BnB Interview: Showtek

Written by Erik Buis

They’re known for taking the sound of hardstyle to a completely new level, not just in their native country The Netherlands but practically in every corner of the world.. No other act in the genre has quite achieved the level of fame as the Janssen brothers aka Showtek, who steadily continue to spread their trademarked sound across a rapidly expanding international audience.

Fresh from touring Australia, Showtek recently released a compilation on the infamous Ministry Of Sound imprint F*** The System. BnB went for a chat with Showtek’s Wouter and Sjoerd to talk history, present day and future. How do they look back on the still hugely popular hardstyle sound, what is the international scene like compared to the Dutch birth ground of the genre, and what can we expect from the in the near future? Read on…

Hey guys. How is life treating you lately?
Very well! As usual January is quiet so we have some days in which we enjoy a lot, 'cause last year we worked our asses of, so in our opinion we deserved it! We are now in the studio producing some fat beats without worrying at what time we have to catch our plane, cause tonight there ain’t no plane. Just us, chilling out with our girlfriends and celebrating life with some Dutch cigarettes :-).

You are currently in the middle of a US tour and living in the now, but we would like to start this interview with a little history lesson. Hardstyle has come a long way since the early days. You have been active since the very beginning and have played a significant role in its development over the years. Can you tell us something about how Showtek was born and why you two decided to start performing together?
It is a very long story but after thousands of interviews we finally found a way to explain it very easily! Hehe.. No, for the people who don’t know, we are brothers. So growing up together , I (Duro) was always annoyed by my brother (Walt) playing his stupid piano. First of all, it was never cool playing piano as a kid, I liked to beat up the kid next door with my friends, but to be honest now a days it pays off when making tunes in the studio...

Anyway, making music started out as a hobby, withWalt being the musician and me being the DJ and beat editor. After a few years we released our first tune, which immediately skyrocketed into the Belgium charts. At that time we were also asked for a residency at a local club, which was perfect for our DJ career. After releasing more Showtek tracks we were asked to play at all big raves and later on we toured the world with our sound.

And that is probably the most important thing, we can sound incredibly loud (but not 'flat') if we want to, but it’s all about the level of energy you send out to the crowd. Showtek tracks often contain catchy “sing a long” lyrics or melodies. The Showtek sound is pretty accessible, even when things get a bit louder. These days we play alongside some of the bigger mainstream names too such as Deadmau5, Sander van Doorn or Ferry Corsten just to name a few. And that’s good for the future…

Hardstyle has evolved rather quickly from a more hard-trance/techno orientated genre to the way it is today. Especially around 2003/2004 the genre evolved rapidly. Take for example Save the Day and Save The Day Again. How do you look back on this or did you experienced in another way?
Well it’s hard to say, it’s almost a decade ago haha. Music always evolves, it’s never the same. Showtek wise we got a bit more mature, which is logical cause we both got older and our taste changed over the years.

Looking back on the early days compared to now, what are the main differences?
Hardstyle became much louder. We do remember spinning records at 138 bpm! Back then, that was hard! Haha.. As Showtek we try to keep it as accessible as possible as that works best for us!

In your opinion, at what point and how did Hardstyle started to become big outside the Netherlands?
When Showtek entered the scene? Hehe...

After the release of Today Is Tomorrow your international career really got off. Can you tell us something about that period and your rise to fame?
When we had Fuck The System which was our big breakthrough in 2007, we were asked to play in clubs where they would normally never play hardstyle. So, we went on to conquer new territories and from there on we became more popular. That track was so big: we had millions of views on Youtube and we reached an audience that maybe had never listened to hardstyle before.

In 2005, you started your own Dutch Master Works imprint. How did it come together and what has been the reason behind launching your own label?
Well we used to be a part of a label. But we wanted to build up a platform for ourselves but also for other artist. By releasing everything on your own label, you can control everything by yourself. That’s what we needed.. Nowadays we have a studio on the first floor and the office on the second floor.

Around that time you also left Platinum Agency, one of the biggest agencies out there, and started to do your own bookings. That takes courage. Could you explain why you decided to left the agency and manage your own affairs?
Well some things are hard to explain. But the main reason was that we were ready to take it to the next level and with that agency we didn’t saw a future anymore. We wanted to control our own career, success is in your own hands we always say, so we needed to leave to expand Showtek. We made the right decision. Nowadays we have our own platform and we can make our own decisions. It caused some mayhem but no hard feelings, we already buried the hatchet.

It’s often claimed that Showtek has left the hardstyle vessel and went with a more commercial sound. It’s a bit like when Tiesto released his Kaleidoscope album. A new direction often leads to the loss of fans while new ones are gained due to a new musical direction. What are your thoughts on this? Has it been a deliberate move?
Mhh.. that is still an opinion. And if people talk about you, doesn’t matter which way, you are still important to them somehow. We are just trying to innovate the sound. Some people are very narrow minded and think that “hardstyle” should stay the same forever… well, we don't think play that game.

We listen to pop, rock, hiphop and electro, so not just one genre. It is definetely not the same way as with Tiesto. We just grow up and our music evolves too. And what is 'commercial'? Going to a party with 30,000 people and selling tickets for 100 euro / dollar is commercial too, so .. If we would start to make commercial ”hands up music“ we would understand people wouldn’t like that. 

We believe in ourselves, we make music that we like and we hope you like it too. If you don’t, no hard feelings. But if we don’t like the new, for example, Snoop Dogg track, we don’t go online and talk shit about him. We would still respect him cause he made the biggest tunes back in the days.. So who are you to judge someone for that? It’s an opinion.. still…

You have recently released an album on Ministry of Sound. How did you experience the production process and what has been the main thought behind its conception?
Ministry is a very big brand world wide. Normally they do house and electro so as Showtek we are proud of releasing a mix compilation with them. It’s a step forward for us, we are trying to make the Showtek brand bigger. The feedback was great and we are also touring with this concept! We do a big FTS show with fireworks, visuals and everything. We are really happy with this!! The first Show in O2 Academy Glasgow (Scotland) was completely sold out!

How did you go about the track selection? How do you decide which tracks make it on there and which not?
If it works on the dance floor, it's good! And it doesn't matter if it's a very simple track with hardly any melody or a track that has everything. It really depends.. 

Your latest album F*** The System is described as a genre blending affair with the familiar pounding Showtek rhythms.You once mentioned “Showtek is not going to stay a hardstyle act”. How does hardstyle goes together with other genres, what are your views?
We really think someone got us wrong on that! Seriously, maybe the person we spoke to once got it all wrong or really is an asshole by writing this down without even saying it. It is correct that we definitely don’t want to do the same for the rest of our lives. Can you imagine making the same tracks in the studio till you die?

No we want to bring Showtek to the highest possible level. We are just trying to develop our sound and we don’t like the repeat button! We already did so many tracks in the past and now we are busy with music for tomorrow. So it’s just normal our taste is changing. But we will always keep the energy level high and it will always be party music. Just let your mother hear it and judge if it's soft music… hehe.

How do you see the future of Showtek in terms of sounds and performance? Any cool previews or premieres to share with our readers?
We are busy with creating a new album, but we don't know how long that will take us to finish it. It will be innovating for sure but we promise we will keep our fans happy.

Any chance on some new productions under your Walt, Southstylers or Duro monnikers. If not, why?
We would like to but we have such a busy schedule and we do more than Showtek only. So, we're not saying no but we're not saying yes either!

Furthermore, is there anything else you want to share with our readers that we haven’t covered yet? Anything goes!
Stay updated though our website, we have some really cool gigs coming up and especially in the US! Follow us on twitter and facebook!

We would like to thank Wouter and Sjoerd for their time and answers. Keep an eye out for that new album!

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