With ‘Awake Me’, Vertile and The Saints delivered the official anthem for Intents Festival this year. During PLAFONDDIENST, Vertile explains how the anthem came together, what ingredients he believes are essential for a successful festival anthem, and what visitors can expect from this weekend’s anthem show.
ALSO READ: From moodboard to mainstage: how an Intents theme comes to life
For Vertile, the journey began months ago. “Around December, we started spending a lot of time in the studio cooking things up,” he says.
According to Vertile, creating an anthem is very different from producing a regular release. The track not only has to fit the artists behind it, but also the story a festival wants to tell. For Awake Me, the central theme was Rise Of Titans.
Heroic and timeless
According to Vertile, every great festival anthem needs a few key ingredients. “You need that heroic feeling, those truly memorable notes,” he explains. “Not too much fuss, not too crazy. Almost classic. Not classic hardstyle, of course, but it needs to have a strong musical journey and fit the festival’s theme.”
He also believes an anthem should be able to stand the test of time. “It has to be timeless, not too gimmicky.”
Anthem show on the mainstage
As tradition dictates, visitors will get to experience the anthem live on Saturday evening. At 20:25, a special anthem show is scheduled on the mainstage, where Vertile and The Saints will take the stage together with Awake Me at the center of the performance. “We’ve got a cool intro, then the boys come out together to play the anthem,” says Remko. “We combine that with impressive show elements and some pyro.”
According to him, the anthem show has grown into an important moment within the festival programme. “It’s a great moment on the mainstage for everyone to come together. Of course, we have the end shows, but this also gives people a moment earlier in the evening to celebrate the festival together.”
Appearance in the opening show
For Vertile, however, the weekend is about more than just Awake Me. Besides his own set, he also has a signing session scheduled and will make an appearance during the Intents Festival opening show on Friday.
At 17:00, the mainstage will officially open with a spectacular show. Remko does not want to reveal too much about its contents just yet, although a broad smile immediately appears on his face when the topic comes up. “This year it’s going to be an incredible show. We’ve got a number of cool things planned that we haven’t done before, but I won’t give everything away. It’s going to be a battle of the titans.” He does confirm that several artists will play a role in the show, including Vertile.
The artist himself is also keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to his set. “I don’t want to give away any scoops,” he laughs. Still, fans may already have received a small teaser. On TikTok, Vertile recently previewed a hardstyle edit of Justin Bieber’s Beauty And A Beat. Whether the track will be played during his Intents set remains to be seen.
@vertilemusic INTENTS CANT WAIT TO PLAY THIS FOR YOU 💙
Curious to hear what Vertile, Satirized and Remko have to say about Rise Of Titans? Check out the latest episode of PLAFONDDIENST, where they look ahead to everything visitors can expect this weekend. Intents Festival takes place this weekend in Oisterwijk. More information about the festival and ticket sales can be found on the official website.
Footage via: Intents Festival
