Freestyle anyone?

When I say freestyle, most of you are probably thinking about half naked girls dancing on stage at Pussy Lounge or that big-ass stage at Decibel that most people mistaken for the mainstage. We decided to pull aside one Dr. Phunk, who is of the young pioneers in freestyle to give us a rundown about what freestyle is, the new label ‘Foolish’ and a story about what happens when a Belgian promoter feeds you too much alcohol!

1. Hi Phunky, thanks for chatting with me today! First of all, how’s life treating you so far this year?
Thanks for having me! I must say this year has turned out better than I expected. First of all, I’ve already made some sort of change in music styles; I went from a Belgian jump sound to more of a freestyle sound and vibe and the response on my music has been great! I can’t complain!

2. Great! So you just mentioned briefly that you have changed your music style from the Belgian jump sound to a more Dutch freestyle sound, how come you chose to do that?
First of all, I was sort of fed up with the whole Belgian thing, ‘Tek’ was starting to sound a little transparent and I wanted to do something bigger with more substance. In Belgium they prefer the music a little more simple, like a kick-drum with a laser beam sound and I really wanted to do something more euphoric that tells a story.

3. So how do you describe your music at the moment?
To be honest, in terms of listening to music I like everything. I cant define myself in one specific genre, I like to play everything and freestyle gives you the opportunity to play whatever you want. For example, you can switch from jump to hardcore to hardstyle and even add a bit of moombahton in there! There’s lots of quick mixing, a combination of different genres and it’s high energy which is something that I love!

4. A lot of people are saying that freestyle is a genre, but you’re saying that it’s more in the way that you play, is that correct?
Sometimes people ask me what kind of music I produce and when I say that I make freestyle, they ask what freestyle is. Basically it’s just making and playing everything you want. For instance, in the studio I like to produce hardstyle, jump and I’m even working on more ‘mainstream’ styled music with Yellow Claw and Dirtcaps. The thing is, I like producing and playing a variety of music, so for me, freestyle isn’t really a genre, it’s how you play.

5. One of the biggest concepts that’s based around freestyle is “Pussy Lounge,” what are your thoughts on the concept and the party?
Pussy Lounge is like a huge playground, it’s amazing! When your on stage at Pussy Lounge, you have so much freedom to play a variety of music and entertain the crowd. The concept is a little sexy with the girls dressed up and together with the music, it’s the ultimate party. The Pussy Lounge stage at Decibel is almost the same size at the mainstage and at the moment, the concept is booming in The Netherlands, because there’s something for everyone. If you like hardcore you’ll here hardcore tracks, if you like hardstyle, you hear that too – it’s like one big party and it never get boring!

6. I just want to quickly chat about your latest release “M.A.D.N.E.S.S” with Genius which was released on Foolish in April. It’s been supported on a lot of podcasts and it has a few raw hardstyle elements in it too. Can you tell me a little bit more about the track?
This time, it became a little raw. Because of the current popularity of raw hardstyle, I thought that it would be cool to connect with those fans and show that it doesn’t have to be completely extreme to get that raw feeling. I’m so happy with how the track turned out and the response it’s generated from artists such as The Prophet and Coone.

7. Will you be experimenting more with hardstyle sounds or even moving into the genre itself?
Time will tell I guess…I don’t want to put myself in a box, artists are creative people and they want to be free to create what they want. For now I’m happy with freestyle, but never say never right? 😉

8. Now back to your release. It’s released on the new freestyle label ‘Foolish,’ how does it feel to have a release on this awesome new label?
I remember when I was informed about this new concept and to be honest, it’s something I’ve been waiting on for a long time. Almost every label wants to divide you into a kind of genre and build that musical identity, however Foolish is such a great platform to release everything that I create. It gives you a lot of freedom and I feel as though more labels should be like this.

9. Do you feel as though the label is the missing ingredient to the hard dance scene?
Definitely! Artists are creative and they want the opportunity to be creative, I’m really happy with the concept and the idea behind it and I definitely want to release more.

10. What do you think about the artwork?
It really stands out! The crazy images are so unique and it really represents the label and gives them a lot of exposure online.

11. You’ve also had the honour to mix the first volume CD with Paul Elstak – what’s your favourite track from the album?
There was a really great unexpected track on there called “Kill The Disco” by Nuron. I’ve never heard of the guy and it’s great to see upcoming producers making tracks like this.

12. What’s the stupidest thing you’ve done whilst drunk?
I haven’t been drunk for a long time, but here’s a story: There was one booking in Belgium a while ago and the promoters were practically feeding me alcohol and well, you could say that I was pretty smashed. I was so drunk that I had to throw up so I quickly ran to the bathroom only to find that all of the doors were locked and I really had to throw up so I threw up in the urinal. I was unable to flush it and it was so embarrassing, the cleaning lady came in and she was yelling at me in French. A lot of people saw me run to the bathroom and even throw up… I haven’t been back to that club since.

13. I also saw that you were working on a collaboration with Zany, how’s the track turning out so far?
We just finished it! It turned out really well. Zany was one of the guys who introduced me to hardstyle so it was a huge honour to have the opportunity to work with him. It’s also really nice to see that guys like Zany are breaking out and trying something different. We played the track on Kingsday and people went nuts, so that’s a good sign I guess. It’s a really special track with an awesome drop and festival vibes!

14. What event are you most looking forward to?
That’s a difficult one… I love all bookings, whether it’s a 300 person club gig or a huge festival, however I cant get my mind past Tomorrowland! It’s my 4th time playing there and besides playing, I’ll also be also checking out some other artists and the party in general. I like EDM a lot and it’s cool to listen to something else and just be enjoying the festival.

15. Boobs or ass?
Boobs because every person on the planet has an ass. Guys don’t have boobs (normally) so one of the special things about girls is that they have boobs.

16. What is your favourite food and least favourite food?
Favourite food: I love fast food!
Least favourite: I don’t like lettuce… I’m not a rabbit! Oh and I hate brussel sprouts too.

17. Finally, what did you eat for breakfast?
I ate bread with chocolate spread.

 

Thanks for chatting with us Dr. Phunk! To find out more about what the f*ck freestyle is about, check out some of his tunes HERE.

And now, it’s giveaway time! We’re giving away 2x signed Foolish CD’s to two lucky readers! Want to find out more? Head to our Facebook page to enter!