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Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! | TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! | A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! | Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide! | DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022! |
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They're a bit special. Zoney & Louk get stuck in to each other.
Reported by HarderFaster
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Submitted 15-01-13 02:34
Dance music has changed an awful lot since Harderfaster first came into being. Styles, genres, call them what you will, have split, merged and sometimes spawned exciting (and dull) variations. DJs and producers have lead, followed and jumped on bandwagons according to their current tastes or just because the wind changed direction however somethings remain a constant. Dean Zone and Louk have been well know to all here at HF Towers for quite a long time. Always sticking to their harder roots and serving up tracks, sets and parties for those who believe the bosh isn't dead and there'll always be room for another tough trancer. Rather than send a roving reporter out in the cold we got them to interview each other. We may regret that decision but you can decide for yourself.
Louk on Dean Zone...
Back in 2008 I remember you reviewing a track of mine and saying you wished I got a new percussion sample pack. I did and the next few releases sold less. I blame you for this, but on the other side of the coin, has Scot Project filed a law suit yet?
Ah yes, I remember that. It was definitely one of the best tracks you've ever written. I'm also honoured that my review inspired you to get a new sample pack mate, truly honoured. But I'm not having this crap that it's my fault they sold less as a result. Sample packs are like good speakers – you have to know them inside out to get the best out of them. And yes I got a court summons from Mr. Zenker not long after that. I settled with him out of court for a bottle of Jack Daniels and 3 bottles of Coke. He wanted some bags of ice cubes to go with it but I told him to stop taking liberties. We're best of friends now.
What other music do you listen to aside from Dance?
I still have a bit of Metal floating around somewhere, used to love a bit of Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit when I was a youth. I also used to like that Eminem geezer too but he went too underground for my liking. I'm massively into my supermarket soundtracks at the moment aside from Hard Trance. There are some amazing artists slamming out some seriously sick shopping trolley vibes. The Tescos Summer 2001 mix by D-Tonwin is a classic and really brings out the trolley rage like a good DnB set!
Dean Zone @ Frantic Timeless
If I were to look in your record collection what would I find?
Not much, I sold them all on Discogs over the space of about 2 years all to finance the purchase of chéz Zone, with the intention of moving Zone Traxx Studios. I did this so I could produce somewhere I didn't have to live with a moaning old man always complaining about the excessive levels of hard bass. I think all I have now on vinyl is Ferry Corsten's remix of Adagio for Strings (the first record I ever mixed in a club), Ashley James & DJ Zone – Choices/Set Me Free on Repent Recordings from 2006 and the Acid Well EP on Intravenous Sounds, including mine and Peter's (The Sixth Sense) remix. I'm pretty much completely digital these days and I cant remember the last time I bought a vinyl record. I miss the vinyl days, spending ones student loan at GermanTrance.com within hours of it arriving in my bank account was one of the perks of being a student.
What's with all the pictures of you two in the studio with captions?
They're not in the studio, they are during our DJ sets. It's because we're both so incredibly sexy that photographers cant keep their lenses away from us for more than about 5 seconds.
Where did you get your break?
Break? You make me sound famous! I don't think I have had what you would call a “break” as such, I'm hardly raking in thousands per set. I'm just still working hard and doing what I believe in now, the same as I was when I first started out as a mere noob DJ back in 2005. A lot of DJs change musical direction at some point, which I don't think helps because it means having to find a crowd, essentially meaning you have to start all over again. Good luck to anyone how does that but I think I will stick to Hard Trance/Hardstyle, no matter how “dead” people say it may be.
Dean Zone vs. The Sixth Sense
How did you and Peter (The Sixth Sense) meet?
Dean Zone: We met in an Amsterdam whore house. We both went for the same hot Ukrainian slapper at the same time. She was about to clock off and didn't have time to do both of us, muttering some excuse about a sex show she had to be at, so we just shared her, seeing as neither of us wanted the fat Mexican bint who was the only other one on offer at the time. It's amazing how well you get to know someone once you've double teamed a slut with them. Peter expertly ripped her a new back door whilst I finished off what was left of her teeth with my schlong (I've heard it's more a schlort - ed). I don't think she'll agree to any more threesomes again. (Pass the mind bleech STAT! - ed)
What are your view of online collaborations?
I know this was brought up as a hot topic on Facebook recently by Technikal. Me and Peter mostly work together in person, preferring to not send files to each other online. We've done this a few times only ever to finish off tracks that are largely done but there's always problems with some plugins being utter c*nts not working right on on my PC or something that always makes it a bit of a bitch. Seeing as we both produce and engineer our tracks together, online collaborations are not ideal for us. However I can see the advantage for someone wanting to produce a track to do it this way using an engineer. As long as they get across what they're looking for and if it works for them then who am I to judge?
What do you think of the state of the scene at the moment?
Pretty crappy to be honest. Even in the last 5/6 years I have seen a massive decline in the number of events and the numbers of people attending these events. Obviously, these are linked, and now for me there's nowhere near enough of either. I'm sure it will get back to where it was soon, the musics just as good as it's always been, if not better. I have theories as to why this has happened, but if I get started on these now then we'll be here all flippin' day!
Dean Zone @ Magnetix
What are your future plans?
It's all production and label oriented at the moment. My labels 10th release just came out last month and I'm also doing a massive remix competition to go with it, making all 10 of the labels releases available for remixing. Hopefully this will uncover some new talent for the label. I should have some massive releases coming out soon too, including tracks from the likes of Amber D, Dave Joy, Hardforze and Busho, as well as my own Zone Traxx imprint. You can expect more solo releases from me now that Peter is giving it up to focus on becoming a professional pianist, as well as some collaborations with other artists, including TrickyDJ, Dave J, Shock:Force and Nick the Kid to name a few.
Louk: And your all time favourite tunes?
There are loads, but off the top of my head:
Arome – Hands Up (DJ Scot Project Remix)
Next Exit – Rise of Nations
Dave Joy – First Impression (S.H.O.K.K. Remix)
Jon The Baptist – Angel
Alphazone - Revelation
Blackout Crew - Put A Donk On It (Hardc0re Massiv P1key Crews D-D-D-Donkin' Doughnut Remix)
Why did you form Zone Traxx and how did it come about?
Zone Traxx was something I had been promising myself I would do for about 3 years, or not long after I started getting my own tracks released on other labels. Once I started getting off my arse and signing tracks for it, the rest came easy. I don't think there's enough labels out there showcasing this style of music exclusively, with lots going down the road of diversifying, which means to me that I don't always know what I am going to get. I must thank everyone who has been a part of Zone Traxx so far, especially all the artists who signed their tracks over to me at the very beginning and had to wait patiently for nearly a year for remixes to do be done, promos go out and loads of other label shit to be sorted. I'm sure you know only too well what I mean Louk. It can be frustrating having to sit on some seriously badass tuneage for months on end, but sometimes you just don't have a choice.
Dean Zone on Louk...
In 2008, after I convinced you to buy a new sample pack, which one did you buy and are you still using it? Do I need to tell you to buy another one yet?
Ah you see it was about then I realised I could load .WAV and .MP3 files straight into Cubase, so I just started plagiarising everything I could get my hands on and stopped buying sample CDs. I got away with this for quite some time and some producers who I borrowed little sounds from actually played the tracks I used them in. I might get another one soon though, I am partial to Soundorder, Uberschall and Vengeance sample CDs though and one particular favourite is the twisted stuff on Oliver Lieb's CD on Best Service.
Every DJ has a way of telling the idiot punters that make a stupid requests to fu ... I mean go away, in a nice way that even they'll understand. What's yours?
Yes, despite me smashing out the newest dark Hard Techno/Trance/Style as fast as you like blatantly like uncommercial monster, I STILL get requests for 'Girls Aloud' and 'Rihanna'. My way around it is to ask them to spell it. usually sorts them out pretty quickly, surprisingly none of them have managed yet.
Louk @ Q-Base
I heard you were involved in a kinky threesome with Wragg and Log:One during your Australia tour, involving a Kangaroo, a Cactus and a small Aboriginal boy named 'Wattatungoo'. Is this true?
I swore an oath that what happens on tour stays on tour, but they split up soon after so I think the two incidents might be related... It was fun to go to the Zoo but at the same time getting bit by a Spider in your sleep then having to go to the doctors and only to be told "Ah it's alright, it's just bit a blood vessel. It's the big f*ckers you got to watch out for....." is really reassuring!!!
Did Jim ever fix it for you?
No but he certainly fixed it for a few other DJs judging by what I saw on Twitter/Facebook, and that caused quite a storm...
You look like Paul McCartney in your current Facebook profile picture. Have you ever been confused for the former Beatle, and how's your scouse accent?
Yes actually, well it's either him or Sly Stallone or Pete Doherty. I am not sure I'm liking this crackhead rock star vibe going on. Scouse accent is still shit as ever but thankfully I haven't dated anyone with a wooden leg yet or like the other Beatles gone on to tell children's stories on ITV, though I do a mean Fireman Sam impression.
Paul McCartney
How did you get into the label promo business? Bit of a strange hop from DJ/producer to someone who sends out other peoples tracks for them?
I was at University in Birmingham and was employed by a distribution company/label to start selling vinyl. I was pretty shit at that mainly because of sketchy Mondays and I hated talking on the phone but noticed that the DJs the boss was sending his promos to weren't playing that style or were using CD decks when he was sending them records and as I was out every weekend I devised a list of people for him to send to. I left on really bad terms actually, the company folded and I set up a list and started doing this for international labels and then from there my client base grew. So far I have promoted over 800 tracks to date.
How would one go about getting onto your promo lists these days then?
Now it's harder than ever I'm afraid. I have cut the lists down quite severely but if you play out often including international gigs, have a strong set of releases on some high profile labels, review for leading print publications or play on FM radio stations (not online ones), then you may have a chance!
Your Compulzion label covers quite a diverse range of styles. Which one are you pushing the most, and have you ever thought of launching sub labels to to cater for more specific sounds?
I have the 'Benefactor' sub-label, but have stopped that after release 11 by the excellent Johann Stone. As of release 25 Compulzion is turning all Techno, and all Hard Trance etc is coming out on Compulzion Hard. Simple reason for this is I have so many Techno tracks I want to release, and whereas before I would alienate half my fan base by releasing Techno one week and Hard Trance the next, this makes things easier.
[c]
You're defo one of the most enthusiastic DJs I know. What keeps your enthusiasm so high even in times like these?
Hahaha, that's quite funny really as many people have said that I turned into a major grumpy bastard in 2012, wishing that the days of over a decade ago would come back (which I still do!), but there is still some enthusiasm in there. My tastes have broadened the older I have become and just hearing something different really does it for me. I am hugely into Drum'n'Bass, Oldskool, Breaks, and of course Techno. Some Deep House is cool and I always listen to it at the gym. With regards to the enthusiasm, an elevated blood alcohol level helps, but I just love what I do. As DJ Korsakoff said to me in Hamburg "Do you play records as fast as you talk?".
If you could only have Techno influenced music or Trance based music for the rest of your life, which one would it be and why?
As it was my first love I'd have to say Trance, though now I play more techno than I have ever played before, but I have always played it and will always love it too.
Finally, you have a great track record for finding new artists before they come to the attention of the rest of the scene, as you did with Jim Justice and DJ W. Who is the next big thing to arrive and your radar?
I told everyone to look out for Johann Stone and now he's signing releases to Armada, Black Hole, High Contrast and many other leading labels and of course on Detox, one of my favourites. If I had to tip someone I'd say Evanti under his Evan Forrest alias. I was happy to release his debut EP and trust me he has a lot more coming under this alias. Hard Trance wise, right now Side E-Fect is smashing things, and rightly so!
Images courtesy of Louk and Dean Zone. Not to be reproduced without permission. Share this :: : : : ![Delicious](/images/smiles/delicious.gif)
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Other Features By HarderFaster: HarderFaster Awards 2016 - The results are in! HarderFaster Awards 2014 - The results are in! Lashes, Dimples and the Brighton Music Conference HarderFaster Awards 2013 - The results are in! HarderFaster Awards 2012 - The results are in!
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: Andy Force on 21st Jan 2013 17:45.28 The 414 DJ booth fan up to its usual business of ruining pictures, or in Zoney's case, providing a welcome distraction. ![Razz](/images/smiles/razz.gif)
From: Dean Zone on 22nd Jan 2013 14:29.48 She's my no. 1 Fan...
From: Adenassi on 27th Jan 2013 15:29.55 LOL Nice interview ![Smile](/images/smiles/smile.gif)
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