Page 17 - Hard EDM - 2017 Yearbook 28.01.18.pdf

12. Q&A: Buursen

Winning the hearts and votes from people, as well as respect from the crowd doesn't come by luck, it
comes from working tirelessly with determination to pursue your dreams.
We interviewed Brisbane's own Hulk and the weapon of mass destruction. He is this year's QLD Defqon.1
DJ competition winner - Buursen.

Q. How long have you been DJing for and what got you ended up winning the competition, kicking a goal I could
into the scene? have only ever dreamed of, being the first person to win the
Defqon comp in Brisbane with a raw hardstyle set. I was over
11 months now! My DJing career all started for me right at the moon by all the support I was receiving from people I
the beginning of this year when my wife Amy messaged hadn't even met before and it created a huge drive in me to
Hektic to organise my first DJ setup as a surprise for my bring something really new and special to the scene in
birthday - she along with all my friends chipped in to buy all Brisbane. It made me want to make my raw sets an
the equipment and I literally had no idea! I had been saying experience for the crowd when I play instead of just an
for a long time how much I wanted to start mixing. Anytime ordinary DJ set to really get everyone onboard the raw
we had friends over and it involved music, I would be up express, so I began to think outside the box. Nothing felt
every 5 minutes changing the music via AUX cord haha - the greater to me than helping our scene I love so much grow, so
roots were there. raw had to be groomed very carefully, but it definitely
I first got into the hardstyle scene back in '08 when I was 16. helped with both Andy's believing in me and James
I was playing a surf map in Counter-Strike: Source and a (Divergence) beng by my side with the same vision.
player was blasting Headhunterz - Rock Civilization over
voice chat. I had never heard anything like it, so I asked for Playing Defqon.1 Australia was absolutely everything I could
the song name and the rest is history! As for the Brisbane have ever dreamed of, honestly the best experience in my
scene though, I initially got exposed to it at the end of 2012 life. I could have never imagined when I began DJing at the
when I saw the flyer for the first edition of Shokk featuring start of the year that I would be up there on purple stage
Wildstylez, Psyko Punkz and Tha Playah pop up in my playing in front of my beloved Brisbane crowd and more
newsfeed. I had no idea at the time hardstyle events even later that same year! I felt so proud representing Hard EDM
existed in Brisbane so my main go to genre for dance music down there and getting to do my piece in helping place
at the time was heavy dubstep. I bought my tickets to Shokk Brisbane on the map. I definitely want to do that again in
and went with my little brother on the evening before the future and will be working my absolute hardest to be
Australia Day 2013 and had the absolute best night of my able to get an opportunity like that again!
life! It's been amazing to watch the Brisbane community
grow in numbers to where it is now from that event! Q. What are your goals for 2018 and beyond?
Q. Winning the QLD Defqon.1 DJ competition and playing Focusing on helping to continue the growth of our scene, I
a set at Defqon.1 Australia is a big achievement. Can you am very excited for the new concept nights We Are Raw and
tell us how prepared yourself for these gigs, and what We Are Hardcore and hope to help as much as possible in
impacts they have had on you? planning these nights to see them through as a success like
the locals nights we had this year, and to feel like I really
This is a good story actually! I Made it through to the semi- helped be a part of something fresh and new in Brisbane! For
finals but inconveniently at the time I was also away for a myself, I'm always looking at ways I can keep the progression
month out bush with the army. I was working 16 hour days so moving forward and improve as a DJ and as a producer, as my
every 5 minute break I had I would be asking friends and biggest fear is becoming stagnant. So I'm always trying to
family to vote! I made it through and then next minute the think outside the box! All my focus is aimed at bringing Hard
semi-finals date gets announced as the day after I was set to EDM the best shows they could possibly hope for, give the
fly back so I literally almost missed out had it been any crowd intensity, and try my best to make each set better
earlier! Flew back the night before the comp and made the than the last. All this while balancing being a family man as
best 20 minute rawstyle set I could think of including my me and Amy just gave birth to my beautiful daughter Ayla,
new at the time E-Force - Seven edit and Sub Zero Project future raw queen haha.
mashup not knowing how well my new work would be
received by the crowd. The next day I only practiced about 3 Q. How much chicken breast does one have to consume to
or 4 times as I didn't want to overdo it, even though it was become the size of Buursen?
my first time mixing in a month. I felt very confident, I'm
extremely passionate about rawstyle so it all felt natural to Chicken breast? That's too clean, to become the size of
me when I played that night, and was blown away when I Buursen you need to eat at least 24 McNuggets a day and
wash it down with a multi-vitamin hahaha.