In our debut edition of ‘The Local Scene’ we feature someone who is no stranger to many of us.

Quite recently Chase D has done himself and Sri Lanka extremely proud.

As a strong promoter of Hardstyle Music in Sri Lanka, Chase has faced many challenges - Pod Casts being shut down due to being ‘unpopular’ is just one in a string, but this young man proved all critics wrong after he began to produce independently and his third mixtape became a worldwide sensation just a few weeks after reaching the number 1 spot on the Mixcloud Charts and he got great mentions on twitter by the very artistes he featured on his mixtape.

What made you start liking Hardstyle?
It all started back in 2009 when my best friend introduced me to a Hardstyle track and from there on I watched the video for the world’s largest Hardstyle concert called Qlimax – That was certainly the beginning for Hardstyle music for me.

What would you consider the top 5 Hardstyle songs of all time?
Now that’s a hard question. Hardstyle has evolved over the years; it originally started at 130 bpm and now it ranges between 148 to 156 bpm and elements too have evolved. Like I said it’s a really hard question to answer so I think I should share with you the current top 5 songs of mine which are:

Let’s talk about your new mixtape. How did you get the inspiration to use all those tracks?
I get some of my music directly from a record label called Scantraxxx records so I incorporate some of those fresh tracks with other releases that I find. Additionally, artistes directly send tracks to me. It all boils down to the flow of the mix really, sometimes there are tracks I really want to put on to the mixtape but they don’t seem to maintain the flow and energy.

How did you find out about the mixtape trending on Mixcloud?
Just like on Soundcloud you can put tags on to your tracks and one of them was “Hardstyle”. I later noticed an “88th” next to it, when I clicked on the tag I realised that it was on the Hardstyle trending chart.

What was your reaction when it reached #1?
It was an unbelievable feeling – I was shocked, amazed, and happy and a whole array of emotions. It also reached number one on the Hardtrance tag and remained so for five days straight – that track needs to be within a week old to be eligible to be on the trending chart

What was the most memorable part about the fame found with the mixtape?
There were many moments from artistes like Emma Hewitt and Crystal Lake who promoted the mixtape and many others within the EDM community as a whole and many who have never heard of Hardstyle in Sri Lanka embraced it. This was quite frankly the best compliment I got on the mixtape.

“Replaced one of the speakers- alone in house with supreme tune set by @ChaseTNL you simply revived Hardstyle to me d(-_-)b”

How would you plan to maintain the same standard with future mixtapes?
I am very critical of myself – if I don’t see myself enjoying the mix that I have created then there is something wrong and I will make the necessary changes to make it much better and I believe in looking forward so I want to make each mixtape better than the one before it .

What do you think sets you apart from other Hardstyle mixtape creators?
I cater my mixtape first to the Sri Lankan listener then everywhere else – It’s a new genre here, so alien that I have had many who have said to me that they never heard such a genre existed until I started promoting it. To keep the listener you’ll find there are a few remixes of hit music tracks that help them to identify and relate to it. Plus I experiment with other genres - for instance old school Acid, Subground and Hardcore to give it variation.

Do you think Hardstyle and EDM will ever be legendary as the good old oldies?
Will there be legendary tracks? Yes. Will they be as legendary as oldies? No. When I think about it I will be able to play a good old oldie on a guitar whereas with Hardstyle and EDM you can’t really do that. I probably will be trying to figure out how I can make a kick without bashing guitars on the floor – this of course is me referring to the song being played as it is in the original release. But Hardstyle and all EDM genres will have their place in history.

Chase’s mixtape can be found on Sound Cloud. Give it a listen, you won’t be disappointed.


Interviewed by Reihan Stephen