When you think of Italian hardstyle, your mind probably drifts no further than some of the legends like TNT, Zatox and Tatanka… But what about the future…? Which young Italians will carry on the baton of pizza and pasta influenced hardstyle and become the headliners of tomorrow? One particular act has caught not only my attention lately but also the attention of Ran-D and Digital Punk. This dynamic duo are an act to be flying on everybody’s radar and with their unique sound Clockartz are surely on their way to be the headliners of tomorrow. We had the chance to catch up with the two Italians behind the act to find out a little bit more about what Clockartz is about, Italian hardstyle and their alcohol preferences!

1. Hi guys! First of all, for those that don’t know you guys, can you introduce yourselves?
Konstantin: My name is Konstantin, I’m from Italy and I’m 21 years old. I’m currently studying Agriculture at university and I’m also producing hardstyle in the duo Clockartz.
Sebastian: I’m Sebastian and I’m also 21 and I’m a car mechanic. Both Konstantin and I live very close to each other and we’ve practically known each other since we were born! We’ve been best friends for as long as we can remember 🙂

2. How did you guys get into hardstyle?
In 2008 we were actually really into jumpstyle, we used to take videos of ourselves dancing to it and from then on we started listening to hardstyle more and more and ended up getting into that. In 2010 we both started producing and since then we’ve been working together!

3. You guys are from Italy, what are the three best things about the country?
The food, weather and women!

4. Italian hardstyle vs. Dutch hardstyle:
I think you can really hear the difference between Italian and Dutch hardstyle – both ‘types’ sound very unique. When you listen to Zatox and Technoboy, I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is but it just sounds Italian! We’re proud Italians!

5. Just a little bit more about Italy, what’s the hardstyle scene like in your country?
It really depends on where you live. For example, where we live it’s not very popular because other kinds of EDM are more popular and hardstyle it’s more underground; however in other cities it’s a little bit more popular. All in all in it’s nothing to compare to the huge scene in The Netherlands!

6. Would you guys ever move to The Netherlands?
If we had the chance to move over then we definitely would! Seeing as the scene here is so vast and there are 2-4 festivals per weekend, it would be a lot easier to get bookings if you live in The Netherlands.

7. Anyway down to the music. You guys have had quite a lot of support in Digital Punks Unleashed Podcast, how does it feel to have a pioneering name supporting the majority of your tracks on the show?
It feels good to have Digital Punk supporting our music and including our tracks in his podcast, it’s also great to always receive good responses from other artists and of course our fans. Ran-D has also given some great positive feedback to track that we’ve sent him too!

8. How do you guys describe your sound?
We always try to make something different; we try to make hardstyle in between raw and euphoric labelling because we feel as though not many artists are doing that. To put it plainly, we want our music to have that raw/melodic feel and to be suitable for play on the mainstages. Saying that, we also like to sometimes push the boundaries towards hardcore and you can hear that in our 160BPM collaboration with Tears Of Fury.

9. Can you tell me about any upcoming releases, works in progress and collabs?
We have one secret project that we can’t talk about right now, but in July we are heading to The Netherlands where we will collaborate with Juized. He’s got a quite melodic sound so we’re excited to see how our sounds combine. Apart from that we will be visiting WiSH Outdoor and also spending a few days in The Netherlands.

10. Can you guys tell me about your first ever gig?
Our first booking was in a small nightclub at a party that we organised with the guys from Tears Of Fury. Before we performed we were really nervous at first, but once we began playing it just became exciting and fun!

11. How are the work and production dynamics in the duo?
Konstantin: We are both equally as dedicated to producing and we work very often together. Sometimes were alone when Sebastian is working or I’m at university. We fit well together and I think we’re a good team.

12. Vodka, beer or whiskey?
Sebastian: I think all of them are good, but I wouldn’t really mix them all together!

13. I’ve seen on your social media that you have been on a vacation, can you tell me more about your travels?
We went to Thailand a little while ago, there was A LOT of partying but it was a really nice holiday. First we travelled to Bangkok, then we went to Koh Phi Phi and spent 5 days there and after that we spent the rest of the holiday in Phuket.

14. Music-wise, where are you hoping to be in 5 years’ time?
It’s hard to say where we will be in five years, however we are hoping to just release some great tracks, play at festivals and parties in The Netherlands and even some other countries! We would also love to collaborate with some of the bigger artists, working with Ran-D or B-Front would be a dream come true!

15. Finally, what did you guys eat for breakfast?
Sebastian: Coffee and bread with Nutella
Constantin: A coffee, bread with some honey and a banana!