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DJ Mag Top100 DJs
71
Da Tweekaz
8

It began in Norway, circa 2004, at a random party. Both Marcus Nordli and Kenth Kvien were DJing, struck an immediate rapport, and a friendship formed. Deciding to start producing music together, Da Tweekaz was born, with hard house, trance and techno the first order of those earliest days. Times will always change, though, even if only slightly.  

Skip forward to today, then, and the pair are renowned for their hardstyle output, a genre they first began experimenting with in 2007, when their tracks 'Angeli Domini' and 'Crowsong' were first leaked across Russian, Polish and German mp3 sites. Immediately establishing a reputation for themselves — an interesting example of music theft actually benefiting the artists — eventually the duo were approached by United Records, confirming their first official release, and set the ball rolling on a professional career that has since seen them collaborate with rave legend Darren Styles, smash up a seemingly endless list of seriously intense club sessions, and push the boundaries of their chosen canon. Carving out an aural niche for themselves in a world that, at times, feels overrun with carbon-copy acts and cookie-cutter artists, it’s not for nothing these guys find themselves in this list. MARTIN GUTTRIDGE-HEWITT 

What have been the new frontiers for you this year? “We have travelled all around the world this year, spreading the word about our new project, #Tweekay16. This is a project where we release one track every month, followed by a professional video clip. We also did a collaboration with the legendary Darren Styles, who was one of our idols growing up. We made a massive track called 'Heroes', where we honour the everyday hero.”

Is electronic music taken seriously enough as an art form? “No, not at all. There are still narrow-minded people out there who think that making electronic music is a piece of cake. Music is art, and it doesn't matter if it's acoustic or electronic.”

What’s the best new bit of DJ/production technology, and why? “There are so many new VSTs (virtual instruments) coming out these days with massive and custom wavetables. This means that it is becoming easier and faster to recreate any sound you want. The new synths coming out have more voices and oscillators than ever before, making the leads and the chords sounding fatter than ever! So many toys to play with...”

If you had to switch your style to another genre, what would it be? “We both share a passion for UK hardcore, so I think if we had to switch it would surely be to that. Drum & bass is also a very interesting genre with so much dynamics.”

As a fan, what is the top price you would pay to see yourself DJ? “Ha ha, I'm pretty sure I would be front row waiting for a rubber ducky. Knowing that people want to pay over 50 Euros just to buy a ducky from someone, I'd say that is probably the top price.”

What can be done to prevent drug-related deaths at dance music events? “One of the great things about festivals in Holland is that they have a stand where you can actually check your drug to see what it contains. They even give you advice on how you can handle it etc. They have a very good communication with the police and the government about this, which we think is the best way to proceed with the whole drug issue.” 

How can we increase diversity in dance music? “Cross-over collaborations, for sure. If you take two different artists from two different genres and you put them together in a studio for several days, the outcome will most likely be awesome and diverse. Anyone who's not a hardstyle producer up for a collab?”