A Sit Down With DJ Coone

Few know him from the very beginning… from the nights built by moving our bodies to the drum in dark, underground venues to Protect the Innocent and The Name of My DJ. Some of us recognize him by singles such as Xpress Yourself, D.W.X and Free Again.

 

“I am convinced that in the end you can run everywhere if the quality of your music is good.”

 

How did you become a DJ?

My older brother was a DJ, so I learned being a DJ because of my brother, you know, he played records in his bedroom, and then he started playing national radio stations, that’s how I rolled into it, you know.

Where do you draw your inspiration from. How does it all start when you jump into the studio to make a fresh new track?

My inspiration comes from many places. I like to listen to a wide variety of different music and I tend to pick things up from the feeling and emotion in other songs, or just things that I go through in my life.

The collaboration with Wildstylez & Cimo Frankel has been getting a lot of attention, currently at #3 on the Beatport Hard Dance charts. What is this tracks meaning to you, personally? Take us behind the scenes with it if you can.

It was a track for my recent album Global Dedication. Our intention was to make it the summer anthem of the album. That’s also the reason why I have not played this track throughout the year already… Because it’s a track that breathes summer. If you listen to the lyrics, you will hear that it’s about walking into a festival venue and getting overwhelmed by positive vibes, being untied as one, and that wherever you are in the world, it feels like home.

Do you notice the fact that Hardstyle is still growing?

Hardstyle has always been an interesting musical genre. The audience is and has always been very dedicated. But that’s also the reason why it gets a lot of criticism… And we’re now at a point where the style is splitting up. Some guys take the highly commercial way, while others go harder and harder every time. Which isn’t bad for the people who like it, but I rather see everything as a whole. Hardstyle gains new fans every day. I notice that, because I get to perform everywhere in the world now. There are new faces everywhere, just as people telling me that they’ve recently found a new style of music that really fits them. And that it’s more than just fun music to listen to. It’s a culture…

How do you like having your own label ( Dirty Workz )? How much freedom do you actually have to do and leave what you want with this label?

I have a lot of freedom! If I do not like something, it just does not matter. Quality is important, not only the release but also the design of the cover, for example. The label has its own sound, so you do not hear ten jump / textile per month. I myself have been very satisfied with the sale of all releases and there are still a lot of fat tracks waiting.

How would you best describe your style?

My style is who I am. It’s euphoric, it has some emotion thrown in, and it’s basically just how I feel. Some people say that all Hardstyle sounds the same, but I have to disagree. Every artist has a distinct sound. The main construction of a track is basically the same due to some of the rules for Dance music, but the overall feeling in my tracks just reflects myself, what I feel and who I am.

Who were your influences growing up outside of EDM?

I’m a huge hip-hop fan, so I grew up with this really weird combo of hip-hop and hardcore — like really fast, heavy music with pounding beats. So when you listen to my music now, you can feel that energy and that weird blend of hip-hop influences with Hardstyle. I’m a huge fan of Eminem, in my opinion he’s the greatest rapper alive at the moment. I’m not a big fan of anyone in particular except for him. He’s like, the main dude, he’s on a whole different level than the rest and that’s what I want to be like, he’s my ultimate goal to work with. Besides Eminem, I grew up to Dr. Dre and all that West Coast shit.

Where would you like to perform once?

Everywhere the party is! Yes, the real big parties like Reverze, Bassleader, Qlimax and Sensation Black are for me the hardest kick. But I hope that the scene will continue to expand internationally so that I can discover the rest of the world as well.

Questions? Comments? We want to know:@djfollower