.”
The security woman who escorted him to the backstage turns out to be the same lady who (accidentally) put him in a neck lock at Harmony last year. A nice reference, but what was not foreseen is that a fan actually storms the stage to congratulate Sefa for his birthday. “I brought a gift and I wanted to show my new tattoo,” the fan explains online afterwards. He turns out to be a notorious stage jumper, but the photographer, videographer and management present act instinctively and immediately take the offender away, so that the performance can continue.
Different from a regular set (boundaries are being pushed): “I have never been so creative with a show”
In the meantime, the livestream has generated speculation about Sefa’s possible breakdown on the immense RED: “Staged or not staged?” After seeing the set, it seems to be an improvisation that unintentionally fits in with the fascinating and sophisticated spectacle. Sefa’s sweater has now been exchanged for a suit, in which he (together with his orchestra) manages to enchant the audience, while the Defqon.1 Gods shoot tons of fireworks into the air.
Sefa: “After these seven minutes of full force, I had the feeling that I had the people exactly where I can best work: they wanted to hear a break. And there it was. And then I could start from scratch again. I really liked it and I have never been so creative with a show. I love seeing people enjoy themselves, seeing emotions in their eyes that I normally don’t see. That’s what music does.”
Dutch magazine De Nieuwe Revu praises this performance as “proof of his growth as an artist and his impact on the scene”. The combination of classical music and Frenchcore leads to loud singing tracks records like ‘1527’ and ‘Justify’, but collabs with Vertile and even Joost Klein also shine on this gigantic RED. The ‘Hallelujah’ at the end after 40 minutes of spectacle is perfectly in place and as an encore Sefa closes his final show with D-Block & S-te-Fan and singer Evelyn for a brand new successor to the best hardcore record of 2022 : ‘Symphony of Life’. In summary, this is another set that every dance music lover should see.
“I have rarely been so proud of a track”
“The set is structured in three ‘acts’: the first, of going full force, the second, the reference to the past two years of Defqon, and the third, where everything comes together,” Sefa explains about the approach of The Spotlight. “I especially wanted to be able to serve every possible listener. Because that is the most important to me. Ultimately, I was able to conclude with the track that meant the most to me: ‘Symphony of Life’. I have been able to do incredibly beautiful things in the past year. With recording the Metropool Orchestra, collaborating with my favorite fellow artists. ‘Symphony of Life’ is the culmination of all that for me. The instruments are all live, and the feeling is lifelike. I have rarely been so proud of a track.”
“In addition to everything, I also notice a number of question marks,” Sefa concludes now that the full set can be seen on YouTube. “People who think what such a show should be on such a stage. Well, simple answer: this is how I feel music. I am extremely grateful that I have a stage where I can present music in this way. To Q-dance, but especially to the listeners. It is our music after all. I believe that our music has unlimited potential, and I have made it my life’s work to rediscover and fulfill it as best as possible.”
Footage via Q-dance / MNO Photo
