Hey Ibiza Club News Fam, this is the twin DJ/Producer duo from NYC, Castor & Pollux where we have an awesome ADE recap for you! We give you an inside look at the Rave Culture ADE Night that took place on Thursday, October 19th, 2023. We covered the event and also did another part of the Artist on Artist Interview Series. A bit of background on us, we are twins from NYC where we have been producing our own music for 8 years and have been DJing for 4 years where we have played alongside proclaimed acts such as Martin Garrix, Tiesto, Alan Walker, Alesso and Zedd. We have also released our original productions on great labels such as Revealed Recordings, BODYWRMR, Nexchapter and Turn It Up Muzik.
Thursday of Amsterdam Dance Event was a big night as there were many parties and events going on but one of the biggest events of the night had to be Rave Culture where it was another sold out show at Q-Factory. Rave Culture held their annual showcase for industry and fans for those looking to party till the early hours of the morning. The Mainstage included: W&W and Special Guest Hardwell, Firebeatz, Sandro Silva B2B Wiwek, Andrew Rayel, Darren Styles, Ben Nicky Sub Zero Project, VINAI and AXMO B2B KEVU B2B STVW and the Futures of BigRoom room included: EMKR, Nick Havsen, SaberZ, KEVU, STVW, AXMO, Olly James, Niviro, Le Shuuk, Nifra, Rave Republic, Nanobii and DJ Junior
When we arrived at the event around 11:30pm CET, we were just in time for SaberZ in the Futures of BigRoom where they blended their big saws and signature melodies that quickly hooked in the crowd. They played their latest single ‘Psychodelics’ with Jaxx and Vega and a lot of unreleased IDs that will be on their new label PlanetZ. We sat down with the label bosses discussing the Rave Culture family as well as their new imprint:
“We love being back, the energy of the crowd and the atmosphere is always amazing at ADE. We had to miss it last year because we had a show in Canada, and we threw down with a bang this year”
We then discussed throwing their first ever event for their new label PlanetZ and how that came about:
“It’s always been a goal of ours since the start of our career to make our own label and our own events so we’re really proud of it. We hope there’s going to be a great turnout and a great party.”
Going off of that, we talked about the future of SaberZ and what they have coming up in going into 2024:
“We have a lot of IDs that we’re really excited about for PlanetZ and the relationship we have with Rave Culture, we’re looking to bring a fresh sound into the bigroom genre.”
Once their set was over, we went to the mainstage to watch Ben Nicky’s set where he was bringing it. He incorporated a lot of his signature psytrance and hardstyle into his set where it was filled with a lot of energy for the crowd.
But the one performance the entire crowd was waiting for, was the duo themselves behind Rave Culture…W&W. When they got on the stage, you just felt the entire venue pack in the mainstage as they came out to their well known ‘Rave Culture’ intro edit. They then proceeded to play another high energy set with their signature big room sound. They played a lot of their own produced tracks as well as their new tracks and collaborations they has been playing out all summer. It was great to see W&W in their element, you can really see they felt right at home on the stage and you can see they don’t hold back on really giving the crowd something unforgettable. They even brought out them legend himself Hardwell. This duo has always syupported each other and as a trio, they are really the kings of the big room scene. They played their signature classics like ‘Don’t Stop The Madness’, Live The Night’ and others. It was awesome to see them unite in front of the Amsterdam faithful. This was our 1st time seeing them live and they were awesome, the fans we’re very happy to see W&W take the throne once again. They gave the people everything and more and it was the highlight of the night to have the duo behind Rave Culture perform for everyone in attendance.
To end the night, we went to go support the bros STVW and AXMO during their B2B2B with KEVU at the mainstage where they brought the heat for the crowd. It was a perfect transition from going to W&W to these 3 as they kept the people moving and really got everyone to jump nonstop. They really kept the niche crowd into the party vibes as they were the surprise set of the night to end the Rave Culture ADE night on a high
Lastly, We had the chance to sit down with STVW and AXMO for the Artists on Artists Interview Series to speak about what it was like being back at the Rave Culture night and so much more:
STVW: “ADE is always the biggest event for me every year. The whole week is crazy and you get to see all of your friends again from all over the world since you only chat through IG or WhatsApp so I love it.”
He then spoke on his set at the Rave Culture event and the fanbase:
STVW: “The Rave Culture fanbase is the best. They always go crazy in the crowd no matter what you play, it’s insane. They know all of your tracks and that’s something I’m really proud of. It’s like a family and you’re coming back home when I play here and that give me motivation to go back in the studio to innovate further and keep creating solid tracks for the fans.”
Going off of that, we asked him about his new punk-rock EDM sound and how he incorporates that into his performances:
STVW: “Every big artist has their own sound and I want to stand out from the rest. I thought of what I grew up on as a kid which I played in a school band similar to Blink 182 and Sum 41 so I thought let’s combine that with my style. I understand not everyone is a fan of it but it’s something I enjoy and W&W supports me which is most important. From the performance aspect, I bring the guitar on stage, which I think is really unique because the only other artist in this genre that does something remotely close to that is Timmy Trumpet with a live instrument. When you play on a lineup like here where there are back to back artists right after each other and someone with a guitar comes on, it gives the fans something to look forward to and appreciate it”
We then spoke with AXMO how dance music has changed and how as a duo when they feel it’s right to make changes within productions:
AXMO: “We think it depends on how the music market landscape changes over time, you can always sense how fans and crowds are reacting to it. With big room, we had it since 2013 but now we’re in 2023 and you have to evolve. We still vibe to the big room stuff but we do believe music has cycles so you never know, big room can come back in a big way, we’ll just have to see in a few years but we’re enjoying Euro Dance and more euphoric melodies translated into faster BPM tracks.”
To end the interview, we asked how should up and coming producers approach trends:
AXMO: “It depends on what type of career you want to take. If you want to be a touring DJ, make what you enjoy, but if you really feel you want to make music and experiment, there is nothing wrong with challenging yourself with coming up with new ideas and evolve as an artist to create a new fan base to grow your brand further.”
All in all, Rave Culture put on another fantastic show for all of the fans in attendance and with all of the new talent that performed during this event, the future looks bright!
Follow all socials below:
Castor & Pollux: https://www.instagram.com/castorandpolluxmusic/
Rave Culture: https://www.instagram.com/raveculture/
W&W: https://www.instagram.com/wandwmusic/
SaberZ: https://www.instagram.com/saberzmusic/
STVW: https://www.instagram.com/stvwmusic/
AXMO: https://www.instagram.com/axmomusic/