Interview preview (2/2): Gunz For Hire on why hardstyle is still in its infancy here in Canada and the U.S.
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Photo by RUDGR
Gunz For Hire is an alliance between two of the biggest names in hardstyle, Adaro and Ran-D. This Holland duo has been taking over some of the biggest stages that hardstyle has to offer including this year's massive Qlimax event which attracted tens of thousands of fans in an audio/visual experience almost unmatched in the rest of the electronic dance music world. In this year's DJ Mag top 100 poll, Gunz For Hire managed to snag the 63rd spot while Adaro occupies the 75th spot, and Ran-D is at #100. Known for their more raw tracks, listening to a Gunz For Hire set will almost certainly feel like a trip to the harder style of this popular genre.
In this final interview preview, read on as both Adaro and Ran-D explains why hardstyle is so big in Holland/Europe and why it's still in its infancy here in Canada and the U.S:
EDM Canada: Hardstyle is so massive in Holland and Europe yet it's in its infancy here in North America – why is that?
Adaro: People just don't know it yet.
Ran-D: I think even electronic dance music is still fairly new to America as compared to Europe in terms of attracting a big crowd. Of course there has always been dance music in America, but mainstream EDM is a little more easy to adapt to than hardstyle. I think it's always going to be a little bit more underground and I think that's where it belongs.
EDM Canada: In Holland, is hardstyle the mainstream sound or still considered underground?
Adaro: I don't think it's mainstream but it's the biggest undergound scene.
Ran-D: Yeah true.
EDM Canada: Yeah that makes sense. The stages over in Holland seem to rival the stages that we currently see at TomorrowWorld or even at EDC Las Vegas.
Ran-D: There are a lot of people that go to an event like Qlimax because they've heard of it, and events like Defqon and Decibel – they have a lot of visitors that go there for only day with friends and check out the event. There are a lot of smaller parties for the real hardstyle lovers.
Adaro: The die-hards.
The full interview will be released later today, so I hope that you'll all read it when it's ready.
In the meantime, enjoy one of my favourite tracks from Gunz For Hire called "Massacre":
