03 Oct 2016 
Posted by Cassi Catsaros
Life starts at 200BPM – Angernoizer talks blending Terror & Uptempo, collabs & more!
Furious beats, high BPM’s and relentless vibes are just a few things that Dutch DJ and producer Angernoizer brings to the scene. Renowned for blending Terrorcore and the contemporary sounds of Uptempo Hardcore together, it’s no secret that this guy has a genius formula on his hands!
Angernoizer has torn his way through some huge festival this summer and is ready to unleash a ton of new music, so we though, what the heck – let’s interview the guy! Check out this exclusive interview and read more about Terrorcore and the misconceptions around it, why Uptempo Hardcore lacks quality and much more!
– Hey Mike, thanks for the interview – it’s great to have you on Alive At Night for the first time! Could you begin by giving me a rundown of your summer festival season?
Thanks for having me! Well, let’s see… I played at several events, both big and small, but for me Dominator was my #1. I was scheduled to play second and when I arrived at the stage there was practically nobody there. I felt quite uneasy about playing in front of such a small crowd, however once I began my set people came flooding into the area and it was such an amazing performance!
Another crazy weekend was Defqon.1; I partied pretty hard and drank alcohol from Friday to Monday! It was mental – there’s even this hilarious video from the Sunday at the Terror sit-down of me spraying ‘holy water’ (vodka) on all the visitors, haha!
– Did you have the chance to take a vacation over the summer?
Well, I actually played at Ibiza Goes Hard a couple of months ago with Partyraiser, Dr. Peacock and the BKJN guys and after the event we decided to take a week off and rent a house in Ibiza. It was a lot of fun, with lots of relaxing and partying involved!
– A couple of weeks ago at Q-BASE you and Dr. Peacock played an awesome Terror battle to close down the BKJN area. Can you tell me a little more about the set and the crazy audience you had to play for?
Peacock and I had the idea to close down the area with a bangin’ Terror set filled with remixes and new tracks, including our new collaboration “Trip To Colombia.” The whole set was extremely energetic and the crowd was so dedicated; even though it was 6 o’clock in the morning the area was still packed and the party-people were going crazy! It was so amazing!
– You just mentioned that you premiered “Trip To Colombia” with Dr. Peacock. Can you speak a little more about what it was like to work with Peacock and also about the track?
At first we had the idea to do ‘Trip To Mexico,’ however when I was working on the intro I realised that I didn’t feel much of a connection with Mexico. Seeing as I’ve lived in Colombia I have a connection with the country, so I told Steve (Dr. Peacock) that it’d be a good idea if we changed the project or began a whole new track. The main inspiration came from the TV series Narcos, where there was a line “plata O plomo,” which means “money or a bullet.” I figured that it would be awesome to use this line as the main sample and after a couple of days the track was finished!
– Let’s take a little trip back in time! How did you get in touch with Hardcore and Terrorcore?
When I was young, around 10 years old, ‘gabber’ was a huge movement surfacing in The Netherlands and I fell so in love with it that I even got a Thunderdome tattoo on my leg! Whenever I’d visit parties, I’d say to my friends “one day I’m going to be up there and playing for all of these people” and in the end I played at Mysteryland’s Thunderdome area.
Anyway, I started spinning records around the age of 16 and from there things began to take off really fast! Within a year I came into contact with event organisers and other artists, which really helped my career lift off. It was insane; I started playing five times per week and even abroad all across Europe, The United States, South America, you name it!
– Can you tell me a little more about what the ‘scene’ was like back in those days?
First of all, the crowd was different. Once the scene shifted and the ‘gabber’ movement started to disappear, the real die-hards were left and the crowd was so dedicated. There was also a time where there were a lot of negative associations made with Hardcore and outsiders commonly said that fans were violent or on drugs all the time. Hardcore is for everyone and it’s what I stand for, but I guess it was just a small group of people who fucked it up for everybody else…
Back in the days the scene was good, however today it’s a lot more professional and there’s a bigger business around it all. As an artist nowadays you need to have press pictures, proper marketing, interviews and social media strategies.
– Social media wasn’t such a big thing back when you began performing/producing; how did you get your music across to fans and labels back then?
That was another thing, because at that point you only had Partyflock which was the biggest platform for Hardcore. As an artist, getting your music released was a pain in the ass because things moved so slowly. Back then you’d send a demo to a label and the reply would usually take about a month or two and not to mention, it could take years for the tracks to actually be released!
As everything was on vinyl, for fans to discover new music they’d have to actually go to the store and pick out records. For artists nowadays there’s no money to be made with ‘selling’ music, your music is more like a visit card to show fans and organisations your abilities. Of course I loved the vinyl period, but in the end it’s a lot easier for artists to expand their fan-bases and put more releases out digitally.
– Angernoizer is known for blending Terror and the current Uptempo Hardcore sound together. How did you become inspired to blend these two (sub)genres together?
From 2012 until 2014 I had a small break from Hardcore and moved to Colombia as I had a record deal producing Hip-Hop for a huge label in the US. I made great money, but in the end I felt as though something was absent; I missed the Hardcore scene and was craving to make new tracks, so I went back to where it all started and made the music I loved most.
Before I’d left The Netherlands, the Uptempo movement didn’t really exist, however when I came home it had completely exploded! I’d always loved Hardcore, but in my opinion it could’ve been a little faster and Uptempo was the solution for that. I began experimenting with producing Uptempo, however I also wanted to remain loyal to my Terror fans, so I aimed to blend both styles together.
Most of the time my Terror fans love the way I make Uptempo and I’m also introducing Uptempo fans to Terrorcore! If you listen to my sets you’d hear that 200BPM is a perfect way to begin; it’s a formula that really works for me and I’m able to mix a ton of different styles in.
– Hardstyle has experienced huge growth recently and even the world’s top DJ’s are playing it at commercial events. Do you feel as though Uptempo or Terror will ever go down the same path?
You can see that the crowd is expanding and there’s more people becoming interested in Uptempo and Terror. This means that the stages need to start expanding. With that being said, I don’t think that it’s ever going to become ‘commercial,’ but will be a lot more impactful than it was back in the days. As you mentioned, the world’s biggest names are playing Hardstyle and I feel as though eventually they might also drop a mainstream Hardcore track. I feel as though this is great, because it’ll draw in a lot of new listeners to the movement.
– For our readers who aren’t familiar with the genre, can you explain what Terrorcore is and maybe a little more about the history of the genre?
I think that everyone has a different interpretation of what Terror is, however for me it’s standard that it ranges from 200 to 300BPM – anything above that is crossing into Speedcore. Normally Terror isn’t a happy sound and is based more on kickdrums. Some guys use Hip-Hop influences, such as Drokz who is an all-time hero of mine and an absolute beast at combining these two styles together! Other producers even comedy in their tracks, Noisekick is a great example of this.
– What are the biggest misconceptions that people have about Terrorcore?
That it’s violent and the people are aggressive. If you ever go to a Terror party, you’d see that it’s one big fucking family! The scene is so small and everybody knows each other, so nothing bad ever happens. Of course there are always a few rotten apples, but not as many as in the EDM scene.
– One big ‘complaint’ a lot of people make about Uptempo music is that it lacks quality. What do you have to say about this?
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of poor quality music in Uptempo Hardcore; whenever I receive promo mails, there’s usually only two out of ten tracks that I’d actually play. I personally feel that most of the producers who start making Uptempo Hardcore release tracks far too soon, meaning that their quality isn’t up to scratch.
They also try to copy the established names like FNoize and Partyraiser; at a certain point it all sounds the same and that destroys the scene and its sub-culture. A lot of artists need to experiment with different kicks and sounds, which is what I do in my own productions. I never aim to sound like anyone else.
– Have you ever had a writer’s block? If so, how did you overcome it?
Oh yeah, of course I have! I had a writer’s block for about three months and it was really frustrating – nothing in the studio worked out and I was completely out of inspiration. Sometimes you need to take some time away to gather inspiration. For me, producing a variety of different styles helps as some days I make a slower and more Hardcore-based track and other days I’ll produce something faster.
– You mentioned earlier that you used to produce Hip-Hop and had a label deal! Could you tell me a little more about it?
I had a huge love for Hip-Hop and as I mentioned earlier I took some time off from Terror in 2012 as I had the opportunity to go to The United States to work with some huge names. I lived in Colombia, but would fly to the USA every three weeks or so. I learned a lot music-wise and also business-wise, however the music industry over there is a pain in the ass, haha! Although producing Hip-Hop was great I couldn’t fight the cravings any longer, so I took all my new experience and a new vision back to Holland where I began making Hardcore again!
– Before we wrap this interview up, can you give our readers some scoop on what Angernoizer is up to?
Yeah, this year I’ve been a real producer whore, haha! I’ve been a real slut, meaning that I’ve been working with so many artists including Tieum, Lady Dammage, Dr. Peacock, FNoize and DRS amongst others. I’ve got a ton of new releases coming out on Neophyte Records, Darkside, Hardcore Blasters and Partyraiser Records.
Besides that, there’s a new label coming up in collaboration with BKJN. The label is going to be pretty extreme and the music won’t be Uptempo, or Terror, but everything combined! Keep your eyes on our socials for more information. Finally, I’ll also continue representing my sub movement called Angry Vibez on Darkside!
– Finally, what did you eat for breakfast today?
What the fuck is breakfast?! Haha! No, I actually forget to eat breakfast; when I wake up I immediately go to the studio and at the moment I can hear my stomach growling, so maybe it’s time for something to eat!
Thanks to Angernoizer for this interesting interview – it was great to finally shed light on Terrorcore and its scene. For those who are feeling the higher BPM’s, we suggest you check out some of his tunes and stay updated on his social media channels below!
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