Local Rockstars: Henzel & Disco Nova make electro and techno meet

Local Rockstars: Henzel & Disco Nova make electro and techno meet

Jun 1, 2012 |  by  |  Music
About the author
Born and raised in Amsterdam, lives to dance and dances to live on electronic music, has a small vinyl addiction, appreciates a little sarcasm now and then, thinks musicals are annoying and loves those moments where you lose track of time completely.

Whether you went out last weekend to check out an uber-geeky beat magician or a depressingly awesome indie rock band, we all know there’s always some serious musical talents rocking around the Dam. You might not recognize them all yet, but don’t worry, you will soon. In this series of interviews we talk to remarkable artists about their music and their inspirations.

Electro meets techno. That’s what Henzel & Disco Nova are all about. They’re known from Vage Gasten and provide you with the best electro on 22tracks. When this duo is playing at a party I’m about to attend, I know I’m in for some serious sweating. Their music will make you go hard and make it impossible to leave the dance floor. They have their own party called Rara Aves in the Melkweg, and the next edition is coming up on the 22nd of June.

Best party you ever played at?
“Probably Amsterdam Open Air last weekend. We played after Dr. Lektroluv at Apenkooi where there were about 4000 people going crazy. The nice thing was that we didn’t have to adjust our style to the crowd at all. We could just play the tracks we absolutely love and the crowd loved them as well!”

You’re always with the two of you. Don’t you drive each other crazy sometimes?
“We don’t. We make sure we communicate, that helps. Of course we have little disagreements sometimes but a little criticism helps to keep us sharp and to keep improving and renewing. It also helps to keep our business and our friendship separated. Musically we’re completely in sync so it can’t go wrong there. It never happens that one of us chooses a track and the other thinks it is terrible (kut). We actually complete each other, it happens a lot when creating a set that one of us has a track in mind and the other already has the exact same record ready to go.”

Best track you heard this year?
“This is a difficult one! Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage by Blawan is amazing. We heard this track in Blawans set on Boiler Room. It has this dark laid back swag! The track hangs between techno and electro, and that’s what we’re all about.” Because the guys had a hard time choosing, here are 1, 2, 3, 4 more tracks for you, that they believe you must hear!

You are the electro selectors for 22tracks, tell me about the selection process.
“Every week we need to add 5 new tracks. Back in the days when we weren’t as established in this scene as we are now we had to do a lot of research. We were always looking for refreshing tracks and mix tapes on blogs. Now that we’ve earned a spot most of the tracks we select just pop up in our inbox. A lot of starting DJ’s and producers send it to us for their own promotion. Some tracks are really great and like this we automatically discover new artists. Of course we still search a little on the web ourselves.”

If there were no limitations what would your ideal setting for a set look like?
“The set would be at a big open air festival or at a dark, empty almost filthy warehouse. We would have a big production with a let wall and beam mapping. We would like to use the visuals to connect to the crowd, maybe film the crowd live and then project it on a wall. The art work would be in the same style as Rara Aves. The crowd would be made of young party people that are open for new music.”

Are there Amsterdam based DJs or producers you like?
NT89 and TWR72 are in the same musical direction that we are. They’re dark and hard. We love to exchange ideas with NT89, and his track Voices is one of the most refreshingly weird tracks we heard in a while. TWR72 is playing at the next Rara Aves, and sometimes we like to spin 4 or 5 tracks of him in our own sets.”

Now, let’s talk about your party Rara Aves. Tell me a little bit about the concept.
“Rara Aves means ‘rare vogel’ in latin. Here we bring electro and techno together. We used to be more into electro, but we discovered techno as well. The combination of these two genres is what we stand for now. It is about time a new scene is brought to life, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We created a party for techno lovers who want to go harder and for electro heads that are sick of moshpits. Having DJs, locals and from abroad, that are still small is important too. We want our party to be a night where you go to discover new music.”

What about the line-up. Who’s playing?
“TWR72 is playing. 2011 was definitely his year. He remixed a lot of tracks by BNR and Dr. Lekroluv, now he’s producing his own tracks and they sound incredible. He has this dark warehouse style, which fits great with our concept. The Ego Troopers are playing as well, this is a duo that consists of a 15 and 17 year old from Belgium. They have that great balance between techno and electro as well. And of course we are playing ourselves!”

And finally, for those who are still doubting, why shouldn’t they miss this?
“This is the future! This is a party for people who enjoy discovering new music, and love that electro meets techno sound. After sets we got a lot of people telling us that our music is very original and isn’t played elsewhere. When you come to our party you’ll get the total package! This is the future!”

RARA AVES

When: June 22nd, 23:00
Where: Melkweg
Tickets: €12,- without membership
Facebook: Rara Aves

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