Music : Hardcore
The Arizona Hardcore Massive is back!!
Ok people... it is with the most delightful joy I announce the official headliners for Kandieland V!!
A dream since day one of our crews... is a reality...
Your lineup for Kandieland V.......
Darren Styles - United Kingdom[All Around The World/Junkbox Records]
For the first time in nearly 10 years, the undisputed king of U.K. Hardcore comes to the United States. Darren Styles touches down in Phoenix, Arizona for one mind blowing event. More than four years of work have gone into confirming the arrival of this God among Hardcore giants. Finally making his triumphant return to the U.S., we are flattered, humbled, thrilled and delighted to have such a legendary producer here on this epic night.
Inspired by his first experience of the underground rave scene way back in 1992, Darren teamed up with friend Paul Hobbs and formed ‘Force & Styles.’ These two rapidly became two of the biggest and exciting names on a hardcore scene that was just begging.
Over the next few years they continued wring and producing together and they were responsible for a host of hardcore classics including “Pretty Green Eyes,” “Heart of Gold”, “Paradise & Dreams” to name just a few. Force & Styles were also the first Hardcore DJ’s to produce a mix for Pete Tong’s Essential Mix on BBC Radio One. Pretty Green Eyes was later re-recorded by Ultrabeat and reached Number 2 in the top 30 and went on to sell over 300,000 copies!
After 1997, already becoming a massive Hardcore producer, Darren’s growing interest in trance saw him team up with fellow hardcore legend Mark Breeze and together they formed Styles & Breeze. Together they immediately made an impact with anthems such as “You’re Shining” and “Heartbeatz” which both went on to be top 20 hits. Darren is one of the founding father of the hardcore trance sound. He spent much of the 90’s breaking boundaries and establishing himself as one of the most prolific dance artists of the last decade.
In 2005, Darren joined forces with long-time collaborator Mark Breeze and Raverbaby director DJ Hixxy to release Clubland X-Treme which went straight to No. 1 on the charts. The compilation remains the biggest selling hardcore album of all time, and has reached sales of over 600,000 across the four previous releases. Darren currently works very closely with the world’s biggest commercial dance music label, “All Around The World.”
In June 2008 Darren’s solo career debut album “Skydivin” made a very impressive entry in the official top 40 album chart at number 4. Stand out tracks included “Save Me” “Discolights” “Right By Your Side” and “Come Running.”
Darren has won countless awards in the dance world for his work. Most recently 08 saw Darren make a clean sweep at the Hardcore Awards , winning Best DJ, Best Producer & “Save Me” won track of the year. This was followed up by retaining his title of best DJ at the 07 awards, and in 08 he again picked up Best Producer and “Flashlight”: won track of the year.
Darren has been DJ’ing all over the UK every weekend for the last 14 years. Playing legendary early 90’s events such as Dreamscape, Fantazia and Helter Skelter. More recent residencies include Slammin’ Vinyl, Hardcore Heaven and of course Hardcore Til I Die. On tour with Clubland Live! Darren performed alongside with legends such as Scooter and Cascada in front of more than 80,000 adoring fans!
junkboxrecords.co.uk
darrenstyles.co.uk
aatw.com
Jamie Ritmen - United Kingdom [U.K. Dance / Nukleuz]
jamieritmen.com
myspace.com
myspace.com
Jamie Ritmen otherwise known as 'Gridbreaker' for his hard dance work first began producing dance music at the age of 16 at High School with Darren Styles and Paul Hughes formerly part of DJ Force and The Evolution. In the beginning with a determination to get their music heard they played gigs at Oscars in 1992. When Jamie Darren and Paul met Dj Force who liked the style and saw the great potential and talent of the trio, Dj Force and The Evolution was born and went on to perform at Hardcore Heaven, Dance Paradise, Destiny and toured Germany on many occasions and Knite Force Records became their main label, as well as going under the name ‘A Sense Of Summer’ on Slipmatts ‘universal’ label.
After the group disbanded and went in different directions, Darren and Force became Force and Styles and the rest for them is history. Jamie came back into the scene in 2006, setting up a studio in his bedroom and attends Point Blank Music College in London to develop his engineering skills. With the help of Styles and Breeze he began working tirelessly to create his own style, and once again determined to have an impact on the hardcore scene which by now had changed with a huge trance euro element, this suited his style.
His tracks are now being played by Darren Styles, Mark Breeze, Dougal, Hixxy ,Kutski on his Radio 1 show and many others plus DJ Sy who remixed Jamie’s ' Amnesia 05' a track written after his experience in Ibiza in 2005.With tracks appearing on the last 2 Clubland X-Treme albums’ along with featured tracks on the ‘True Hardcore’ ‘Hard Fast & Furious’ compilations and the massive remix of the Styles & Breeze track ‘Chemical Love’ was the opening track on the ‘Hardcore Adrenalin 2 ‘ compilation , he is certainly kicking the door down and smashing his way into the hardcore scene once again. Jamie also has releases set for Breezy’s new label ‘Futureworld’ and Darren Styles new label ‘Junkbox’, as well as ‘Make Believe’ & ’24 hrs’ to be released on Hectek Records, he is also set to set up his own label in the near future. Projects are also planned this year for collaborations with Styles, Dougal & Gamma and DJ Breeze making Jamie the most sought after producer on the scene.
This year Ritmen also took control of UK Dance from DJ Force allowing him total control over his own music and his passion for finding new talent. You can view more info on UK Dance at
Jamie has also played sets at ‘Delirium’ in Bristol, ‘Nemesis’ in Swansea and played the biggest event of the year at ‘HTID In The Sun’ .Now also working with such household names as Anne Savage, Kiss FM DJ Nikki Elise and hard house Guru Carl Nicholson producing Hard Dance, he has recently engineered Anne's mix for the eagerly awaited triple album ' Hard Fast & Furious'.and most recently the 'Legacy' compilation which has been one of her most successful mix downloads to date. Along with Kutski's support on his Radio 1 show smashing Ritmens tunes every week the future is certainly bright for one of the most exciting talents in the business. Watch out 2008 Ritmens on his way!..
Marc Smith - United Kingdom
Few artists in the UK hardcore scene can boast the pedigree, experience and talents of the Scottish rave legend that is…Marc Smith. Still blowing back boundaries today, Marc's journey through turntable culture can be tracked right back to 1985 when the ultra charismatic Glaswegian began chopping up early hip hop in his bedroom, before teaming up with local rappers, beat-boxers and break-dancers for the next few years until he became hooked on the newly emerging dance music sound, and he's never looked back !!
It was two years later, however, when a 17 year old Smith gained his first true rave culture experience, with his quick wrIsted deck talents securing him a long standing residency at one of Glasgow's early acid house havens at The Warehouse. Marc's intuitive talents didn't go unnoticed with further long running residencies at 'The Club Hacienda', and 'Euphoria @ Heaven' following quickly behind. Spinning classic early dance classics like 'Voodoo Ray' and Joey Beltram's 'Energy Flash', these nights were to become infamous in the formative Scottish clubbing culture, and made DJ Marc Smith a household rave name practically over night. With army's of ravers following his every move, Marc soon earned a reputation as DJ who pushed the mixer, the turntables and his music to its absolute limits, merging the turntable intensity of his hip hop schooling with the electric energy of early rave culture.
The early 90s rolled on by and rave's energy had built the scene into an explosive force with Marc Smith riding high at the forefront of the movement. Now known as a true innovator and pioneering DJ and producer, Marc was deservedly voted Scotland's No 1 dj by the readers of Clubscene magazine the Scottish clubbers' bible and went on to win that title for the next 6 years in a row, as well as numerous other accolades... like voted Best Scottish dj in the Irish Dance Music Awards, and also Best Scottish DJ by the listeners of the late, great Tom Wilson's show "Stepping Out" on Forth FM. Legendary massive parties like Holocaust, Technodrome, Amnesia, World Party, Awesome 101 and Earthquaker and the like's soon called upon Smith's dynamite deck talents as the seminal Scottish bouncy techno sound began to take shape around 1993. Between 1993 and 1995, Marc took on his prized residency at the massive Rezerection party where his sets there have went down in Scottish rave history. . Often likened to the Scottish version of Slipmatt or Sy…………………
Not content with achieving legendary status across from behind the turntables, Marc's creative visions had also forced him into the studio with the explosive rave eruption of his first ep 'Breakdown' surfacing on Clubscene in 1992. Impressively, his follow up 'Techno'd Up' had tracks that were caned by loads of the Dutch DJs and by none other than the then hardcore master Carl Cox as well as the likes of Scott Brown and Brisk and numerous others. In 1994 Smith then stuck his neck out alongside his new business partner Tony Montgomery to launch the Notorious Vinyl record shop and a label of the same name – a name that would follow Marc till the present day.
Then came the raw manic rave belter 'Pump Up The Noize' in 1995 – the bouncy techno classic that remains a regular anthem at raves to this day. It was the Scottish sound's first true timeless anthem. As Marc's production came into its own, he then unloaded yet another classic anthem in the epic yet hard hitting 'Boom N Pow' the following year, which lead up to his accomplished debut LP, 'The Past, Present and Future, in 1997'. Alongside Marc's close friend Sharkey, Smith remains one of only two UK hardcore artists to have released an artist album of solo material and the final product represented a journey across the full spectrum of hardcore - from rave to vocal to banging to bouncy – ending on the experimental guitar breakbeat meets kick drum frenzy journey of 'Echoplex'. A track that showed Marc's true diversity and versatility in the studio to full effect it remains totally unique in style and sound.
Over the late 90s, Marc then continued to spread his banging party friendly DJ sound at raves across Scotland and all over the uk with a jam packed gig diary - regularly rockin parties like Hardcore Heaven and his long running Northern residency of Vibealite to mention just a few. Around this period, Smith continued to work closely with fellow Scottish rave legend Scott Brown and started the label Federation Records with him, and went on to also do remixes and productions on Brown's legendary Evolution label whilst Ultra Sonic, TTF, Chemical Mass, El Bruto and Ultimate Buzz and many others all benefiting from Smith's distinctive remixing magic touch.
Now already spending now most of his time working there, In 2001, Smith then headed South of the border to hook up with soft southerners Sharkey and K Complex. Having previously invited Sharkey north of the border into Marc's studio to collaborate on seminal anthems like Oh No, Truth, Death by Stereo and It's all just Hardcore. Sharkey returned invite – it was a significant move as the result produced the intense hardcore blaster 'Identify The Beat'. Unique, innovative and full of hardcore power, its formula defying arrangement worked through a grunged out trance n 'bass breakdown, intense acid surges and heavy hitting kicks. Like nothing else of its time it became a stern favourite of the Radio One's late bastion of musical democracy John Peel – who even included the track on his mix for London superclub Fabric, and made it number 8 in his festive 50 list.
The next few years were spent preparing and perfecting the awaited relaunch of his Notorious Vinyl whilst headlining DJ sets continued to roll in at the likes of HTID, Uproar, Slammin Vinyl, Vibealite and the infamous Tidy Weekenders. During this time Smith's international diary continued to read like a Heathrow Airport departure board with sets in Australia, Austria, Holland, Canada and New York to reel off just a few.
By 2006 though, the time was finally right to unleash the Notorious beast once and for all. Wasting no time in ripping its way through raveland, the first relaunch release was an instant favourite with the tough euphoric banger 'Gravity' and the orchestral piano breakdowns of heavy kicker 'Wot Da Fuck' balancing old favourite 'Thik N Fast'.
Whilst so many others follow the obvious fads and fashions, Marc Smith continues to reel in an abundance of main room bookings and make a Notorious name for himself by stamping out his own and his label's unique party friendly sound without surrendering to the more mainstream oriented side of the hardcore scene. Pure hardcore power with all the notorious Smith individuality. The second Notorious EP with Gammer proved that – if done right - the tougher side of hardcore can still rock the ravefloors to their foundations as the head-twisting rave rollercoaster 'Pump This Party' and heavy kicking mayhem of 'One With The Beat' both secured major CD licenses and became solid favourites in the boxes of Gammer, Brisk, Kevin Energy and Sharkey.
Fast paced and accompanied by the Scotsman's party loving energy and infectious charisma, Smith's own DJ sets with his flawless mixing and awesome deck abilities, coupled with his awesome stage presence continue to stand out as the most explosive, energetic, diverse and open-minded in today's scene! As everything from partycore energy, uplifting synth riffs and even massive vocal numbers to brockin' drum & bass tracks whip up the rave storm like only Marc Smith knows how.
In short, Marc Smith over the years on the journey through his career has played every style of rave dance music from acid house to techno, house to drum and bass through to his hardcore sound he has pioneered today and has played alongside every major dj in the dance scene as a whole…not just hardcore, and he's Dj'd at just about every major club and party, toured all over the world, also his productions and remixes have… and continue to, generate massive anticipation and create insane floor damage in raveland! He has also done various mixes for albums like, Clubscene, Rezerection, Hardcore heaven, Futurevibe and 2 for the famous Bonkers series.
Over twenty years at the top of his game and still as Notorious as ever, Marc Smith is………a true rave legend and entertainer like no other!!!
Locals:
Skeltaboy & Cojami
Arizona Hardcore Junkies – Happy Gabber Set
Starr & Sixxx & Sparrow
Mako & Ixnay
Rize w/ MC Berzerk
** Official F.A.Q. For KANDIELAND V! Please read BEFORE asking questions.**
Question? – Where can I get presale tickets for this event?
Answer – At the Marquee Theater box office, Bookman’s Book Store, or online here: luckymanonline.com (fees apply)
Question? – Is this party ‘all ages’ ?
Answer – No, this is a 16+ event and I.D. is required to enter
Question? – Will my presale ticket from Groovetickets or London West still be valid?
Answer – Yes, you can go to the box office any time they are open to exchange your ticket.
Question? – Will there be a bar there?
Answer – Yes, there will be three bars for people over 21. You will need to show I.D.
Question? – What time will this music festival end?
Answer – 2:00AM following the city curfew policy.
Question? – Should I carpool?
Answer – Yes, Yes, Most definitely yes!
Question? – Why do I have to pay so much to buy my tickets online?
Answer – The concert venue is offering you the rare convenience to purchase tickets online, and they charge for that convenience. To avoid most fees, buy your tickets at the box office at the venue.
Question – When is the box-office open at the Marquee theater?
Answer – Monday through Friday from 12:00 Noon to 6:00 P.M and during any concert
Question – Can I buy my ticket with a credit card or debit card at the box office?
Answer – Yes, but they will charge you the 3.5% merchant services fee they pay to process the card
Question – Should I buy my ticket with cash at the box office?
Answer – YES! That will save you the most money on the fees commonly added to concert ticket purchases.
Question? – Will this event sell out?
Answer – YES! As always we plan to sell out to full capacity.
Question? – Should I buy a presale ticket to avoid missing one of the greatest events in history?
Answer – YES! Be smart, don’t miss the amazing memories! Go to the box office and buy your tickets!
Question? – Should I wear big pants?
Answer – We highly encourage the wearing of big pants!
Question? – Will there be a smoking area?
Answer – Yes, the Marquee Theater features a fantastic outdoor smoking area with benches and fresh air. Smoking inside the venue is not allowed.
Question? – Will there be ‘re-entry’ to this event?
Answer – No, the policy of Marquee Theater is to not allow re-entry. If you must leave you would be required to purchase a new ticket to enter.
Question? – Can I bring gum?
Answer – NO.
Question? – Can I bring my bag in with me?
Answer – Bags are subjest to search
Question? – Where should I get a hotel so I can be close to the show?
Answer – Anywhere in Tempe or East Phoenix would place you within 30 minutes of the venue.
Question? – What is the address and phone number for the Marquee Theatre?
Answer – 730 N. Mill Ave - Tempe, AZ 85281 - telephone # 480.829.0607
Question? – I can’t find Kandieland listed on www.LuckyManOnline.com for event info?
Answer – They list by artist. Search the events for Darren Styles or just use the Calendar.