14 Jul 2017 
Posted by Cassi Catsaros
Pushing Hardcore into new directions – Bodyshock talks ‘Riot & Rise,’ sub-genres & Dominator!
Seasoned MOH prodigy Bodyshock has encountered an inspiring rise to stardom. Grasping each and every opportunity with open arms, this youngster has thus risen to conquer the Hardcore industry with his high quality, fully-flegded sound.
As we’re all getting ready to conquer the holy grounds of Dominator, Bodyshock is gearing up for one of the most monumental days in his career – the release of his highly-anticipated album ‘Riot & Rise.’ Spread over two massive discs, this album showcases a broad range of sounds in Hardcore, spread over a ton of exciting collabs.
In amongst his busy schedule, we had the honour to pull this Hardcore sensation aside to speak about his album, Dominator and Hardcore’s evolution.
– Yo Bodyshock – welcome to Alive at Night! First up, let’s address the big news – how’s the album preparations going?
The album itself is completed and yesterday I even had the chance to sign a lot of pre-orders which was awesome! At the moment I’m working really hard on the launch of ‘Riot & Rise’ at Dominator; I’ll be doing a special album showcase during a live-set, so I hope to deliver a memorable performance!
– You’ve been unveiling album previews for quite a while now; how have the responses been?
The response to the album and previews has been way better than I could’ve hoped for. People really seem to enjoy my new material, which is a huge relief as I’ve put months of hard work into it.
– Which track has been most successful so far and in your opinion, why?
I think the most successful one so far is the title track “Riot & Rise”. It’s the first preview I dropped and it also came with a music video. That, together with the message in the track worked out pretty well – a lot of people have watched the clip and have been talking positively about the track.
– ‘Riot & Rise’ is spread over two huge disks. What’s been the most stressful thing about creating such a comprehensive album?
I think the most stressful thing is planning an album with so many tracks. In the beginning it’s hard to tell if you’re going to make it in time, but it all worked out perfectly in the end.
– Creating an album surely had its memorable moments; care to share any?
I think the most memorable moments have been the collaborations. It’s always a lot of fun to work with other artists; besides that, it also provides an insight into how other people work. You always pick up on little things that other people do a little differently to you, so it’s also great to sharpen your view in the studio.
– Your title track ‘Riot & Rise’ has quite a deep meaning to it. Can you tell us more about this track and the story-line behind it?
The track was made to deliver the main story or theme of the album. I wrote a fictional narrative that envisions people standing up against a corrupt and broken system of giant corporations and governments by rioting and rebelling against those forces! This abuse of power that causes a lot of harm is what we see in the ‘real’ world, so I wanted to incorporate that story into my music.
– You’ve got a fair few collaborations included on the album. Can you run us through them and how they came into play?
My collabs are mostly with artists who I like on a personal level. I think the most important thing about working with somebody else is that you simply enjoy hanging out together. Besides that, of course I also like the music that they make.
Most collaborations start out during casual conversations at events and some were brought up as plans a couple years ago, but were never realised due to busy schedules. All in all, I’m glad most of the plans worked out for this album!
– In terms of diversity, you’ve been experimenting with quite a few styles on the album – including higher BPM’s. What’s the reason for this?
I’ve always been someone who produces a lot of different things and tries to challenge himself each and every time. Also, in Hardcore over the past couple of years there’s been a shift towards ‘harder’ and ‘faster’ music in general. I also changed my personal taste during these years and I’ve grown even fonder of the harder stuff than before. Still, I enjoy the entire spectrum of Hardcore and I deliberately wanted to display every style in the genre I possibly could, because I think an album is much better to listen to when the tracks provide variety.
– You have the honour of releasing ‘Riot & Rise’ at the biggest Hardcore gathering – Dominator. What does it mean to you to accompany the release with this colossal event?
To me, Dominator is my favourite festival out there. Not just because it’s the biggest Hardcore event on the planet, but the whole festival breathes a unique atmosphere that no other event has. For me, this album has been the biggest musical project I’ve ever done, so I couldn’t think of a more fitting event to launch it at than at Dominator.
– As a ‘mainstream’ Hardcore artist, does the massive influx of Uptempo productions ever become frustrating?
I don’t think it’s frustrating. I personally don’t like all the Uptempo productions, but on the other hand, there’s some really quality stuff out there. I like Hardcore from 160 to 200+; as long as the tracks sound awesome and shine with quality then I have no problems with it. I just hope people won’t narrow their views and that Hardcore in general will maintain its variety.
– Have you ever felt tempted to cross over to the ‘dark’ side and shift to producing Uptempo?
I actually did a 200BPM solo track for the album titled “Underground Masses,” which is basically my take on ‘Uptempo’. I don’t really look at Uptempo as something different from Hardcore; I just think of it as fast Hardcore and that’s how I approached that track as well. The second 200BPM track is a collab with Drokz; again, you can label it whatever you like – be it Uptempo, Terror, or fast Hardcore. I have no problem expanding my horizons and keeping an open mind in the studio. Crossing over to the ‘dark side’ of our beloved genre only keeps me inspired.
– What are three things you’d like to see happening more often in Hardcore?
I’d love to see people continuing to develop their own sounds, and with that, keep pushing Hardcore towards new directions. Besides that, I, of course, would love to see the scene continuing to expand. This ensures a bright future for us and our music.
– Aside from being a studio hermit, what else do you enjoy doing?
In the beginning I didn’t consider myself to be a real performer on stage or a highly skilled DJ whatsoever. However, over the years I grew into that and these days I absolutely love performing on stage and receiving live feedback from the crowd. But I gotta be honest, besides music I don’t really do that much in life because I just work on my music that much. But, if I had to pick something besides music I’d say just hanging out with friends or enjoying a nice dinner at a restaurant or a BBQ.
– Weapon of choice: beer, wine or hard spirits?
I start with beer, then switch to Bacardi cola. In between, take shots of Jäger ‘till you pass out.
– Before we wrap things up, what are your plans after the release of ‘Riot & Rise?’
Next up are probably several remixes, starting with a remix for my buddy Restrained.
– Finally, what did you eat for breakfast today?
Just a plain sandwich. Hope you didn’t expect something spectacular here…
A huge thanks to Bodyshock for this awesome interview! On behalf of the AAN team, we’d like to congratulate him on completing his incredible album ‘Riot & Rise.’ We’ve already had a listen here at AAN HQ and we can vouch that it’s f*cking awesome! ‘Riot & Rise’ will be released on the 15th of July at the biggest Hardcore festival, Dominator!
Signed pre-orders are still available, so grab yours here.
FOLLOW BODYSHOCK
