SEAN GROTZ INTERVIEW – BY HARD AS NAILS

So hows it going Grotzy?

Good as always hey! Working hard, and playing harder!

So how did you get into making Hard Dance?Was it a tune or a person or both that got you there?

Wow where to begin haha. I guess it was when I got my first hard house album at the age of 14. Extreme Euphoria mixed by Lisa Lashes. Still got it and in brilliant condition! A few months after I got the album, and after listening to it practically every day, I was wondering how the artists produce the sounds and the bass and the kick, the whole 10 yards. My mum actually bought me my first production program; Techno Ejay. I played with it and used every feature that you could possibly do with it.. but I wanted more. I eventually got myself Steinberg and Reason and started playing around with them. And I guess the rest is history!

You are based in South Africa arnt you? So whats the scene like over there?Is it fairly busy or is it a few lads dancing in a bush

Yes, currently I’m in Johannesburg, having lived all around South Africa. haha it depends where you are, but yes we got a couple of lads who dance in the bushes! And no we don’t have rhino’s and lions in our backyards…lol. The scene here is very traditional African. Lots of people here still hold their Zulu, Sotho, and Xhosa ways and beliefs. So often you will see people wandering around in their traditional attires and animal skins, but like I said it depends where you are. Johannesburg for example is very modern and you won’t see anyone like that.
As for the hard dance scene… it’s practically dead. We have only 2 clubs, that I know of, that are dedicated hard house joints. And one party that occurs bi-annually in JHB. The scene never really kicked off here to be honest. Lisa Lashes and BK go to our coastlines in Cape Town quite often, sad to say I’ve never been able to get to one of their performances. The biggest music scenes here would be Kwaito and Indie-Rock.

How many years have you been producing for?Was it always hard dance?

From the age of 14, so that would be 10 years. Nah not always hard dance. Although I was panning towards it! Started off with trance, dance, and a bit of hip hop for a friend of mine. I eventually kicked myself into hard dance and hard house about 4 years back.

What other types of music are you into?Do they influence what you produce?

Phew… my music is quite broad. My soul dances to hard house, unconditionally. But other genres I really enjoy would be indie rock, heavy metal, fidget, heavy dubstep, tribal, new age, hard trance, dnb, screamo. That would be a handful of them. Some of the heavy metal tunes do influence me slightly, but it’s more my twisted, grotted mind that does the influential audio damage.

Whats your take on the whole mp3/internet explosion of the last few years?Is this good or bad for the scene in the long run?

I’m in-between views about this. No because I think vinyl’s are absolute classics and really drives uniqueness out of the disc jockeys. And yes because your mp3′s can’t break, or get scratched, or stolen (hopefully) so the longevity of the track is preserved, irrespective of the amount of quality it may have lost.

Are you playing anywhere soon?Any new tracks we should know about?
Mixing has never been a strong skill of mine haha. But I would like to do it professionally. I play around with mixing now and then. So I might be playing in the near future! New tracks? hmmm, now that would be telling.. lol. But yes, I have a upcoming collaboration with my hero and idol of all things filthy and filled with NRG; Random But Raw. Looking forward to that! Also got a new solo release I am working on, as well as another collaboration with a talented artist Mr. Marky T. Zoe Holborn and myself talked about doing a track too but that’s still under wraps. Many projects to come in the near future, and for a long time to come

Ever seen an anteater?

Haha I live in Africa mate, what do you think? Can tell ya the scariest thing I’ve seen is Mandingo and his anaconda.. hahaha

What do you like doing when you arnt producing tracks?

Chill at home, watch movies, go to theme parks, spend the evenings with friends or go out on a adventure somewhere. I can be very spontaneous at times, and placid at others.

Favourite colour?

Dark Green and Dark Purple

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