AniMe about her Hardshock Festival anthem: “I have no limits when it comes to genres”
After a short period of silence, Hardshock Festival will return harder than ever this summer. None other than AniMe is this edition’s anthem creator, and we talked to this hardcore lady boss about her anthem, her view on the music and her grand plans for this year.
After DJ’s such as Evil Activities, N-Vitral and Promo, now AniMe is responsible for creating the official Hardshock Festival 2019 anthem. “I’m glad High Energy Events thought of me to represent their festival with my music!” According to Barbara, this means we can expect an anthem with an exciting melody, epic lyrics and a long break that builds up to a powerful drop. “This is how I like anthems. If one of these elements is missing, then the magic would be lost.”
“My DJ sets have no limits when it comes to genres and I play everything I like”
In the past AniMe has already created anthems for events such as Masters of Hardcore Austria and Exodus. To make this anthem stand out from others, she has loads of tricks up her sleeve. “For this anthem I’ve created a dark atmosphere, with an emotional arpeggio melody and different kick drums.” The hardcore chick also knows Hardshock well, since she already performed at the event back in 2016. “It was great! I received awesome feedback in the weeks after the party. I also remember that it was very windy and cold, but fortunately Hardshock will be held on the 1st of June this year, so we’ll skip the “cold’’ weather, haha.”
AniMe also explains more about why her sound matches Hardshock Festival. “My DJ sets have no limits when it comes to genres. I do quite a lot of ‘musical research’ before my sets and play everything I like, ranging from 160 to 220BPM – from the darkest tracks to the fastest.” Moreover, she tries to create a good connection with the crowd. “I can adjust my sets based on the audiences excitement and their response, obviously while still playing music I also like.”
“I like to bring people from an emotional energetic atmosphere to that “I’m gonna destroy everything” mood!”
Besides creating the anthem and providing the crowd with a hard set, AniMe is also responsible for the mixing of CD1, which is quite an interesting process. “The first thing I do is ask all of the other artists and labels if they have great unreleased music that they’d like to include on the compilation. This is because I want to use exclusive and unheard material for the CD to make it exciting.” Then she writes down a concept tracklist, while she tries to avoid tracks already used in recent compilations. “I also select a few of my own tracks so I can introduce my music to those who still do not know me.”
Hardshock Festival will take place on the 1st of June 2019 at a new and unique location: the woods of Hellendoorn in The Netherlands. “A festival set up in a forest can be very impressive and I am very curious to see the result. That kind of environment for sure fits Hardcore very well!” And besides enjoying this brand new location, we can also expect loads from AniMe’s set. “You will hear new music mixed with some good classics. I have no limits when it comes to Hardcore genres: I build up my sets from melodies and deep kick drums, to harder and faster tracks. I like to bring people from an emotional energetic atmosphere to that “I’m gonna destroy everything” mood!”
“My goal is to release a new album at the end of 2019”
The brand new edition of Hardshock will have 6 areas with over 100 artists. “If you are a hardcore lover, then you’re going to enjoy losing yourself for hours at the different stages at Hardshock. I know the Dutch are very habitual when it comes to music, so I highly recommend visiting sets from DJs that you aren’t used to seeing. You could hear new styles and tracks and you might enjoy it a lot!” If she has time to catch a set herself, AniMe would visit Guerrillas (“because I know Tha Playah is dropping a new album and I’m curious to hear his new stuff”), Never Surrender (“he’s a newcomer and I like he doesn’t follow trends by playing Uptempo like all of the new Hardcore DJs”) and GPF (“I am not really familiar with their music yet, so this would be a perfect opportunity to check them out”).
Looking at the future, AniMe has loads of exciting things planned. “I’ve been working a lot in the studio and as a result, I have two new tracks ready to be released. One is ‘Hardshock’ the Hardshock anthem and it will be released on the 29th of April on Dogfight. Another new track ‘Absolute Power’ with Broken Minds will be out on the 30th of May, as part of their new album. At the moment I’m collecting lots of new ideas for my next productions and as soon as I have enough ideas together, I’d love to start working on a new album!” Her goal is to release this brand new album at the end of 2019. “So stay tuned on my socials after summer!”
To end the interview AniMe also has some great advice for hardcore lovers at home. “Don’t be afraid to listen to different kinds of Hardcore, open your mind, experiment with more sounds and stay up to date on what the scene offers. And last but not least, go and party! Don’t watch parties on YouTube only.”
Hardshock Festival 2019 will take place on the 1st of June in the Hellendoorn Woods. Tickets are still available via the official website of the event, where you’ll also find the entire line-up and more information about the hardcore festival.
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