Hi Alf thanks for letting me take this opportunity to find out a little bit about your DJing/Production career prior to Hard Dance Mania...

What inspired you to get into music production?

Hey there Ross, thanks for taking the time out to interview me! Well I’ve been heavily into dance music from a young age – my obsession with it started when I visited my older brother when I was about 12 and he showed me his decks. I was mesmerized from the off – he was into his garage and trance big-style, and although I wasn’t too fond of the music at the time I loved what he was doing manipulating the different sounds. He gave me a copy of his latest mix tape and I left it on my shelf for a few months, and picked it up by accident one morning when I did my paper round. I listened intently to it and fell in love with the trance sounds – tracks such as “Universal Nation” and “Grooveline” were on the tape, and I needed more of this music!

After listening to trance for a year or so, I picked up some basic music software on the PlayStation (Music Creation) and I became heavily into it – spending my social time I should have been out with my friends just writing tracks! It snowballed and I ended up on a copy of Fruityloops a bit later, and started to get a much more professional sound. This has continued to today, where I am now on Cubase SX writing the music that I want clubbers to hear!

Being a bit of an all rounder in the dance scene what music genre do you prefer to produce?

Tricky one! I write music in 4 different genres now, and I find it really important to be able to bounce between styles. Looking back it wasn’t stimulating just producing hard trance! I must say that in recent months I’ve had the most fun writing hardcore music. I’m a big melody man and find that hardcore really pushes you to find brilliant harmonies and chord structures – that’s what I enjoy most! I’ve also really got back into producing my Technikal hard trance sound. I’ve adapted it a lot more recently and it has a much more serious, almost psy influenced sound!

Playing your Hard Dance Mania debut set back to back with Steve Blake should make for total hard dance mania, do you have anything planned or are you just gonna go with the flow?

Well I can guarantee it’s a going to be a very tough euphoric set, blending Steve’s trademark Impact sound with my energetic uplifting sound. We actually started a track together a while ago – maybe we can get it finished for this back 2 back!

What tune do you think has been your biggest release so far?

I’d have to say it’s definitely been “Global Panic”. That release really helped push the Technikal name onto the lips of the hard dance crowd. I’ve sold more copies of that track than any other, and it still gets mad reactions today – I played it yesterday at Creamfields as my last tune and the place erupted! It’s very important to drop a few signature classics in now and again.

Who have you had the most fun in the studio with?

I’ve worked with some amazing people in the studio, I would have to say my most fun studio session was a big get together with MDA & Spherical and Chrysus. We banged out “Tekamine” over two days, but it was great fun because we were writing the track as 4 mates. Steve Hill always injects a load of fun into the proceedings too – with many a Wetherspoons visits and Mousetrap quiz games!!

You recently just finished a tour in Australia what was that like?

This was actually my third time out there – and definitely the best yet! I met my wonderful girlfriend out there the second time I toured, so when we both went back over this year I had a lot of time in the week to enjoy Australia with her and her family, and saw a lot more of it than I did previous times! Had some mad stories from the gigs too - at one in particular the club being evacuated midway through my set – pretty scary stuff! I’m itching to get back out there though – it’s definitely my favourite country in the world.

Still at such a young age for a DJ/Producer you have accomplished so much where do you see yourself in the future?

Thank you very much! Well I’ve been branching out with the hardcore a lot under my TECHNIKORE name, so am really hoping to be able to juggle that alongside What inspired you to get into music production?

Probably one of your best achievements to date is playing at the world renowned Dance Valley how did it feel to have that honour?

Pretty damned wicked! I was over the moon when I learnt I’d been booked for it. It’s a very prestigious gig and one that I thought I wouldn’t have a chance of playing for a very long time yet! The event in itself was incredible – a real magical atmosphere. I went over with my best friends too, so I got to experience the second day from a clubbers perspective – and what a day that was!

You have done a couple of re-mixes for 'Darren Styles' including 'You’re My Angel' and just recently 'Save Me' have you got any more plans to re-mix hardcore tracks to the hard dance scene?

It’s actually more than a couple – I have remixed (under various guises) five of Darren’s tracks! As Technikal I have done “You’re My Angel”, “Save Me”, “Getting Better”, “Dropzone” and as Elemental I have remixed “I Will Be”. I don’t specifically plan to rework hardcore into hard trance, it just has happened a lot recently! “You’re My Angel” was actually done just for a one off special for my friends and me to play out. We loved the original hardcore tune so much I asked Hixxy for the parts to hard trance it. It just so happened that Andy Whitby started caning it and Nukleuz got in touch for licensing it!

After the success of “You’re My Angel”, Darren requested that I did a similar job with “Getting Better” and “I Will Be”, for All Around The World. It was at this time I also landed the remix of “A Feeling” by Stu Allan from Nukleuz, so it looked like I was some kind of hardcore remixing factory at one point!

“Save Me” came about when I went to Hardcore Heaven with the missus and I was blown away by the chord structure of the original, and the amazing vocals. I did this one for fun too, but All Around The World ended up licensing it anyway!

As for future hardcore to hard trance – sure! I have great fun doing them, love working with vocals, and they seem to be some of the biggest reactions I get from tracks in a set!

'Save Me' is rocking the dance floors all over the country and the moment but when is it due to be release?

Darren Styles – “Save Me” (including the Technikal remix) is due to be released on All Around The World. Darren is about to film the video, so I’m guessing it is a couple of months off yet! The original hardcore mixes of “Save Me” (Original / Sy & Unknown Remix) are planned for Raverbaby – I’m guessing they will be a couple of months off too!

I'm sure i speak for the majority of people who are going to Hard Dance Mania that 'Technikal B2B Steve Blake' is going to be something not to be missed...

Once again thank you Alf for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat with us and we'll be seeing you on the 15th September at Hidden for another night of Total Mayhem and Hard Dance Mania...