I am superproud to present yet another huge interview for you! This time it is the man behind the Cenobite records and needs no introduction. I present you:
Leviathan AKA Tellurian
How and when did you start? (As a DJ / As a producer) What was the impulse?
I started around 1986 with a few friends in a Hip-Hop Group called Digital Power (DP)
I collected all kinds of records and was obsessed with sampling & sound synthesis techniques
80ties computer game music inspired me to make my own with the first available music software in that time
I had lots of records that i listened and sometimes sampled but Mixing as a DJ I picked up years later
How did you get into hardcore?
Around 1992 We picked up some hardcore cassette tapes and listened to the them
We liked the dark vibes and this made me interested to check out some of the first raves in Amsterdam
You have released ep's on legendary label Mokum as Tellurian, could you tell us how this happened?
I went to the Mokum headquarters with a demo cassette in 1992 and met Fred Berkhout who was and still is the label manager , he liked it and asked me to create more tracks experimental fast loud & hardcore without limitations
With My first release Mokum 5 as the result .
Whats Mokum Records biggest Hit ?
The biggest success of Mokum Records and hardcore history is Techno Head “i wanna Be a Hippy”
It started out as a underground dance-floor smasher and later re-released with a Radio Remix made by Flamman & Abraxas
It reached number 1 in 12 different countries including Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland, and number 6 in the UK With a total of 1.3 Million Singles sold on CD & Vinyl this is the Biggest Hardcore hit of all times
Plus you can add all compilation cd's the track got licenced on
What is your take on scene's evolution? It has changed quite a lot over the years and you've been in it a long time.
The world became much smaller with internet
The big festivals have many people from all over the world attending them
i respect what everyone is doing but cant help listening with a music producer ears and point of view
I get bored pretty quick if there is no creativity and its only about the bass drum
The audience is powerful , you can try to push a concept but they decide in the end what they like or not
What made you start Cenobite records?
In 1996 I got the chance to start my own sub-label with Immortal Sound Productions I.S.P.
I performed for them the years before on events like Digital Overdose , Immortality , and there main Hardcore concept “ Hellraiser (Ultimate Hardcore Dance Events) “
There events where like the best at that time with great Decorations , Projections , performing artist
Whats popular now on festivals ,they already had it back than
And they created the first Indoor festivals with many sub-styles
Hardcore / Gabber / Terror / Rave / Techno
Drum & Bass / BreakBeat / Trip Hop / Trance
Psy Trance / Techno / Oldstyle / Mellow
and some times live musicians
You have quite a few Hellraiser-inspired names and samples. Are you a fan of the movie series?And if yes, has those movies inspired you?
Cenobite Records was a official sub-label in partnership with I.S.P who organized The Hellraiser Events & Hellraiser Records
Witch was basically the underground version of Thunderdome
So yes this inspired me to dig in to that and we even did official promotion for the Movie Release in the Netherlands
What got you started as Leviathan?
Because i started the Cenobite label i was also looking for a new project name.
Leviathan is one of the Cenobite's in the Hellraiser movie series
besides that the Tellurian name was signed to Mokum Records
How much has record label side of things changed due digital releases?
We used to send people to the record shops to buy our music
Now we send them to a digital shops and we also have our own portal www.cenobite.nl
If people like our music enough that they actually buy it online is one of the the biggest compliment an artist or label can get and will inspire to produce more music
But the way i see it people are more in to dj mixes than albums or tracks
Its easy to make a online mix
But i don't think my colleges and other labels will like it if i mix and give away there music for free public online
Ive been a supporter for Mixcloud.com for some years a platform built for dj's & podcast , they pay music rights and its a great marketing tool and its free
Will physical released become obsolete due digital outlets?
There will always be some people looking for vinyl and cd's
Or maybe a shirt or USB stick
You recently signed Rheeza to Cenobite records. So far she has released a remix of your track The New Generation. How did you discover her and what can we expect from her? and How would you describe Rheeza's sound?
Rheeza is a good friend and been around for quite some time
We played together on some events and will be playing a uptempo set on Ground Zero Festival 2016
I would describe her style as Fast & Filthy
She's constantly working to improve her production skilzz
And onto psycore scene, could you tell us of this genre? It is lesser-known form of hardcore.
Trancecore , Psycore or Acidcore
Call it what you want but Cenobite listens to all
I think there are many tracks that could be categorized in that style and there is many other styles you can mix it with
I really like dark melodies but also fast trancy riffs , break-beats off-course some acid synth sounds, there is so much you can explore , we try to make songs, a musical story with a beginning,middle part and End
We see Cenobite as a really wide range of styles concept , and music & sound as our playground.
You had quite memorable experience in Vaasa at Hard-O-Ween party few years back, how was that experience?
How did that gig happen?
I got invited by the Hardcore Finland Organization
They had some problems with authority putting pressure on the venue owners threatening them to give them a hard time if the party went on and there was also press coverage.
This resulted in 3 cancellations from the venues
So Hardcore Finland decided to make it a private event on private property and pulled it of anyway
Big respect for that commitment & determination
Its a form of prejudiced / discrimination gabbers also know in Holland
Thunderdome awards, why and what is this all about? I tried to google it, but didn't manage to find out more.
ID&T came up with the Thunderdome Awards 1998
In that time you had to sell 40.000 CD singles for a Gold Record Award in Holland ,
The Thunderdome CD Compilations Series Sold over 3 Million copies worldwide all together but still there was no press coverage in any way because it was Gabber / Hardcore
So they decided to create the thunderdome awards there selfs and thank the artist for there music & efforts
Therefore ID&T proudly presents this award to "TELLURIAN"
If you compare scene in Netherlands to abroad, how different are they?
They might have a different clothing and dancing style
It all comes down to the same thing
Loving the Harder music Styles and having a great time with friends on the Dance Floor
In My opinion you don't have to dress like a gabber to be part of the scene , and in the beginning i liked the underground scene because you could dress and dance as you liked and just be you
Last but least, what future will hold for Cenobite Records and for you? Any news you could share with us?
Well you have to check the new release of Arjuna - 4 tracks
And Danytribe from Italy - 3 tracks
We got a Japanese release coming soon and a new release from Damian
Some new tracks from Leviathan also Philosopher and much more ...
Great festivals coming up where we perform so check us there
We also are celebrating our 20th year in the hardcore scene with Cenobite
So expect release events "Machines In Motion" later this year.
Also we have Mokum / Cenobite Hardcore Showcase on ADE Amsterdam Dance Event
Stay up to date on www.cenobite.nl
Cheers
I started around 1986 with a few friends in a Hip-Hop Group called Digital Power (DP)
I collected all kinds of records and was obsessed with sampling & sound synthesis techniques
80ties computer game music inspired me to make my own with the first available music software in that time
I had lots of records that i listened and sometimes sampled but Mixing as a DJ I picked up years later
How did you get into hardcore?
Around 1992 We picked up some hardcore cassette tapes and listened to the them
We liked the dark vibes and this made me interested to check out some of the first raves in Amsterdam
You have released ep's on legendary label Mokum as Tellurian, could you tell us how this happened?
I went to the Mokum headquarters with a demo cassette in 1992 and met Fred Berkhout who was and still is the label manager , he liked it and asked me to create more tracks experimental fast loud & hardcore without limitations
With My first release Mokum 5 as the result .
Whats Mokum Records biggest Hit ?
The biggest success of Mokum Records and hardcore history is Techno Head “i wanna Be a Hippy”
It started out as a underground dance-floor smasher and later re-released with a Radio Remix made by Flamman & Abraxas
It reached number 1 in 12 different countries including Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland, and number 6 in the UK With a total of 1.3 Million Singles sold on CD & Vinyl this is the Biggest Hardcore hit of all times
Plus you can add all compilation cd's the track got licenced on
What is your take on scene's evolution? It has changed quite a lot over the years and you've been in it a long time.
The world became much smaller with internet
The big festivals have many people from all over the world attending them
i respect what everyone is doing but cant help listening with a music producer ears and point of view
I get bored pretty quick if there is no creativity and its only about the bass drum
The audience is powerful , you can try to push a concept but they decide in the end what they like or not
What made you start Cenobite records?
In 1996 I got the chance to start my own sub-label with Immortal Sound Productions I.S.P.
I performed for them the years before on events like Digital Overdose , Immortality , and there main Hardcore concept “ Hellraiser (Ultimate Hardcore Dance Events) “
There events where like the best at that time with great Decorations , Projections , performing artist
Whats popular now on festivals ,they already had it back than
And they created the first Indoor festivals with many sub-styles
Hardcore / Gabber / Terror / Rave / Techno
Drum & Bass / BreakBeat / Trip Hop / Trance
Psy Trance / Techno / Oldstyle / Mellow
and some times live musicians
You have quite a few Hellraiser-inspired names and samples. Are you a fan of the movie series?And if yes, has those movies inspired you?
Cenobite Records was a official sub-label in partnership with I.S.P who organized The Hellraiser Events & Hellraiser Records
Witch was basically the underground version of Thunderdome
So yes this inspired me to dig in to that and we even did official promotion for the Movie Release in the Netherlands
What got you started as Leviathan?
Because i started the Cenobite label i was also looking for a new project name.
Leviathan is one of the Cenobite's in the Hellraiser movie series
besides that the Tellurian name was signed to Mokum Records
How much has record label side of things changed due digital releases?
We used to send people to the record shops to buy our music
Now we send them to a digital shops and we also have our own portal www.cenobite.nl
If people like our music enough that they actually buy it online is one of the the biggest compliment an artist or label can get and will inspire to produce more music
But the way i see it people are more in to dj mixes than albums or tracks
Its easy to make a online mix
But i don't think my colleges and other labels will like it if i mix and give away there music for free public online
Ive been a supporter for Mixcloud.com for some years a platform built for dj's & podcast , they pay music rights and its a great marketing tool and its free
Will physical released become obsolete due digital outlets?
There will always be some people looking for vinyl and cd's
Or maybe a shirt or USB stick
You recently signed Rheeza to Cenobite records. So far she has released a remix of your track The New Generation. How did you discover her and what can we expect from her? and How would you describe Rheeza's sound?
Rheeza is a good friend and been around for quite some time
We played together on some events and will be playing a uptempo set on Ground Zero Festival 2016
I would describe her style as Fast & Filthy
She's constantly working to improve her production skilzz
And onto psycore scene, could you tell us of this genre? It is lesser-known form of hardcore.
Trancecore , Psycore or Acidcore
Call it what you want but Cenobite listens to all
I think there are many tracks that could be categorized in that style and there is many other styles you can mix it with
I really like dark melodies but also fast trancy riffs , break-beats off-course some acid synth sounds, there is so much you can explore , we try to make songs, a musical story with a beginning,middle part and End
We see Cenobite as a really wide range of styles concept , and music & sound as our playground.
You had quite memorable experience in Vaasa at Hard-O-Ween party few years back, how was that experience?
How did that gig happen?
I got invited by the Hardcore Finland Organization
They had some problems with authority putting pressure on the venue owners threatening them to give them a hard time if the party went on and there was also press coverage.
This resulted in 3 cancellations from the venues
So Hardcore Finland decided to make it a private event on private property and pulled it of anyway
Big respect for that commitment & determination
Its a form of prejudiced / discrimination gabbers also know in Holland
Thunderdome awards, why and what is this all about? I tried to google it, but didn't manage to find out more.
ID&T came up with the Thunderdome Awards 1998
In that time you had to sell 40.000 CD singles for a Gold Record Award in Holland ,
The Thunderdome CD Compilations Series Sold over 3 Million copies worldwide all together but still there was no press coverage in any way because it was Gabber / Hardcore
So they decided to create the thunderdome awards there selfs and thank the artist for there music & efforts
We received a special award from ID&T for our contribution in making the Thunderdome CD series sell over a three million (!) copies worldwide.
We are very proud in having made this achievement.
Not only is ID&T the biggest and most prestigious production company in Western Europe in contemporary dance music, but also the most straightforward in attempting to create and penetrate new markets within the global music scene.Therefore ID&T proudly presents this award to "TELLURIAN"
Text from the award: "Due to your contribution and dedication, over 3 million copies of Thunderdome have been sold.
If you compare scene in Netherlands to abroad, how different are they?
They might have a different clothing and dancing style
It all comes down to the same thing
Loving the Harder music Styles and having a great time with friends on the Dance Floor
In My opinion you don't have to dress like a gabber to be part of the scene , and in the beginning i liked the underground scene because you could dress and dance as you liked and just be you
Last but least, what future will hold for Cenobite Records and for you? Any news you could share with us?
Well you have to check the new release of Arjuna - 4 tracks
And Danytribe from Italy - 3 tracks
We got a Japanese release coming soon and a new release from Damian
Some new tracks from Leviathan also Philosopher and much more ...
Great festivals coming up where we perform so check us there
We also are celebrating our 20th year in the hardcore scene with Cenobite
So expect release events "Machines In Motion" later this year.
Also we have Mokum / Cenobite Hardcore Showcase on ADE Amsterdam Dance Event
Stay up to date on www.cenobite.nl
Cheers
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