Ik had de seminar van de HDE uitgetypt voor het nieuwe debating topic, maar het is een beetje teveel informatie, dus ik zal daar enkel een paar quotes eruit halen. Om alle moeite niet verloren te laten gaan, hier dus het volledige interview met Linda van Q-Dance en hoe zij over crossbreeding en de toekomst van hardstyle denkt.
In what way do you try to expand the audience of harddance music into other scenes, worlds and musicfans? Well, we can try to experiment at bigger festivals, because our audience is really about the hardcore and hardstyle, so we need to serve them first and experiment with little sparks so they can grow into this new thing naturally and not push it through, like I want it, but just slow it down. THat's why on big festivals we try to search for other impulses. Why do you do that, because you don't really have to do that? Because, there is a difference between the generation from now and the generation before. My generation was really narrowminded and really only hardcore or harstyle and nothing else. And this generation is really loving more styles. They dont only go to Q-dance events, but they also going to Dance Valley or an Extrema. They're more openminded, so I want to give them the choice and experiment and let them have a taste of other styles you know. But it has to be on our route. It's just about trying to give them a choice and let them taste of some other styles, of what's more. Because the base of our visitors is really narrowminded and a really difficult audience. But that's the older generation you said. Yeah, but still I want that older generation to also see what's more in the scene, but a little bit more in our route to experience other kind of music. Yes, but the main thing is, my passion is harstyle and hardcore and I see a lot of possibilities that we can do and grow with this kind of music. The other people of other scenes always look down on us. They say ow you're hardstyle, what's that, very laughy about it. It's so musical and I always believed it can be really international. You can see it last year, without any promotion the first hardstyle djs entered the list(djmag top100). What I'm trying to do is bringin creative people together, and see what the possibilities are, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. We just try to experiment and see where it goes. I can see you need to do this, to stay relevant, to stay alive, or otherwise stay second? Music and events always evolve, so it's not a new thing or something. But we need to evolve, we need to go with the time and go with the flow and try something new. You see it in the whole world you know. The Madonna's work with dutch house DJ's, so the pop is changing into dance and the rap artists want to work with dutch house artists. But number one is your core audience, the hardstyle fans? Yes, we need to provide them with the music and don't push it. The last time we did, Mysteryland, I talked with the artists, what kind of special things can we do. So we had a rapper with a hardstyle artist, we had a band with a hardstyle artist, a singer. When the lineup was released everybody was saying: Is Q-dance out of their mind, what are they doing? It's just a spark you know, to let them taste, don't be so narrowminded but more openminded. But by being narrowminded in a way, is how the scene got to be so big, because they were focused, so I guess you don't want to dilute it too much. No, we did it ourselves. We only put only hardstyle, we always put, we're going from soft to really hard and we need to losen up more, see what's more in the world. But staying with the core, that's hardstyle and hardcore. Where do you think crossover works best, what's your experience? Yeah, I think in our style, because in the end I think everybody loves a little hardbass. When at sensation there was one particular show, six million ways to die and everybody went crazy. So in the end everybody loves harderstyle, but not too much. You see it everywhere the crossbreeding and the experimening things. Now dubstep is really the influence in every genre, you see at rock using dubstep influence. (and you see it at britney spears) yes, even you see it everywhere. When you look at the events that you put on, what kind of crossovers have you programmed there? Well mysteryland was the biggest tryout, we had so many different hardstyle artists working with a band, or a rapper or a singer. Two years ago we tried instead of using shows, we were having a band that played live the hits of hardstyle artists. A live band with a piano and a trumpet and a guitar, that was really cool. And last year we had an orchestra playing with Brennan Heart. This year we had Endymion, we wanted to take hardcore to the next level, make itreally musical. So we sat together what can we do. They had a London singer and a guitarplayer and a dutch singer Lilly and two rappers E-live?. E-live was really, no I don't want to be associated with hardcore. When they shooted the clip, he didn't want to be in it, afterwards he said ok a little bit. And then he performed at Defqon and it was so crazy and he said Let's do it, when is the next gig, when is the next track. It's the energy that harderstyles have, the energy of all the people together. Not about look what I'm wearing, it's all about the togetherness and the love for the music. And that's I think we have in our scene is really the togetherness that we create with the music. And that is something that other people who are not very well known with this world, respond to? Yes that is what we do at mysteryland, we have on of the big stages there. The people who buy a ticket for Q-dance will stay there all day and people who don't know us and just pass us by and walk next to the stage and they are like Wow Damn, look at those people and look at they going crazy even when it rains so much they stay there. It's really the passion for this kind of music. I don't think you see it anywhere as... And it's really underground, because we don't use any television and radio anymore. People go to the website and really big. And I really always believed that this could be really big. At the start you were talking about expanding the horizons of the hardstyle fans, but it also works the other way around, you draw in new audiences as well. And that really works people really go to the specific Q-dance events? I don't think they are gonna go to a stand-alone event of Q-dance. If it's a hosting and there is more choice, they will stay for an hour and bring some friends. That is also good for us. Has it also sometimes not worked, what you've tried? Yes we did an experiment thing a couple of years ago on In Qontrol, we put it primetime and it was something completely different and people were watching this liveact like... It was a liveact, it wasn't hardstyle it was a dance band, an electronic band and people wouldn't take it. It was too much pushed down their throat. Now we've learned about this, we talk with the artists also and did a brainstorm. Something has to happen. It was neccesary to tell them, we want to give you this platform if you try something new, we're in it together. And that was 2 years ago, and everybody was like, that gives us the spark and inspiration to do more and try more, so that was good. Is there anyone in the audience, who thinks this is not a good development, that this is diluting, what the music is all about and you should stick to what you're good at, a purist? No one? Do you get that feedback sometimes? Yes, from visitors and from artists, they say thank you for pushing me into the right direction. This is the route we wanna walk from now. But also negative reactions? Before, and afterwards they see it and they're like ok you did a good job. How far do you think can you go? The sky is the limit right? We will see. But it has to remain recognizable as hardstyle or a hardstyle event It's a feeling, you cannot say until there, it's a feeling. Time will say. You say you have to bring these changes and these new influences slowly and not force it down peoples throat. What do you think for 2012, where do you want to develop that, how far can you go, where you weren't before Bringing more hardstyle and hardcore artists in the list and make it more international and musicwise. I really think the sky is the limit. And I'm open for ideas, so if one of my artists in this genre has an idea, come talk with me and we see if we can combine it in our show and platform. So you tend to push this even further the next year and the year afterwards Yes, we've only just begun From audience: You have been talking about crossbreeding with more popular styles, which is logical for your parties, but do you also see possibilities for crossbreeding with less popular styles? Now it's more towards the popular. For example more industrial. You heard about Qore right? So what do you think about it? Yes, but I meant combining it with hardstyle I think if you combine it with industrial. We want to make hardstyle more international as well. Maybe you have artists that will do it, it has to be a wide variety. One part will go more international, one part will make it more underground. So everything is possible. What is your prediction for the future, in the theme we were talking about? I think that we will keep evolving, keep trying, keep experimenting, build our platform and stay close to yourself and do it with passion. I think the best music comes from passion.
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