Interview with: Dread System

"whilst everyone at house parties played UK Bounce I started blasting underground Hardbass tracks from people like DJ Chuck, Yurbanoid, Ant, DJ Mike, Sonic Mine, Battery! , Barabass etc. It blew people’s minds."

One of the most characteristic names in the darkside of Hardbass; Dread System is known to bring out the most twisted tracks in the current Hardbass scene and is providing new dimensions to the sound of the underground.

Who are you? Can you tell us something about yourself and you as an artist?

"I grew up on underground music. Right from before I started primary school. The areas I grew up in. They treat it like a lifestyle. My dad used to sit me down and show me rap music he bought from back street stores that had been imported. I noticed myself that I naturally took to the darker material. I started obsessing over the weird aspect of dance music after some time. Whilst delving head first into metal. I certainly had a preference when it came to moods in music. At one point in life I was a complete outcast. Nobody liked what I did. I think my taste in art had something to do with it. especially musically. As a kid. I was obsessed with horror movies, the darkest music I could find. And fighting games. I’m still undefeated on tekken to this day haha! When I learned to produce music I eventually put all this into my sound. There’s so much more I want to be incorporate into my style but I still have learning to do to make it sound more unique"

How did you come up with the name Dread System?

"I started making music when I had nothing else to do. I was pretty depressed. I had quite a few bad experiences that triggered quite bad mental health at the time. I guess dread system comes from the darkest part of my mind. A lot of my creativity comes from negativity. I’d say my mind was naturally psychedelic on a normal day. The dread system is a universe inside my head that is my personal hell. It’s hard to live with it. But I have to. I’m an artist at heart and it’s me without a filter. I grounds me."

Where are you from?

"I’m from the north west of England. An industrial town about 30 minutes from Manchester."

What do you do for a living? Did you finish in any degrees?

"I work as a coach for none and active athletes. I specialise in sport performance"

How did you get in touch with Hard Bass?

"In my town. Uk bounce is the most popular style. I started listening to it when I started secondary school. When my friendship circle changed it was pretty much what we listened to for years. But one year a friend in the group made a track called. “Russian donk” I was like “what ???? I love Russia I have to hear this” my life changed when I heard the track. I went home and did as much research as possible. Me and one of my best friends found a download website formally known as mrtzc. The same night we found some pumping storm posters on google images. when we found out the original genre name was hardbass. I spent all night searching these artists, downloading all of their music. I fell in love for the first time that night. Whilst everyone at house parties played uk bounce I started blasting underground hardbass tracks from people like Chuck, yurbanoid, ant, DJ Mike, Sonic Mine, Battery! , Barabass etc. It blew people’s minds. Not long after this people started playing Hard Bass exclusively at my school for about a year. I feel responsible for this. . It was strange to see so many people playing this music at the same time it was huge in Russia"

PUMPING STORM Vol. 1 (2007) - Click the image for a trip down to memory lane!

What kind of genres do you listen to besides Hard Bass?

"Anything that stimulates me really. But if I had to choose, I’ve been listening to a lot of riddim, tear out, techno, a lot of drill, industrial hardcore and acid techno. I’ve been really into the underground pop stuff that John maus made a few years ago. That guy is a genius"

Do you have any idols in music?

"Death grips. Kanye. John Maus. Ariel pink. Chuck. Battery. . Slipknot. Korn. Svdden death. Burial. Sophie. Arca. Three six Mafia and of course my brother Levio."

Why did you start producing music & who taught you to produce music?

"I got kicked out of school at 14 years old. I was depressed and I was involved in a little trouble outside of home. My mothers partner, a former drum and bass DJ downloaded several daw’s to see if I’d take to music. I spent around a week messing around and decided I was gonna start trying to make Hardbass on fl studio.

I taught myself. I had all the hours in the day to learn. I didn’t wanna do anything else. Until I met levio. One of my best friends from spb promised to improve my sound and teach me the real ways of producing this sound. I thanked him every single day for what seemed like years. We produced a practice track called RAW HD. You might be able to find it somewhere. But it’s incredibly rare. When I got better at producing and what he taught me started to show though. We finally developed kill humanz and cyber dreams. Both tracks where incredibly deep in meaning. After this I was confident producing full tracks on my own. Rentgen seriously helped me with my confidence to put stuff out to. He knew I was a lost kid that just wanted to make music in my room. He told me I had potential. He gave me self belief."

Rentgen & Dread System - KILL HUMANS - Click the image to start the carnage

Can you tell us something about your mentor, Rentgen?

"He was one of the most naturally talented people I’ve ever met. One of the happiest people I’ve known and a visionary. He was gonna be super successful in music. We messaged each other most days. I felt like his son. When TRI poloski finally organised the Utrecht event and we met in person for the first time it was surreal. He would have befriended anybody. He would of helped us all. He just loved that us young guys where aspiring to be someone. He wouldn’t have let me fail. Now I have to make him proud. Underground for life."

Dread System, Rentgen and BLYATSQUAD vibes at TRI poloski Utrecht

Click the image to check out Rentgen at TRI poloski Utrecht

Where do you get your inspiration from?

"Messed up life and experiences I won’t discuss here. Nature, Animals, Horror movies, Ancient history, Religion, genetics, Different cultures and countries and things I’ve experienced positively I guess."

Are there any international producers you would like to collab with?

"I’ve basically planned to collab with everyone I’ve wanted to. I can’t wait to re collab with some people also. I’m planning on working with a metal band next year also."

"The Dutch crowd aren't judgmental when it comes to Hardbass. They really love the sound"

You played at our party twice. In what way do you experience playing at a TRI poloski event?

"These events will go down in history. The Utrecht event was one of the best weekends ever. Me and blyatsquad are like family. So it was like being in paradise with your close ones. The Dutch crowd aren’t judgmental when it comes to Hardbass. You can see the crowd absorbing it positively. Even me. Who plays super experimental tracks. They really love the sound."

Click the image to listen Dread's liveset at TRI poloski Utrecht

Can you tell us something about the Hardbass scene in England?

"It’s there I guess. And a small handful of the people I’ve met involved in it are cool. But it’s to “hands up” for me. It’s nowhere near dark enough. l’ll always respect Kenty for trying to bring the big bosses over at one stage. I’m sad that the visa situation got in the way. Compared to Europe, in my opinion it’s nothing. The U.K isn’t built for hard bass. I couldn’t start a mosh pit where people are risking getting hurt here like I did in NL haha. If I played something like blood bath at one of these events. They wouldn’t take to it. Uk bounce fans here are not very musically open minded compared to Europeans. But some of the events are amazing to to in terms of atmosphere etc."

What do you think about Hardbass getting more popular in Europe?

"The scene and culture is cool as hell. It’s like the sons and daughters of the gabbers of the 90’s have regenerated their parents roots and brought a more powerful sound to the dance floor. I like the aesthetic. And it brings more opportunities for us to play in more countries."

Do you have any future projects in store?

"I’m working on a large project right now that’s based on close observation of the world. There’s some serious what if messages in there. 2020 cleared up my perspective on reality. I have fully let my boundaries go when it comes to creating. I want my music to have eternal meaning now. This project will be an eye opener. I haven’t heard this done in hard bass before so it will be interesting to see how people respond to the project. Right now I don’t have a name for it. I don’t want my music to be disposal and that takes time. And some collabs also haha."

What is your opinion about the meme around Hardbass?

"It was funny for a very short while. But now it’s kind of old."

Thanks for the interview. Is there anything you would like to mention/share?

"Keep your eyes open for my new projects. My album will drop when I feel like the time is right. Until then I’ll keep having fun with other artists and dropping solo demos whilst I work on my big project. Keep up the good work everybody. There’s so many talented new comers here now. If your struggling for inspiration for new music. Go to different counties (when we can) and change your habits. Keep up the good vibes. I love you all. Underground for life."

APA: TRI poloski. (2021, 01, Sept). Interview with: Dread System.