Always on the lookout for new and exciting talent, we at HBM Towers put our heads together and decided that cheeky little competition for a set at our first party of 2009.

This date has fast approached and this Friday at Club Mission the newly crowned winners will be showcasing their talents alongside some of the best names in Hard Dance.

I packed Phil of to do some questions this time round and here’s the results....

Hi Guys firstly congratulations on winning the Hard Beat Manifesto Dj Comp, how excited are you to play?

Glen: Hi Phil & thank you, not just for the congratulations but for giving us the opportunity to enter the competition & grace the decks at HBM. We've heard so much about the previous events & have wanted to attend in the past but have'nt been able to due to work & Dj'ing commitments. HBM is certainly leading the way for the Northern Hard Dance scene, the line-up's are always phatt & throw together a good mixture of veteran & nu-breed Dj's, each with their own unique style & sound which always makes for a memorable event. To sum up our excitement... If we get anymore excited we'll need fresh underwear mate!

Will: Thanks Phil, time has flown over since we franticly put some mixes together after hearing about the competition at the last minute the day before Christmas eve. We’ve very happy to have the opportunity to play at HBM and looking forward to playing alongside some of the all time legends. Our mixes were up against the best of the best in the final 3 of the competition. The standard was quite high indeed. We’re thrilled to have been chosen

Can you describe your sound?

Glen: We play a good variety of styles in our sets, depending on the event, the set time or just the crowd. We both came from different backgrounds in Hard Dance before we started the Energy Syndicate project, Will was all about the harder, darker NRG side of Hard House & im a lover of all things Hard Trance & Bounce which shows in both our Dj sets & productions. Our sound is very driving & energetic regardless of what kind of set we're playing, we like to keep those feet stomping & hands in the air.

Who would you say is your favourite producer at the moment?

Will: Far too many to pick only one but me its has got to be one of the core producers of the Hard House scene Dom Sweeten aka ‘Defective Audio‘ ‘Bass Graffiti‘. I’ve always been a fan of proper hard house. Ever since I first ever started listening to Hard House and playing it. Defective Audio was always one of those names I’d look out for, buying the tracks every time. JP & Jukesy are great also, I was listening to their new remix of Malice in Wonderland the other day, quality! Some producers when remixing a classic they either change it beyond recognition or forget the ascpects of the track that made it so good to start with, with this one I think it’s the bees knees and they’ve nailed the remix of such an epic track. I cant wait for its release!

Glen: Im greedy, can i pick more than one haha ? The first needs no introduction & in my opinion is the Grandkid of Hard Trance, Technikal (he aint old enough to be the Daddy or Grand Daddy yet). His productions are faultless & most certainly future classics & i love how he incorperates so many different sounds & ideas from all genre's of music into his tracks, not just Hard Dance. The second two that come to mind are the Audio Hedz, I had my first taste of production with them in late 2007 when we produced "Outta Space". We loved their work so much we had to go back for more, in the form of our upcoming release "Get it" which will be out on AHR later this year, we're back down there again for the hat trick in March to work on an idea thats been brewing since last year... WATCH THIS SPACE ! Their productions get better everytime a track leaves the studio, their sound transformation from Bounce to Hard Trance over the last year has really shown their skills & capabilities of creating monster tracks.

I've heard you will be launching a label this year can u tell me more about
it?

Will: This is something we have toyed with for a few months now & have finally got round to the decision making & started to set it up. Since getting into the production side of things we found we had tracks that we wanted signing for release but didnt know which direction to take them, do we approach a label ? Which one ? Who do we want to push our sound out there for us ? We want to bring out a label, not only to showcase our own productions but to also collaborate with other artists in the scene, mainstream or nu-breed, along with signing other material sent to us which we would like to see alongside our own work. Keep your eyes & ears peeled in the near future for Syndicate Recordings.

What gigs have you got lined up over the coming month's

Glen: We have been quite busy since the start of the year & the diary is getting fatter over the next few months. We recently played to a packed main room at Bounce 2 This "The Academy of Hard Dance" after another recent competition win gave us the chance to strut our stuff in Birmingham. Our confirmed dates so far are as follows... 6th Feb we are playing Arch One at some night in Leeds called Hard Beat Manifesto, you heard of it ? :p Feb 21st we're at a local event in the North East called Elementum at Legends Nightclub in Stanley, Feb 28th see's us making our debut at Sanxion at Time in Derby for their much talked about "Nu-Breed" night, March 6th is gonna be one to remember as we're making our London debut in the form of Frantic HDS at Hidden, playing alongside Andy Whitby, Cally Gage, Technikal, Nathalie plus loads more, we recently played the North East leg of the Frantic Tour but now its time to take it to their turf. Other events we have yet to fully confirm is the May edition one of the best small nights to break onto the scene D-Railed in Loughborough & Devast8 in Lincolnshire.

Who is your inspiration in the hard dance scene at the moment?

Glen: This is a name that not alot of people will have heard of in Hard Dance circles but mark my words, he is gonna be the one to watch over the coming year. Dj Ectic is a Dj/producer with a difference, we've had the pleasure of working with him on a number of occasions & we've already set a studio date for the near future to do a collab He's originally came from Scouse House pastures & has really made a name for himself, especially in his local haunt Wigan, at Maximes & the Pier. I can honestly say i have never in all my career as a music artist met anyone with as much passion & determination for what they do as Chris & although disabled, you would never think it in a million years to hear & see him play in a club, to see his performance is something special. His Dj'ing is just the tip of the iceberg too, he totally rocks in the studio, has loads of releases under his Scouse House guise & has had tracks signed to the Clubland series but to me they were just practice tracks for what is to come, we've heard some of his latest Hard House/Bounce tracks & they are gonna destroy dancefloors.. PERIOD !!

What's been your favourite track of 2008?

Will: Adam M & Defective Audio - Sweatbox. Proper NRGetic banger! No beating around the bush with this track, its straight down to business!

Glen: Ermmm.... Ermmm, this is tough as there is so many. I think the one that stands out in my box & has done since this time last year when it was released is Technikal & MDA & Spherical - Supersonic, that chunky bassline & those Resonance Q vocals do serious damage to ones adrenaline levels in a club.

What is your all time classic tune?

Glen: Now this one is easy, Heavens Cry - Tears. Gotta be the Flash Harry remix too, i still like to drop it on rare occasions as its a guaranteed floor filler. There's been so many good remixes & bootlegs of it to, Adrenaline Dept, Wain Johnstone, Klubfiller all have done this track justice & there's probably more bootlegs to come, its a timeless classic.

Will: Dave Holmes - Devotion, I still grin like a Cheshire cat when I hear it. It reminds me of some of my first visits to a well known after hours club in Sheffield when I was a young and un-hinged clubber. Never gets old! :)

Who out of the nu breed of dj's coming through do you think will be big in
2009?

Glen: Im gonna try & keep away from the obvious choices here such as Helen G, Caz Wood, Wain Johnstone etc as they seem to be alot more established now. As ive mentioned earlier Dj Ectic, we are eagerly awaiting the release of his 1st EP on Audio Hedz Recordings which is gonna stamp his name firmly on the scene & ive recently heard samples of his newest tracks & they are just lethal, we just need to see him playing regular up & down the country. Nicky D is another one to keep an eye on, she was joint winner with us in the Bounce 2 This Dj comp & we had the pleasure of playing alongside her at the last B2T event, she has some serious skills both on the decks & in the studio. Last but most definatley not least is Charlie Bosh, he's been playing quite alot of events lately & rightly so, his mixing skills are totally unique & go really well with his infectious bounce sets, we cant get enough of his mixes lately & we're not supprised D-Railed bagged him as their new resident.

Will: Rich & Joe (Audio Hedz) two extremely talented DJ/Producers, aside from witnessing their highly skilled crowd erupting antics behind the decks we have been quite fortunate to have a sneak peak of what they’re going to be releasing on their new label AHR later in the year. Collaborations with the likes of Steve Hill, Anne Savage, DJ Ectic as well as ourselves and there is some great stuff in the pipeline for them. Audio Hedz are extremely hard working and individuals, top blokes that are highly passionate about their music and the scene as a whole. They deserve every success. Also keep an eye on Nathalie and Nicky D! We’d like to see them do well !

Who do you think will win best dj and best producer in the upcoming
harddance awards?

Glen: Now this is tough, the artist i think will win best dj is Lisa Lashes, she's made quite the comeback this last year & has headlined all the major events in the country but the dj i'd personally like to see win it is Kutski, he's so underated. That guy in my opinion is THE most skilled Dj out there, its just a pity the voting goes on popularity & not how talented they are behind the decks. Best producer this year has to go to Alf "Technikal" Bamford simply due to the quality of his tracks & the sheer amount he's released in the past year, no one else comes close.

Will: I agree, I think Kutski is the most skilled DJ around and deserves Best DJ. Best producer should go to Technikal because of his versitility as a producer and the sheer work volume in all the collaborations has knocked out over the space of last year with no room for improvement. Each as good as the last! Unfortunatly the Hard Dance awards are a popularity contest, if only results were critical rather than 'just because' we'd see these names do well more often.

Where can people find out more about you?

Glen: We have groups & pages on all the usual sites full of information about us & our upcoming gigs, free mixes & also free tracks every once in a while to show our gratitude to our loyal members, here's the linkage..

myspace.com

Energy Syndicate DSI

facebook.com

CATCH ENERGY SYNDICATE THIS FRIDAY AT HARDBEAT MANIFESTO, LEEDS

Event Details

Hardbeat Manifesto presents Classics v Nubreeds
@ Club Mission, Heaton Court, Leeds

Friday 6th February 2009, 10pm – 5am

£10 all night

Arch 1 Hardbeat Manifesto

Special Guest...Ingo
(Bounce Classics)

Dark By Design (Classics set)
Ilogik (Sounds of the Elasticman)
Phil York (Tranzlation Classics)
Helen G b2b Nathalie
Mike Avery
COMPETITION WINNERS...ENERGY SYNDICATE

Arch 2 Totallyfunkedup

Cassette Jam (Cream, Ibiza Rocks)
Funkedupdjs
Dean H
SPECIAL SURPRISE GUEST

Tickets Available from;

Hardbeat Manifesto presents...Classics v Nubreeds

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