JTS & Technikore’s track-by-track journey through their new album “Gridlock!”

It’s hard to believe that it was only January 2016 when Technikore and JTS launched their OneSeventy record label, which raised the stakes in the global UK hardcore music game.

James Stanhope, otherwise known as JTS, had already been running the highly successful stream of OneSeventy rave events in Sydney for several years when his long-time friend and collaborator Alfie Bamford (Technikore) decided to make a permanent move from the UK to Australia. These two phenomenal producers got straight to work with creating a catalogue of new music and their latest tunes have now been released in the form of a brand-new album titled “Gridlock.”

Alive At Night caught up with James and Alfie for a track-by-track chat about making the album, the stories behind the tracks and lots more!

Track #1: Technikore & JTS – Worlds Collide

– Now, my first thought about the title of this track was that it might be a reference to your two worlds (the UK scene and the Australian scene) colliding to form a powerful alliance. However upon listening to the track, maybe it’s more about the collision of Hard Dance music styles because there is a very strong euphoric Hardstyle influence in this one! This past year has seen more crossovers than ever occurring between the UK hardcore and euphoric Hardstyle sounds, so why is that these two styles sound so damn good together?

Alfie and James: We first heard a lot of Hardstyle influences in Darren Styles tracks a couple of years ago, especially around the time when he made an edit of Code Black and Atmozfears’ “Accelerate.” Both residing in Sydney and being out on the club circuit most weekends, we’re exposed to a lot of euphoric Hardstyle and we really admired the production and general trickery in a lot of the breakdowns.

Hardstyle producers tend to do a little more with the sound design than is conventionally expected in UK hardcore, and we wanted to do something as you say that would “collide” the two sounds. We actually went on to write a lot of the album with this mindset. The vocal was a late addition but we felt lyrically it really worked well with what we were trying to achieve with the music. The two styles work together so well because UK Hardcore has always been about the big riffs and the big moments and euphoric Hardstyle is basically built around this brief. When you take out the Hardstyle kick and add an extra 20BPM to the tempo it just really takes off.

Track #2: Steve Hill vs Technikal – Don’t Hesitate (Technikore Remix)

– Alfie, this is a remix of one of your own tracks recently released on the RVRS BASS label under your Technikal alias. It’s not uncommon for artists to have two aliases but of course you now have three – Technikal for Hard Dance, Technikore for UK Hardcore and your newest incarnation Ikorus for Trance! What’s your secret to being able to keep so many identities on the go?
I work full time as a music producer, working in the studio probably four days out of five. I find that if I’m working on too much of one thing I tend to get a bit stuck and run my ideas dry. Having my different projects to bounce between keeps it fresh for me and I’m able to split my time between working on different genres.

Track #3: JTS feat. Harri Rush – Forever

– “Forever” is one of my personal favourites on the album and I definitely recognise those lyrics from maybe a decade or so ago? What’s the history of this song?
James: I was chatting with our new vocalist Harri about potential classic tracks that we could cover for the album, so that there was something instantly familiar for listeners but with my new style applied to it. Harri sent over a bunch of tracks and when I heard Dee Dee’s “Forever” I instantly remembered it from when I was growing up and ideas formed straight away. Whilst working on it, we realised how well it translated to UK Hardcore.

Track #4: Technikore & JTS vs Michael Mansion – Light Show

– Michael Mansion from Los Angeles has been making UK hardcore for a number of years now and is very highly respected by his peers in the UK scene. How did Michael get involved in the “Gridlock” project?
Alfie: A few months before we started work on the Gridlock project, Michael contacted me in regards to songwriting for a future project. He sent me a heap of song ideas and lyrics which were available and we (James and I) picked out “Light Show” as a potential project to work on.

James: This was actually the first track we worked on for the album. We sent it over to Darren Styles and Gammer and were stoked with the reaction we got from them. We knew from this point on that it was definitely the kind of sound we wanted to pursue for the album.

Track #5: Technikore – Go Down

– “Go Down” is an uplifting track with some quite.. uhh.. sultry lyrics going on there in the breakdown! What were the influences in this track – or maybe we shouldn’t ask?!
Alfie: When I moved over to Sydney I was introduced by a friend to a producer called Wave Racer, who produces a kind of chip-tune, game-influenced style of future house. I loved his lazy sounding breakdowns, drum work and interesting chords and I wanted to incorporate that into a track on the album. As I worked on it more and more, a lot of the future house elements were dropped out to pave way for more 170BPM-friendly elements, but there are still remnants of where I was going with it left in the second breakdown. The vocal is rather suggestive I will admit, but hey, there’s not enough sexy hardcore vocals – it gives the ‘angels’ and heavens’ a break for five minutes! 😉

Track #6: JTS – Messin With My Head

 – Pianos and Hardcore go together like cold beers and hot sunny days! “Messin With My Head” is a divine stomper of a tune with lush piano breakdowns. What’s the background story to this tune?
James: I actually started this track around three or four years ago. It originally started as an idea I’d sent to Al Storm to work on as a collaboration, but with us both being busy and worlds apart we never actually got it off the ground. I went back to it a year ago and finished a first version which you may have heard on our OneSeventy Label Launch Mix last year, when it was titled “Inspire.” My original plan was to get a full vocal written for it, but after spending another couple of days on it for “Gridlock,” I realised that the music spoke for itself.

Track #7: Impact & Resist – Sunrise (Technikore Remix)

– “Sunrise” is a brilliant remix of this immensely popular anthem by Impact & Resist. How did this remix project come about?
Alfie: “Sunrise” was one of the first UKHC tracks that I really got into. My wife (girlfriend at the time) introduced me to the genre when we were 18, and the Breeze & Styles remix of “Sunrise” was always being played at her place. I used to do a lot of Hard Dance remixes of UKHC tracks and I contacted Impact around eight or nine years ago about doing a Technikal remix of the track. He sent me over the parts back then, but I never got around to starting the remix. Earlier this year, we had Impact play for us at OneSeventy and we got chatting about the non-existent remix over a few beers. I decided that I’d do it, but as an update and in my Technikore style. The timing worked out perfectly because the remix was finished in time to be included on the album!

Track #8: Steve Hill vs Technikal – Right Here Right Now (JTS Remix)

– Another RVRS BASS track reworked by JTS into a stomping hardcore tune! What can you tell us about this one?
James: I was at Masif Saturdays in Sydney one night and heard the original being played; I thought something similar could really work at 170BPM. Mentioning it to Alfie and Steve, they suggested to work on a remix of the original.

Track #9: Technikore & JTS feat. Harri Rush – Close The Door

– “Close The Door” is a peak time floor filler and the second track on the album to feature stunning vocals by Harri Rush. How did your collaborations with Harri Rush for this album come about?
We received a message from S3RL saying that he had worked with a great vocalist from Brisbane called Harri Rush. He also stated that she had a classic UKHC sound and would suit our style, so after listening to some of her demos we contacted Harri and it all took off from there!

Track #10: Technikore feat. Emi – Another World

– “Another World” will be Emi’s third release with the OneSeventy crew following on from “Siren” and the worldwide favourite “Just Be,” which has become one of the biggest UK hardcore tunes of the year. Can you tell us a bit about Emi and the work you’ve been doing together?
Alfie: I was introduced to Emi by vocalist Krystal Ravegirl (Future State) a few months after I moved to Sydney. I really liked Emi’s tone and style and we met up when I had the initial idea for “Just Be.” It turned out that Emi only lived five minutes from my house, so it was super convenient for us both. “Just Be” was so greatly received that I wanted to do a similar, uptempo follow-up for “Gridlock.” The lyrics are silly, fun and cheesy, but do have a hidden meaning, as it’s all about moving to the other side of the world.

Track #11: JTS – Music Is My Suicide

– What’s the go with this one James – is it about a fatal attraction to music?
James: This was a super late addition to “Gridlock” as it was literally finished on the day we mixed the album! I came across the vocal online and it really worked as a vocal hook for the instrumental track I was working on. I was actually unsure of the connotations of the lyric, questioning whether it was a positive or negative message. I even texted Alfie to double check and we came to the analogy that music can be a way out, or a release for many of us.

Track #12: Technikore & Weaver – Torn To Pieces

– “Shut up and put the record on… crank up the fucking volume!” Dancefloors will literally get torn to pieces by this track! Weaver has been a constant leader in the Australian rave scene since the very early days. Can you guys speak a little more about what it was like working with Weaver?
James: Originally when I moved back to Australia after years in the UK, I sent some of my tracks to Weaver after having played on the same bill as him at Utopia and Godspeed. Weaver was digging my sounds and we decided to work on some collaborations, which continued over the years since then.

Alfie: I’d never properly worked with Rob (Weaver) before, bar a fleeting visit to his studio about seven years ago, and we had been planning on doing something since I got here. We finally sorted our diaries out and got together to do “Torn To Pieces.” It’s funny because up until the week before we mixed the album, the track had a really girly, sing-a-long vocal in the breakdown which I was really feeling, but Rob was being too polite to tell me he wasn’t keen. James said he didn’t like it, and then when Joey Riot came over to Sydney for Defqon.1 he heard the track and was going crazy for it, but said he hated the vocal. I thought enough people had mentioned it, so it was swapped out for the more aggressive spoken vocal that now lives on it, and I have to say it suits it a million times better.

Track #13: Technikore & JTS – Voodoo

– Voodoo (noun): A cult characterised by sorcery and spirit possession. Well, this track, in fact this whole album has certainly got listeners possessed all around the world – in the best possible way! “Voodoo” is wicked tougher-edged tune perfect for this latter part of the mix – but were there any dark influences in the making of this track?
When we were discussing possible concepts for tracks for the album before we even started it, we were both pretty set on the idea of incorporating the reverse-bass Hardstyle sound into a track. We’ve had this vocal waiting to be used on a suitable project for a couple of years so it was great to finally get round to using it.

Track #14: Hixxy & Re-Con – Superhuman (Technikore & JTS Remix)

 – A monster remix to end the album on! Alfie, we could almost say that it was “back in the day” now that you first turned your hand to UK hardcore and started working with Hixxy’s iconic Raver Baby Records.

James, around the same time you were living in the UK and getting involved in the scene there – somewhere along the way you two became best friends! What are some of your favourite memories from those early days in the UK?
James: My earliest memories when moving to the UK are of going with Alfie to his gigs and developing a massive appreciation for Hard Dance music. It’s hard to believe I have been back in Sydney for seven years now!

Alfie: All of those days were so amazing; it’s a sign of how good they were by the fact that they exist as a bit of a blur in my memory, haha. There’s been too many good times to single any out, but it’s just as exciting now to think of all the new memories I’ll get to make in Sydney – then we’ll look back in another ten years all depressed at how good we had it now!

 – Guys, it’s been great talking to you and I absolutely love the album! Do you have anything else you want to tell us about before we let you go? Is it straight back into the studio for you both or will you be having a bit of a break now to enjoy the Aussie summer?
We’ve got lots of exciting, big OneSeventy events on the cards, a steady stream of releases and the excitement of working on a brand new album all over again in about eight months time! No rest though as we’re currently working on putting the finishing touches to our new Technikore & JTS remix of Darren Styles’ “Satellite.” Thanks for the interview Nicki and see you soon!

Ravers, the amazing news for you is that the “Gridlock” mix album is available now as a free download via the OneSeventy SoundCloud page!

The individual full length, DJ friendly tracks will be released over the next few weeks and months on the OneSeventy label and can be purchased first from the release date at www.oneseventy.net/label-store then one week later at all major download stores.

The first three releases are:
07/10/16 – Technikore & JTS – Worlds Collide
21/10/16 – JTS feat. Harri Rush – Forever
04/11/16 – Technikore feat. Emi – Another World