Da Tweekaz on #Tweekay16, being born in the 80’s and rubber duckies!

They’re entertaining, they’re dedicated and they know how to fuck up just about any party! Yep, I’m indeed talking about one of the most sensational duo’s in modern hardstyle – Da Tweekaz! Making waves with their rather lively take on euphoric hardstyle since 2008, the pair rapidly rose in the scene, charming listeners with tracks like “Born In The 80’s” with Coone, “Break The Spell,” “Real Love” and becoming a favourite amongst fans. Today, the pair have reached some incredible milestones such as being voted into the DJ Mag Top 100, producing and releasing some of the biggest anthems in modern hardstyle and of course, infecting the world with little rubber tweeka duckies!

Most recently, Da Tweekaz announced the launch of #Tweekay16, a follow up to the critically acclaimed and highly successful #Tweekay14. With a stockpile of unique solos and collaborations planned, there’s no stopping these two, so we decided to catch up with them to speak more about this concept, some of their memories from the old days and much more!

– Hey guys, thanks for the interview! First of all, what have you been up to today?
Well today has been all about doing some guest mixes for various podcasts. Gotta keep spreading the Tweekaz sound you know! We are also looking over everything that has to do with 2016; it’s going to be a hectic year, so we better start planning now!

– Can you give me a quick recap of your 2015?
*Cracks fingers* Let’s seeeee… After the busy #Tweekay14 project we had in 2014, we decided to give ourselves a small break in 2015; however we still managed to launch Tweek’D, which is kind of a build-off from our Tweeka-TV that we used to do. It was a way for us to show the fans what we get up to, some behind the scenes action and generally just involve our fans in a fun and entertaining way.

Production wise, we still remained very busy in the studio; probably a little too much, but that’s every producers problem, right? The biggest musical hypes we launched were “Wodka,” our “Hanging Tree” bootleg which we made especially for our performance at Reverze 2015 and our latest track “Twerkout Revolution” for which we created (or actually adapted) a game called Stepmania. It was a present for our fans and a fun and creative way to market the track which we eventually gave away for free.

Bookings wise it was amazing, as usual. We got to see new places, did our first bookings in the USA (which was also sick as tits), went to Chile and also played on the Defqon.1 mainstage – seeing as we were playing quite early, the turn-out was unbelievable! Basically, we had an amazing year and also landed ourselves in the DJ Mag Top 100 list for a 4th consecutive year. (F*ck yeah bitches!)

– Let’s take a little trip backwards – how did you guys meet and form Da Tweekaz?
This question should be sticky on our fan page seeing as we get this one a lot! Ha-ha! Alright, we met for the first time probably over 12 years ago when we were both DJing at this local party. At the time, Kenth was playing UK Hard Trance, whilst Marcus was more into the German Hard Trance and Hands Up. We both have a huge musical background – Kenth being an old vinyl freak and Marcus playing the trumpet in a school band.

At the beginning we didn’t get along that well, but after some chats on MSN Messenger (yeah we’re that old) we decided to meet up and try out some musical ideas together. Da Tweekaz as a group was formed after completing our first Hardstyle track “Angeli Domini.” This track had some nasty growling sounds which at first started out as a cute 8-bit sound. So we kinda “tweaked the sounds” Tweak…Tweekaz… Get it? 😀

– Can you tell me about your first ever gig?
First ever gig, let’s see… Our first gig as Da Tweekaz was in Denmark at a nightclub called Club Whiplash. We were asked to do the anthem (please don’t search for it, it sounds horrible) BUT, there wasn’t really any space for us in the lineup, so we ended up playing from 6:30AM until 7AM and the club was basically empty. We probably played for 10 people, but it was a lot of fun to finally be on stage as Da Tweekaz. We had already been DJing for years at local clubs and events in Norway individually, so being on stage already felt natural to us.

– Just a question about one of your older tracks “Born In The 80’s” with Coone. What does this track mean to you guys? And did you ever think that this track would remain a huge hit, even almost four years later?
All 3 of us were born in the 80s so lyrics-wise, it hit us all. While we were in the studio working on the track we got really nostalgic and started reminiscing about how everything was so much better back then ha-ha! Every time we hear the lyrics, we picture all those things in our heads: TMNT, Transformers, VHS… aw man… What a childhood! We knew that the lyrics would do the same to the crowd as it did to us. If you’re an 80’s kid and it didn’t, then you’re a cold hearted bastard!

– Now to the big news – #Tweekay16! What made you guys decide to launch this project?
Well, we actually had this idea straight after #Tweekay14; it was a huge success and loads of fun, but very stressful. We didn’t want to go directly into #Tweekay15 as we felt we needed to take it easy after such a hectic year in 2014, however, fans just kept begging and begging for a new Tweekay project so we kind of put that into motion mid 2015. Lots of planning and artwork brainstorming sessions; we’re only just wrapping everything up so we can hit the studio. We hope that the fans will appreciate #Tweekay16 as much as the #Tweekay14 edition.

– Can you tell me more about some of the tracks and video-clips that will be a part of #Tweekay16?
Our first release was a collab with our good friend Neilio, called “Freedom.” There’s also a special remix of Mark With A K’s track “See Me Now” coming up and we already announced that we hit the studio with Darren Styles – so something really special came out of that one. We’ve planned a collab with one of our favourite talents and there will be many solo releases. We’re also making an anthem again this year, but we can’t say anything yet! Still a lot of hush hush because we want to keep some things on the down low; but don’t worry, we’ll make sure to give it 200%!

– Do you feel as though it’s a little ‘dangerous’ to repeat this concept?
There’s always a risk. Always. However as we said, we really wanted to do it right after #Tweekay14 ended, because it also kept us on our toes as producers, helped us really improve our sound and improve our image. We can’t say for certain if it will be a hit, but we’re pretty sure our fans (and those who aren’t yet ;)) will enjoy the releases and things we do. The announcement hit quite hard online, so that just motivated us even more. People are very enthusiastic about the whole project and so are we!

– You guys are one of the piloting names of euphoric hardstyle, but what are your honest thoughts on the scene and its music?
Awww, thanks! Well, euphoric hardstyle has been through a little dip. Producers were clinging on to the same formulas and maybe it got a little too pop-ish during some stages, but that’s not a bad thing, because we as artists need to test the boundaries see what works for us and also see what works for the crowd. However, as you know, we have always done our own thing – even if people hated it. Whatever we do or make we try to personify when we’re on stage.

Saying this, we believe that euphoric hardstyle is making its return (well, it’s never been gone) although the raw hype is still a dominating sound within the Netherlands, we aim for a more international market and just what we love doing.

– What are some changes you’d like to see in euphoric hardstyle?
Difficult question. We don’t think things need to change. Maybe artists should try out different formulas and go back to the basics, however we feel that there are a lot of creative fresh talents storming through the scene which also challenges the big guys to rethink what they’re doing.

– You have a huge fan-base that also consists of die-hard raw fans. In your opinion, why do you guys think that both ends of the spectrum love your music?
We think it’s just our “fuck it, we’re doing what we want to do” attitude. We like to think that we bring unique things to the stage that we can only bring, because people know that’s what we stand for and that causes them to respect what we do. At the end of the day, Hardstyle is fun music and we want to really articulate the fun when you’re at a party. So yeah, a lot of raw fans seem love what we do and we think that’s cool! Maybe we should call them “Tweeka-Militants.” (Hahah, or maybe not…)

– Your sound is heavily influenced by UK Hardcore; can you guys speak about what the genre means to you and also tell us about what it’s like to work with Darren Styles?
We have both been listening to UK Hardcore since 2004 I believe, when we discovered Bonkers. It had so much energy, so much passion and it was completely different than anything else we’d ever heard. It was like Hands Up on speed and we loved it! We have both idolized Darren Styles for years, seeing as he’s been the leading artist in the genre for quite some time, (in our opinion of course) so working with him in the studio was a dream come true. He’s a fantastic guy who is so humble and down to earth and his passion for music in general is amazing after all these years in the scene. He really knows what he does, even though he doesn’t always know the newest technology (sorry Styles, but it had to come out sooner or later ha-ha). The track itself is really fresh for both genres so we’re eager to get this one out!!

– I want to now talk about one of your recent videoclips – “Wodka!” What was the process of filming this awesome clip?
We first played “Wodka” at Reverze 2015 and from then on, it just became a hype. People really wanted it, but we weren’t ready to release it yet. We sat down with management and the videographer and discussed the plans regarding the clip. Because our videographer is Russian, he really wanted to film the clip in Russia. The initial script was a lot different than what actually made it to the screen because the initial plan was that we’d go to Russia and the clip would be shot with us there. However, getting a Russian tourist visa wasn’t easy (or, we didn’t have enough time for it because we had a lot of international gigs around that period) so, we sent the videographer to Russia and we think he totally nailed it.

It’s basically a guy who drank too much wodka, fell asleep and dreamt he was in Russia and at the end of the clip you see him wake up. So, he was kind of thinking – was he dreaming, or was it a “The Hangover” type adventure he actually did when he was intoxicated. Gotta love the ending though, right? hahaha!

– Can you tell me about the composition of the game “Twerkout Revolution?”
We’re both big gamers, and we’ve been addicted to Stepmania for years. We’ve been in that community for a long time, however it’s starting to fade. We first wanted to make a clip for it, but we just got the idea to adapt Stepmania to be purely playable for Twerkout Revolution. It also gives our fans a chance to know what we get up to as well. We did some investigating, contacted our designer and some level designers of the game and just got cracking on it and it turned out really well! Even though it’s a pretty difficult game for people who’ve never played it, it’s still really fun and a nice little extra which we gave to our fans for Christmas.

– To your best knowledge, how many little Tweeka duckies have been manufactured?
A couple thousand. The manufacturer loves us. They probably wonder why we order so many ducks and why it’s such a hype; we’ve sent them pictures of Defqon.1 and they were blown away, so that’s nice! 🙂
We just gave away the last of the ducks during our performance on New Year’s Eve, but for the collectors, we’re going to have a special #Tweekay16 collection of ducks. These will be very limited so be sure to be front row during our shows this year!

– What’s the wildest hardstyle party you’ve performed at?
It has got to be the first gig we had in Chile. People were so excited about seeing us and the level of dedication over there is just immense! People were crying, shouting, screaming, pushing and singing along to ALL of our tracks. It was incredible. For us to be able to make people smile on the other side of the world is an amazing feeling. We were really tired and jet lagged, but when we entered that stage, the energy just went through the roof. Even for us! We hope we can go back to Chile really soon! 🙂

– If you weren’t musicians, what would you be doing?
Kenth: I graduated as an electrician and specialised in Fire Alarms. I really enjoyed my job (although getting up at 6am was the least of my favorites). I believe if music hadn’t taken the turn it did for us, I’d still be working with that 🙂
Marcus: I would either be a Naturopath (I actually did basic medicine, but the career was starting up so I dropped out ha-ha) or an actor (I studied drama as well. I’m such a complicated person…)

– Who are some of your favourite artists to party with at events?
As you know, when we party, we do it right; so when it comes to artists who are as crazy as us backstage, the level is high ha-ha! In-Phase and Wasted Penguinz are always fun to be around after the set, however it never really ends well considering the amount of alcohol being poured down our throats… But when you wake up and you don’t quite remember what happened, you know you had a good night, right?

– Finally, do you have any last words for our readers?
We really hope that you all will enjoy #Tweekay16! Let’s make this year an unforgettable one! Oh, and try to cover as many of our gigs as possible if you wanna get your hands on the special #Tweekay16 limited edition ducks. The different ones will be spread out over the whole year! Thank you for reading and we hope to see you soon! All of you 🙂

 

A big thanks to Da Tweekaz with this interview! We wish them the very best with their upcoming #Tweekay16 project – let’s hope that it can top the brilliant #Tweekay14! Speaking of #Tweekay16, their first release “Freedom” with Neilio hits the shelves on Monday, February 1st, so be sure to grab your copy. For the rest of you wanting to keep yourselves updated on Tweeka madness, stay tuned to their social media channels below.

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