14 May 2015 
Posted by Cassi Catsaros
When thinking about artists who have lived lifetime of achievements, my thoughts drift to one particular artist who has had some of the most incredible musical experiences to date. From being informally labelled as the “God” of hardstyle to being onto releasing his third album, Noisecontrollers is the definition of a true musician. With his down to Earth and humble attitude towards life and his career and his incredible ability to create timeless and golden hits, it’s no doubt that Bas Oskam has become an iconic figure of the harder styles. With the upcoming release (1st of June) of his anticipated studio album “All Night Long,” we decided to have a quick chat with him about what to expect on the album, about his recent travels and even a little bit about being a high school teacher!
• Hi Bas! How are you going today?
I’m great thanks! I just woke up and I’m enjoying a good cup of coffee 🙂
• I just saw on your Facebook page that you have now conquered crowds in every continent except for Antarctica – how does it feel to have spread your music so far around the globe?
It is truly amazing, of course. During the last 10 years I have pretty much visited every country that was on my bucket list. Realising that music made all of this possible makes me feel very proud and blessed.
**From the North of Europe, to the most Southern point of the globe, Noisecontrollers has came, saw and conquered!**
• Would you ever play in Antarctica? (to the seals & polar bears)
As soon a request comes I’ll put on my coats and I’m there!
• Let’s get down to the music! A few weeks ago, you announced that you will be releasing a studio album with collected material from 2013-2015. Why did you choose to do this kind of album rather than something like ‘All Around?’
I produced All Around in 2013 and when it was released in 2014 I was already working on lots of new tracks. But as I wanted to focus more on experiments and a fresh new sound, I started practicing with other music styles and just went with the flow in the studio instead of working on more of the same stuff. This combined with some mash-ups and re-edits of older tracks, I collected quite some material that if combined, would be very cool to release. I decided to make some new tracks and the result is a real studio album 🙂
• At the moment, the first two previews are out (All Night Long and Infinity). How has the response been so far?
It’s been great! “All Night Long” is a very mainstream track with the typical Noisecontrollers style, so not much could go wrong there 🙂 Infinity is more different than most of the modern hardstyle and it made me happy that people liked it too.
• What else can we expect to hear on the album?
As for experiments and thinking out of the box… A LOT! The album covers the very wide spectrum of sounds within hardstyle. It also branches outside hardstyle with other genres such as DnB, Dubstep, Trance and even a soundtrack on it. Of course the Pavelow style is represented too! 🙂
• How are you expecting fans to react to the final product?
Just like the variety of styles on the album the reactions will vary a lot too. Within hardstyle I always produced from left to right, however now I also went out of the box with some different styles. For the fans and producers especially, this album is very interesting.
• Just a little bit about “Noisecontrol” records – can you tell me more about the label?
Actually there’s not much to tell. The label, whatever that may be these days, is just a way to get my music on your favorite download portal. Nothing more and nothing less. Most labels are always used as promotion tool, however I simply use it for administrative purposes. I won’t brand it like real old-school labels do because I have Noisecontrollers as a producer and artist and that is where my focus is.
• Is it a personal platform for your music or are you hoping to do more with the label in the future?
Like I said it’s just a way of releasing my music. You can see it as my merchandise. No one asks: “which label is your merchandise at?” Why would people ask the same for a song? My main concern is that my music is available as much as possible to everybody who wants to have it. Whether that is by streaming, digital release, or on compilations. And by doing so expressing what Noisecontrollers is about. Think of artwork, visuals and other content too. That is the purpose of Noisecontrol Records.
• We also love your new website and the special all access login – do you think that this is a good way to communicate and connect with your fans?
Thanks! Dion, my right hand, has worked with me at Noisecontrollers for quite a while now. He made the website possible together with many other things that express what Noisecontrollers is about, resulting in more Noisecontrollers for the fans 🙂 The website is especially interesting for the fans, literally they can be the first to access the exclusive content and previews of my new tracks! It’s my fans who made my dreams come true and they have now come first to me.
• Now let’s do a little TBT and talk about your earlier years in the scene. Can you tell me about the first ever gig that you played?
Wow, the first gig is something I’ll never forget and not only because of the nerves! I sent a message to the owner of a big club in Enschede, in Holland and I asked if they were interested to try out Noisecontrollers (for free of course) so if he didn’t like it then he didn’t lose much 😉 He decided to go for it and programmed us with a charts topping jump-act of that time. That caused the club to be overloaded so our first performance was for around 1500 people! It was a little scary of course, but the people loved it and it created quite a buzz that already was going on throughout the internet, as we released our music for free there. It was the start of doing over 750 performances in every continent, something I could have never dreamed of.
• When do you think was the time that you ‘broke through’ as an artist?
As a producer, it must be in 2007. Noisecontrollers gained a lot of popularity in the scene and from December 2007 the Noisecontrollers schedule has been filled until now.
• How does it feel to be called the ‘god of hardstyle?’
Of course I cant take that seriously! However my ego isn’t so small to not be sensitive for the appreciation I get. I produce hardstyle for my own pleasure but if I decide to throw it out there for others to enjoy it, I’m always feeling proud and appreciated if people love my music. Everybody likes that! 🙂
• If you could go back and recreate one of your first tracks, which one would it be and why?
It really depends with what purpose. To polish it up and make it better? Every track has flaws, develops a later sound and not to mention, my skills improve every day. If it were to enjoy the process again, then I would definitely recreate “Down Down,” It’s still my favorite 🙂
• Can you tell me a little bit more about your experience as a school teacher? Were you an angry Mr. Oskam or the cool teacher?
I loved and still love working with high-school kids and especially sharing thoughts with them. I just really love to explain things and sometimes I have new talents in the studio to teach them. It’s cool to show them my skills and to see theirs. As a teacher I could be stern when necessary, but most of the time we all had a good time 🙂
• Finally, this question may be familiar to you. What did you eat for breakfast today?
I ate 2 baked eggs. Sunny-side up on bread 🙂
Thanks for chatting with us Noisecontrollers! We are loving the previews that are coming from “All Night Long” and we can’t wait to get our hands on the final product! We wish you the very best with your 3rd album journey and we’re sure that the responses are just going to keep getting better and better!
Remember, “All Night Long” will be available to purchase on the 1st of June! You can also sign up for a login to access exclusive content, so jump onto the Official Website now!
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