HARDSOUL INTERWIEV and Bio

HARDSOUL- Setting new…

2007 November 30 14:54

“Standard”- something considered by an authority or by general consent as a basis of comparison

Everyday all the people in the world walk around performing their unique daily tasks and all of them aside from the most dedicated Buddhists perhaps have one major thing in common. We quantify the things in our lives. We measure our professional success and the money and prestige that it brings. We make lists of things we want to do and have a distinct feeling of pride and pleasure when we achieve our goals. But when you get right down to the core of this process it is a basic comparison to a standard that we recognize as that.

This is also the case in the world of house music. For a better part of a decade the standard that all Djs and producers measure their level at has been provided by one brand: Defected Records. So, it is no surprise that this month’s Music Box takes a closer look at the Dutch Dj and production duo Hardsoul. Their newest compilation, Defected D-Fused & Digital Amsterdam, is a “mixed CD with all Defected material and an unmixed disc aimed at Djs,” said the authors. “The challenge was not choosing the repertoire for this CD, as we had to choose from a small number of tracks given to us by Defected, but making a coherent and exciting mix out of this small selection of tracks. Normally you have a much broader pallet of music to choose from when you start compiling a CD. Of course with the tracks coming from Defected we had quality material to choose from but we did some heavy editing and mashing up to make sure all the cuts have something unique.”

The Van Bueren brothers Roog and Greg, aka Hardsoul have been making music from a very young age with their roots in classical piano. Roog is the Dj of the duo and has been voted the No. 1 house Dj in Holland in 2000-02 and was the highest ranked Dj in the ID&T Radio’s overall poll in 2003-05. “Being the Dj of the two meant obviously that I was more in the limelight while performing, but we work closely together with the re-editing, re-hashing and preparation of my Dj sets since everything I play has been reworked to add that Hardsoul touch,” he added.

The sound of Hardsoul is interlaced with many influences not the least of which is Masters at Work. In the time when they were still producing tough heavy hitting material they were always two steps ahead and never tied themselves down to one style. “I guess we are inspired by every producer that knows his past and comes from that soul/disco/garage background, but takes it to a new place or looks at it from a different angle. With Hardsoul you can hear that U.S. garage musicality mixed with a touch of Euro energy,” the brothers said.

Hardsoul have yet to make an appearance in the Windy City, but when asked about what Chicago means to Hardsoul they had this to say. “Well, without Chicago there would be no Hardsoul or house music all together. Almost all the genre defining records, that obviously also influenced us, came from the Windy City. WE LOVE CHICAGO! Do you want us to go on??? …hahaha.” Aside from their annual showings at the Winter Music Conference in Miami and at the Cielo Club in New York City the Van Bueren brothers don’t make it over the “big water” as much as they would like. They attribute this to the trends of U.S. Djs coming over to the UK and the rest of Europe as an effect of the US house scene growing smaller and smaller.

Hardsoul and Defected Records released the D-Fused & Digital Amsterdam compilation last August and with it solidified the Dutch duos already impressive position at the forefront of the international house music scene. Their unique and energy filled Dj sets are yielding Hardsoul fans all over the world and their studio work finds itself into the crates of some of the best Djs on the planet. Their continued relationship with Defected Records sets new standards for young Djs and producers today and we can only be excited about the things to come from these talented Dutch musicians.

Check out www.hardsoul.nl and www.defected.com for Hardsoul releases!!!




Bio:


Hardsoul / Roog & Greg
Producers / DJs / Remixers

- Hardsoul consists of Dutch brothers Roog and Greg van Bueren.

- They have been making music since they were very young. Both had classical piano training.

- Roog has achieved the feat of being voted No.1 House DJ of Holland in the years for three consecutive years- 2000 / 2001 & 2002 by Dutch dance magazine; Basic Groove. In 2004 he was voted Holland’s most popular club DJ by Nieuwe Revu Magazine and was the highest ranked house DJ in the ID&T overall poll of 2003, 2004 and 2005.

- Their track 'Back Together', featuring house legend Ron Carroll, was voted No.1 record of the 2003 annual DJ Mag Hype Chart. The track was licensed to the following compilations; Hed Kandi - Beach House, Defected In The House by Simon Dunmore, Soul Heaven by Louie Vega, Defected in the House by Kenny Dope, Southport Weekender by Joey Negro, Miguel Migs and Ministry of Sound Germany by Knee Deep.

- Dave Lee (Joey Negro, Jakarta) named Roog/Hardsoul the most talented DJ/producer of 2003.

- The compilations DJ Roog Presents Hardsoul: The Sound of Love and Dedication 2 (Zomba distribution) was Holland's highest selling house compilation of 2003. The third instalment of the series was released late 2005.

- After the huge success of ‘Back Together’ Defected asked Roog (Hardsoul) to join their international Defected In The House tour that brought him to London, Ibiza, Sydney, Melbourne, etc

- They were nominated for the Essential Track of the Year award as well as the ‘Outstanding Vocal Award’ for ‘Back Together’ at the 2004 International House Music Awards

- The 2004 Defected compilation called 'Soulfuric In The House' features four Hardsoul productions and remixes (some mixes are vinyl only). Soulfuric’s head honcho Brian Tappert claims “Hardsoul is the future of house” in the liner notes of the compilation.

- Their 2004 release ‘Committed’ on US based label Soulfuric reached top position in the DJ Mag Hypechart.

- The brothers took their sound to the next level in 2004 - Hardsoul presents Roog & Greg ‘Uber’ made it onto top UK house label Toolroom. The track was named BBC Radio 1’s ‘Track Of The Week’ and was included on numerous international compilations.

- In 2004 the brothers revived their label Hardsoul Pressings.

- MN2S (UK’s biggest DJ agency and London based clubnights) requested Jon Cutler and Hardsoul to mix their ‘10 Years of our House’ compilation in 2005. It was voted ‘Compilation of the Month’ in UK’s M8 magazine.

- Hardsoul/Roog were nominated for breakthrough DJ of the year 2005 at the International House Music Awards.

- Hardsoul have again hit the DJ Mag’s Hype Chart No.1 spot with their 2006 MN2S release Hardsoul feat. Shaun Escoffery entitled ‘No Man’

- In 2006 the brothers started a new label called R&G Electronics for music that wouldn’t necessarily be suitable for release on the Hardsoul Pressings label. R&G Electronics is an alternative outlet that specialises in chunky beat-driven sounds.

- Two records on the Hardsoul Pressings label ended up in the 2006 Top 10 of best selling records on Traxsource (USA’s No. 1 download site for house music), namely ‘Deep Inside’, and the collaboration between Hardsoul and Ron Carroll on ‘My Life’.

- The 2006 release of Hardsoul and Ron Carroll’s ‘My Life’ scored a prestigious 5/5 rating in seminal UK dance publication DJ Mag. The track has been licensed to numerous top compilations, with Seb Fontaine picking it up for his Type 2 comp for Thrive USA and Knee Deep for his The Art Of House album. It was also snapped up by Beachland 07 on Blanco y Negro and long-running UK label Azuli’s Las Tardes In Ibiza 2007 LP. The newly founded CyberJapan record company gave the record a domestic release in the Japanese territory, reaching the No. 2 position in the Japanese Cisco chart.

- In 2005 and 2006 the Hardsoul brothers travel to Japan to perform in Tokyo and Osaka.

- UK’s number one house label Defected asked Hardsoul to mix their new international compilation. The release date is expected to be september 2007.

- In 2007 Hardsoul join Defected’s brand new Connected DJ agency.

- The 2007 release by Greg, Jeroenski & Roog entitled ‘Your Mind is Twisted’ on the R&G imprint is shaping up to be a international underground hit.