Proudly representing 25 years of Masters of Hardcore in true spirit, the Italian living legend Dj Mad Dog made a statement with the release of his spectacular anthem “Magnum Opus” with Dave Revan. But there’s more… He also recently released the 2022 Masters of Hardcore anthem “Immortal” with Evil Activities. We had the chance to catch up with Mad Dog about the details of both anthems, as well as what Masters of Hardcore means to him.
Hey Mad Dog! First of all, thank you for this interview. We’re super excited to talk to you about your two anthems and the 25th anniversary of Masters of Hardcore. First of all, after an absence of events, we are glad to welcome you back to the stage. How have you been spending this quiet time?
In this crazy period my life has been completely turned upside down, I had to deal with obstacles that life puts you through. I had been quite lost for 7 months since March 2020, my inner stability was completely gone, but I found it back in what has been always next to me and that guided me up here, which is making music. So after the first 7 months of the pandemic my creativity came back stronger than ever and I did many tracks, worked on my music videos and scheduled new goals for the future.
Can you share something about the creative process behind creating the anthem?
I wanted to make this anthem a real celebrative tune to represent the 25 year anniversary, so I got inspired by some retro Hardcore tunes as well as some of the biggest Masters anthems. In 2020 when I produced the anthem, I made everything in a specific arrangement with many different kicks and glorious lyrics made and sung by Dave Revan, who is a real master in these kinds of jobs.
How did you integrate the celebration of 25 years of Masters of Hardcore in your anthem?
I think the lyrics play the biggest role in this track. The combination between Dave’s lyrics and the narrator text (written by Marc Out) makes the perfect mix to celebrate the Masters of Hardcore essence.
The text talks about our passion for this scene and how we fought together to achieve this level.
Just the text alone gives you goosebumps all over your body; I just had to find the right balance between notes and words.
Your anthem contains a cool and ravey old-school vibe to it. Why did you choose to go for this sort of sound in the anthem?
Because for me, this anthem is like a family book – something you can find with the old black & white photos, to the more recent digital 4K pictures. For this reason, I decided to dedicate the entire mid-intro part to the vintage Gabber Rave sounds embedded in a 2020 track.
How long was the entire process of creating the anthem?
I love to take my time for these kinds of projects, find the right lyrics with Dave, get enthusiastic with the demo and then get frustrated ‘cause the track isn’t going in the direction I want.
Sometimes I leave the track in hold for months to rediscover everything in a different period. It’s a long process that started the day I was asked to create the anthem until it was complete – which in this case, was months.
And it doesn’t stop there… Earlier this month you also released the Masters of Hardcore 2022 anthem “Immortal” with Evil Activities. What inspired you to begin working on this project and collaborate with Evil Activities?
Kelly (Evil Activities) is one of my favorite Hardcore producers. We have the same vision and passion for this kind of music. We love to spend ages on our collaborations and if necessary, even trash everything to start all over again. We take this music very seriously; no compromise, no gimmicks to gain a few likes on social media. It’s very rare to find these kinds of qualities in Hardcore producers nowadays.
The track has been inspired by these values too. A pure Mainstream Hardcore track that wants to express the immortality of our sound, that keeps going even after all these years and difficulties we have been through.
Hardcore will never die.
The theme for this edition was Magnum Opus. This makes us curious, what do you consider to be your Magnum Opus?
My Magnum Opus is being in the scene for so long and releasing music that I like and not music that the market wants.
Masters of Hardcore has been there for the past 25 years and has played a big role in the lives of thousands of Hardcore heads. What does MOH mean to you personally?
I strongly believe that without Masters of Hardcore the entire scene would have collapsed. It’s a fact that the Masters of Hardcore club world tours ignited and still ignite the Hardcore scene in Europe (Italy and Spain being the first examples). It’s a fact that the wonderful shows in the Brabanthallen make our scene more attractive for new fans, producers and promoters, who are the engine of our scene. It’s a fact that with over 400 releases on their catalogue, Masters of Hardcore inspired uncountable fans and new artists all over the world.
So for me, Masters is really the essence of today’s Hardcore.
In 25 years there have been loads of Masters of Hardcore parties. What was your absolute favorite Masters of Hardcore edition and why?
Personally, I loved all the Masters of Hardcore in Italy editions. The atmosphere was huge, everything was new and we were all much more carefree. I really hope to see Masters of Hardcore in Italy again, especially in these tough times for the Italian Hardcore scene such an event would be a relief.
Aside from your own anthem, which is your all-time favorite Masters anthem?
Definitely the “Voice of Mayhem”. It set the standard for the Hardcore anthems.
MOH has already been around for 25 years. What are your opinions on the future of Hardcore?
Hardcore has never been so international like it is today and I am lucky to travel the world every weekend to perform. It’s really clear to me that variety is the keyword for the future of our music. We passed years where certain formulas set the standard, locking us in just a few European countries, but now we have a very wide palette of tools usable in our music, from slow, deep and acid to fast, happy and melodic and everything in between. We just have to use these tools without being afraid of being different.
And of course, what other pieces are you working on in the studio at the moment?
In these crazy times I have worked on a lot of music, I produced “Hundreds Of Dogs” with Dave Revan to celebrate our 100th Dogfight release, Millennium oriented songs like “Mean Streets” and “Aria” and released “What Is Hardcore?” on Thunderdome Music. In February 2022 I also released the second ‘Downtempo’ EP with a real live act filmed at NDSM Amsterdam.
In this moment of my career, I don’t plan that much. Making music is a necessity for me, I’m always in studio and I schedule my projects day by day. Recently I’ve also been asked to make a remix of a legendary Hardcore track by a legendary Hardcore artist. I’ll be busy working on this one very soon! Expect another ‘Downtempo’ EP III to close the trilogy, a very fast hardcore tune, some collaborations and an album at some point.
That’s about it! Just find me on Spotify for new music and YouTube for videos!
Any last words for our readers?
Follow Dogfight Records!!!
Thank you to DJ Mad Dog for this interview! And remember to check out his anthem “Magnum Opus” with Dave Revan and “Immortal” with Evil Activities on all major download and streaming portals.
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