Thera – Interview At The Hardstyle 2000 Countdown!

Theracords Label Showcase.

From the 28th of December until the 4th of January, Revulsion FM has done the honourable task of putting on the biggest countdown show consisting of the top 2000 hardstyle tracks of all time! This week isn’t only about the countdown however, there’s a lot to keep your eye on such as interviews, guest mixes and who could forget about the label showcases!

On Monday evening, I caught up with the front-man of Theracords and the man himself, Thera. After his guest-mix that he treated us to on the show, I had the pleasure of sitting down with this passionate and long-standing producer to chat about his newly released album “Training Sessions,” and the big ideas behind Theracords as a label.

1. Thanks for chatting with me Pieter! First of all I just have to ask you, what did you eat for breakfast?
I didnt expect that question at all.. Ha-ha! I have been listening to Revulsion FM all day, so I knew that this question was coming, however I knew that a little too late! My breakfast wasn’t that spectacular, I ate yogurt with vanilla flavour and lots and lots of coffee (because it’s Monday!)

2. Okay. Let’s get down to business, after being a recognised player in the scene for so long, you finally released your first album “Training Sessions.” How has the response been on the album so far?
It has been amazing! I’ve been overwhelmed with positive feedback from the album so far! I’ve had some decent reviews on the album and also the sales have been spectacular, especially because I didn’t go for the easy route with the album. Most people only expect a lot of ‘hard’ music from me and you could hear that in the sets that I play. As a producer, I like to keep it as diverse as possible and I wanted to do that with the album as it is something that you can also just sit and listen to. If you press play you can listen to an entire story, it begins quite slow and ends a little rougher and faster.

3. So what is the storyline behind Training Sessions and what were the things that inspired this storyline?
First of all, it was a pretty funny angle that I had placed the idea around. When I’m DJing I always go crazy as possible, you can consider that as  a ‘training session’. *Laughs*
I also need to go to the gym a little more – so that is another angle to look at it! *Thera sitting with a beer*
You can see I’m drinking a beer here, which doesn’t help the gym situation… Anyway, I also love to play video games, and I like the medieval story-lines where you have to train yourself in order to receive better gear, weapons and more stamina etc. When applying this to music, the idea was that every track was a ‘session’  to become a versatile hardstyle follower.

4. Do you feel as though your album is a showcase of what you musically stand for? How did you do this in the tracks?
For the album I mostly focussed on the atmosphere because of the medieval storyline and listening factor. Some tracks are difficult to play in DJ sets yet the album showcases the whole variety of what I have been producing in the past and what I produce today. A bit of a blast from the past for some listeners! I also didn’t want to disappoint my older fans so I started with earlier sounding music with reverse bass, gated kicks etc. Throughout the album, it gets a little more raw with hardcore influences and industrial influences too.

 5. What is your favourite track from the album and why?
That’s a really difficult question… When you produce a track you always have a special feeling that comes along with it. I have a very special feeling associated with “Strong,” probably because it was very personal to produce and it’s also very euphoric which is something that I don’t do very often. I got goosebumps when producing it which doesnt happen very often either.

6. If you could produce Training Sessions again, what things would you do differently and why?
Pretty much everything I think! *Laughs* In my opinion, with every track that you produce, you become more experienced. If you produce a lot of tracks, you look back at your first tracks and think “I could have done this or that differently,” so I try to not think of that too much and just try to focus on new music. The album is complete and out there so I cannot change anything, but its a bit of a perfectionist attitude that I have anyway.

7. Hm… Possibly another album on the way then?
Well most producers tend to produce a little less after an album as they want to have a bit of a break. For me, the motivation is saying “let’s do another one!”but at the moment im working on five new tracks already, it gave me inspiration to do more! I do want to focus on quality over quantity however, i am ot sure if all 5 will eb finished and released.

8. Speaking a little more about your record label Theracords. You mentioned that your album experiments with sounds and pushes boundaries. Theracords as a label is also notorious for hosting artists with an experimental edge like Geck-o and Phrantic that don’t mesh within the ‘norms’ of hardstyle. What is the reason for encouraging these types of artists?
With the whole ‘normal’ attitude, if you try and copy other artists, what’s the fun in that? It’s way more interesting to try and create your own sound. For me, not only as an artist but as a music lover, I like to do something new and fresh rather than copying what’s hot. Hardstyle should be different in order to grow and approach other people and new listeners who don’t like the ‘normal’ stuff and also want something fresh. Theracords has always done that from the start and we get a lot of credits from it. Unfortunately there’s artists who want to try something different and get a lot of hate from that. I think you can only admire the courage that artists have, such as Headhunterz – he’s doing something completely different, meshing different elements into his music and I admire him for that!

9. You have been running Theracords successfully since 2008, what are your big ideas behind the label – ultimately, what does Theracords stand for?
In the start it was all about wanting to get my music released – I wanted to show people the music because it’s awesome! That was the start of Theracords, it is about sharing music, that’s the basic idea.

10. You have taken quite a journey throughout your musical career. Are you satisfied with what you have achieved in terms of your career?
As a perfectionist, we can always go forward and grow. In my opinion, we are still the underdog and we get labelled as different and unique in a positive way, but also in a negative way too. People should try and open their mind and experience it a little more, there’s a lot of growth for us.

11. Speaking more about Theracords, you hire ambassadors who share a passion for the label especially. What is your reasoning for hiring these ambassadors?
Well there’s also the idea that artists are mostly backstage and have connections with fans only on social media. Although we share this common passion with artists and love for the music, there’s this empty space between that separates them on different levels. The idea is to even out that gap out a little more, like having dinners with dedicated and passionate fans to share the passion and love and allow everyone to connect on a personal level.

12. What types of things do you look for in new talent on the label?
It should be new and fresh. I think it’s better to have a great idea with a technical level that is not quite there yet. You can always teach people with talent and original ideas. Sometimes you receive brilliant technical tracks that just lack originality and interest. The focus is so much on technical level today that people forget about the feeling that music gives.
13. Who are your favourite upcoming artists on Theracords and why?
Well, Jason Payne is one of my favorites, he’s our latest signing. We are working on a collab that’s turning out pretty  awesome. I love the vocals so far! I can’t say too much about it, but you should be able to hear it in January or February of next year!

14. One last question, what are your goals for Theracords as a label for 2015?
Get more people involved and get more people to understand what we’re doing at Theracords! Furthermore, we are going to expand quite a bit, more info on that will be in April!

Thanks for chatting with me Thera! We are curious for the future plans of Theracords and also the music to come in 2015! Stay tuned on Alive At Night this week and also stay tuned to the HS 2000 countdown for everything from label showcases to interviews and live-sets!