03 Nov 2016 
Posted by Cassi Catsaros
Artist Of The Month – November, 2016!
We’re in the final two months of 2016, and wow, what a year it has been! We’ve been lucky enough to witness the release of several stunning albums, countless hit tracks, the birth of fresh event concepts and of course, many kick-ass end-shows!
It’s only mid-week, but fans across The Netherlands and beyond certainly have something to look forward to this coming weekend… This ground-breaking event is set to see the walls of the Heineken Music Hall crumble into oblivion as devoted visitors are determined to party harder than ever before.
Being that time of the month again, it only seemed logical to devote our ‘artist of the month’ title to the man behind this (soon-to-become) legendary evening. Deemed one of the most powerful and hard-working figureheads in Hardstyle, this audacious producer has claimed his elite spot at the top of the scene. He’s the one man army and choppin’ bodies with the kickdrum… Ladies and gentlemen, you won’t want to f*ck with this Minus Is More superstar – Radical Redemption!
Hailing from Denekamp, The Netherlands, it’s more than likely that Joey van Ingen was already kickrolling in the womb! By age 10, his love for percussion took over as he focussed intently on drumming, leading him to join several bands throughout his teenage years. It wasn’t long until he found himself addicted to the harder styles and with his musical background as a boost, Joey soon purchased a pair of turntables and began mixing.
Fast-forward a couple of months and several garage parties and Joey had scored himself a residency at a local nightclub. As his first step forward, Joey soon decided that it would be even greater if he could perform his own tracks and by 2009 he has his soul immersed in production. Working zealously day by day to improve his skills, he was incredibly focussed on thinking outside of the box and blending unconventional elements, such as percussion, into the Hardstyle genre.
Making the genre his own, it wasn’t long until Joey had a handful of experiments that he was ready to unveil to the world…
Starting off small and working industriously to launch himself, Radical Redemption found himself on a creative role, which subsequently resulted in his debut album “Annihilate” in 2012. At this time, raw Hardstyle was still lurking in the shadows, however after the release of that album, Radical soon became a figurehead of this new and innovative movement. “Annihilate” generated a lot of chatter amongst the scene; traditional fans weren’t so keen on this new sound, however the album clearly picked up enough fans to form a devoted army that backed Radical’s every move. Stand-out tracks from this initial album include “The Black Demon,” his remix of Crypsis’ “The 6th Pathway” and of course, the infamous “Brutal 2.0,” a track that sparked an entire saga.
The following year (2013), saw this hard-working producer dropping his second album “The Spell Of Sin,” which is unquestionably an album that changed the entire Hardstyle scene. Focussing on rhythmic structures, brutal vibes and ever-expanding sound design, this eclectic body of work hurled Radical Redemption into the stratosphere! From this album, the industry learned that Joey had a true gift – no matter how, what, when and why, he never ceased to create catchy, floor-filling hits.
Tracks such as “Brutal 3.0,” “Don’t F*ck With The Radical” feat. MC Jeff, “Prostitute,” “Accumulated Filth,” “God’s Child” and “Condemned” are just a few examples of Joey’s illimitable creativity.
Just like his first album, “The Spell Of Sin” sparked some growing pains in the scene, particularly among the melodic-minds, who became increasingly afraid that Radical and his army would rule the scene. And they were right – because after this album dropped, Radical continued to soar to unprecedented heights.
2014 was a defining year for Radical, who landed himself a place on elite line-ups such as Qapital, Masters of Hardcore, Reverze, Intents Festival, Fantasy Island, Defqon.1 (Australia & The Netherlands), Dominator, Decibel Outdoor, HDE Live and many, many more. There was no stopping the Radical in 2014, who even extended his legacy outside of Hardstyle when he scored a place in the DJ Mag Top 100.
Regarded as one of the most respected artists in the entire Hard Dance scene, Radical Redemption managed to create a world-wide revolution that celebrates rebellion, ruthlessness and intensity. With the general quality of his music reaching all new heights, it came as no surprise that new names popping up left, right and centre truly aspired to be the ‘next’ Radical Redemption. There was no replacing him however; no matter how hard fellow producers tried to imitate his crazy kickrolls and composition, there was only one Radical…
Aside from his booming solo career, Radical Redemption also spent a lot of time working alongside Minus Is More comrades Chain Reaction and Crypsis, as part of their exclusive Minus Militia project. I swear to God, those MM t-shirts are probably still the best-selling piece of merchandise… Every raw Hardstyle fan wanted to (and still wants to) join the army and be a militant.
In 2014 and at the first edition of Supremacy, Minus Militia dropped their debut album “Legion Of Strength.” The offshoot from this body of work was incredible as the guys knew that they had something truly special on their hands… Ready to do it all again, Minus Militia recently announced that their second album ‘Militant Mayhem’ is on its way and ready to drop like a bomb on November 5th!
2015 marked yet another spectacular year for Joey, who released one of the biggest albums that Hardstyle has ever seen! “The One Man Army” was nothing less than revolutionary as it contained countless monstrous hits as well as displaying just how far he’d come since the beginning of his journey. Within the album you can really hear how much his productions had improved and it’s incredibly inspiring for all who have followed Joey on his path to success!
In combination with the album came ‘The One Man Army’ event, held in the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam. This night literally went down in history as thousands as devoted fans witnessed a spectacle like no other as they joined this kickrolling champion to celebrate the unequalled revolution he created with his bare hands.
No matter whether Radical is performing in an intimate nightclub setting or closing down the colossal Defqon.1 mainstage, this guy gives every gig his absolute all! Drumming along with each beat during his energetic DJ sets and infamous live-acts, Radical’s stage performance is enthralling to say the least and watching him lose his sh*t on stage will never get old…
Although 2016 is nearing its end, Radical Redemption is still to conquer one of his biggest career highlights to date! Adding the final touches on his ‘Militant Mayhem’ event this weekend, this night is set to go down in Hardstyle history! Selling out the Heineken Music Hall within four hours, it’s evident that Art of Dance and Radical have something truly special planned for the evening…
We’d like to take this moment to congratulate Joey on all of his achievements in 2016, especially his recent placement in the DJ Mag Top 100 and his forthcoming event! Let’s also take a moment to thank him for his exceptional work in the Hardstyle scene and his countless legendary productions that are unquestionably going to stand the test of time.
