17 Apr 2015 
Posted by Cassi Catsaros
In Shock And Awe – A Moment With The Pitcher
Albums, albums and oh, more albums!
2015 has taken the cake for being the ‘year of albums’ as producers have been working their assess off in the studio to perfect their masterpieces and have their albums ready to kick off the festival season. One particular artist who has been working hard over the last several months is The Pitcher. Consisting of the power team of Michel Pollen and Luc van Veghel, The Pitcher has been a renowned name in the hardstyle scene and after the release of their first album “Smack,” there are some pretty big shoes to fill! Now that the album has been finalised and the release date is set (11th May), we pulled The Pitcher aside to have a quick chat about the album, its storyline and also the amazing artwork!
1. First of all, thanks for chatting with me! You guys have been very busy at the moment working on your second album “Shock And Awe,” how is the album going at the moment? (what stage are you at? E.g. finished, almost finished, still mastering tracks etc)
We are now in the final stage and we’ve been mastering last week. A lot of tweaking has been done to come to get to that ultimate sound, but that is finally done! We’re now currently finishing the artwork and after getting all the credits rights at the end of this week, the CD is going to be printed! It’s really exciting.
2. So ultimately, what is the big story/theme behind “Shock and Awe?” (the trailer had that real action-movie feel to it) Can you extend on this?
Hardstyle has always been linked to movies, mostly through sampling movie-lines, but also by the themes. I think that the Donkey Rollers started this. At first, we started with the whole ‘movie’ idea, yet we wanted to stay close to ourselves and who we really are. Luc is obviously a huge ‘motor-guy’ which is something that we wanted to combine. We also talked a lot about our characters and how Luc would be presented in a movie. Luc is a guy of fairness and justice, but also likes to break some boundaries now and then. You know that to be true if you know the typical Pitcher sound 😉 So we really wanted to included that in the theme for the album.
3. You have shared some previews for the album on social media, how has the public’s response on those tracks been?
The response was really great. People liked it a lot that we were going back to our harder sound. We also had a lot of support in podcasts such as Digital Punk’s Unleashed, Villain’s Xxlerator Podcast and Coone’s Global Dedication, so the response in the scene has been amazing so far!
4. Within the album you have chosen to collaborate with some international names such as Sik-Wit-It, are you aiming to reach out to the international audience and why?
We never forget our international followers! Luc has played at several events throughout Europe and the US, so of course we are aiming to reach out to our international audience too. You don’t see many collabs between European hardstyle artists and American artists, so it’s also a way to stay fresh and innovative. Like we already said, we want to break some boundaries and artists like Sik-Wit-It are perfect to do a collab with!
5. So what can we expect to hear on the album? Are you planning on bringing that older fusion sound back into some of the tracks on the album?
Yes and no. There is some degree of an older feeling because of the kicks and some of the sounds, but we can’t get creative without doing some new and refreshing things. A lot of tracks have a surprise in the buildup, and also some sounds you never have heard before. It is definitely a ‘The Pitcher’ sound though!
6. In terms of artwork for the album, it is a quite unique concept that you guys have going on! Can you explain a little more about the importance of having good artwork represent your album?
In these days, music isn’t just about the audio anymore. What I mean by that is that you have to create a total experience for your audience and that requires a lot of visualisation. Fans need to be able to recognise it and need to identify themselves with the look and feel that we have created. So basically, we are saying that our artwork is very important for the ‘Shock And Awe’ experience. We stand for quality and we want to show the people what #realhardstyle is about. At the shows, Luc wears his black shirt with our red ‘Shock And Awe’ logo on it and people are starting to recognise it, they recognise the look that we represent and stand for, just as we have that specific ‘The Pitcher’ sound in all of our tracks!
A huge thanks to The Pitcher for chatting with us! We cannot wait for “Shock and Awe” to hit the stores! For now, pre-orders are available and can be placed now via the following portals:
– https://fusionr.ec/merchandiseshop
Tracklist:
01. The Pitcher – Shock And Awe Anthem
02. The Pitcher – F.U.C.K.
03. The Pitcher ft. Sam LeMay – Child Of The Night
04. The Pitcher ft. MC Sik-Wit-It – Surprise Motherfucker
05. The Pitcher ft. Sik-Wit-It – Mind Like A Gun
06. The Pitcher – Remember
07. The Pitcher and Jack of Sound – Dystopia
08. The Pitcher and Hard Driver – Break The Kick
09. The Pitcher – The Candyman
10. The Pitcher – P.U.Z.Z.
11. The Pitcher – Trapped In Fear
12. The Pitcher and B-Front – MPX 1
13. The Pitcher – Power To The People
14. The Pitcher and Frequencerz ft. MC Nolz – Attack
15. The Pitcher – Rhapsody
16. The Pitcher – So Good
