The identical twins hailing from the Netherlands were one of the headliners for IT’S THE SHIP 2023.
Nope, you’re not seeing double. Sound Rush, most recognisable for consisting of identical twins, has been making waves in the hardstyle industry since more than a decade ago. Since then, they have been experimenting with various styles of music but never forgot their roots as a substratum, from which they reach into the future. Cementing their role as a hardstyle duo, they have also headlined several prominent hardstyle events, such as Defqon. 1 Festival and Qlimax.
Showcasing their stunning understanding for the hardstyle genre as well as for each other, they have consistently produced music that is “euphoric” (in their own words), radiating elements of authenticity within a high-tech environment. Their remix of the track ‘Project 1’ was performed at Qlimax 2016, which was touted as their most legendary live performance. In more recent years, they have continued to top charts with the single ‘Rescue Me’ in collaboration with Headhunterz, and ‘Unbreakable’ with Psyko Punkz and DJ Isaac. They also released their ‘Look At Us Now’ EP in 2018, their first album on the label, followed by ‘Take It All’ in the following year.
What’s more, double the people, double the energy, right? The twin dynamics are not just for show, but shown through their work both in the studio and on stage. Branded as ONE, Sound Rush manifests the same passion they have for hardstyle in their music.
This year, festival goers at IT’S THE SHIP 2023 definitely had a whale of time jamming out to the set presented by the duo. Prior to performing their set, they sat down with ZYRUPMAG for an interview.
ZYRUPMAG: How does it feel to be one of the headliners of IT’S THE SHIP this year? How did you guys feel when you guys thought that you wanted to sign up for it?
Jeroen: We’re really proud as this is our first experience, also first time in Singapore and playing for so many people on this cruise ship, which I think is very special.
Martijn: I’m proud that we are the heart that will act not only for this cruise but also on the main stage. Yeah, so it’s a very important moment not only for us but also for the crowd. Hardstyle is taking over. Yeah!
Is this your first deejaying experience on a cruise?
J: We played once on a cruise, I think it was in Sweden a few years ago. But yeah, first time in Asia.
Even though it’s just been a day, how has the experience been for you so far?
J: Yeah, so far it’s all about like, how can we explain, it’s like a very special experience and most of all, you know, we made some stories for our social media. Yeah. And we think back home, people in Europe, I think they are watching.
M: They are like, oh my God, what is this? Because yeah, we don’t have something like this in Europe for hardstyle or for like hard dance. The dance move genre. So everyone in Europe is watching with jealousy.
What can festival goers expect from your set at IT’S THE SHIP?
J: A lot of energy. That’s something which is really important for us, but there are also some songs that we will play which are relatable to a cruise ship.
M: Okay, so we can all know that we are coming with an official remix for the Titanic, which will be the next official. Yeah, we don’t know when, and we will close down with that song later.
Amazing, and it’s perfect timing as well because the movie just got rereleased.
J: Yeah, yeah. 25 years old.
So one of the special things about you guys is that you are twins, right? I’ve always been curious about this – do twins have a connection or a telepathic way to connect? Or is there something that you guys share when creating music? For example, are you always together and on the same page?
M: Yeah. We are always together in the studio, producing with each other. Uh, the great thing for us is that we don’t have to speak to each other to know what the other is thinking about. And that has always been there, from the beginning.
J: Most of the time we’re thinking the same way, about like anything.
M: And I think for us in the studio it works double. Double energy.
Two is better than one, right?
M: Yeah. That’s especially with us. We are always having the same feeling, almost the same.
Have you guys ever butted heads before, creatively?
M: We are not always feeling and thinking the same–
J: But we actually never have had like a fight or something. Uh, maybe till today. [chuckles]
M: Maybe today. [chuckles]
How did you get into Hardstyle music, the genre? And what made you decide to go from listening to producing?
M: I think it’s 15 years ago. Yeah, we discovered it online back in the days. From the first moment when we went to our first hardstyle party, when we saw and heard the music and the deejays and –
J: We said we want the same.
M: Yeah, we said we want the same.
J: We want to do this one. And I think, yeah, that’s how we started that already back in 2009.
M: Yeah, and we learned how to produce just from tutorials on YouTube.
Really? Self-taught?
M: Yeah we came a long way. It was very hard for us in the beginning. You know, it’s still hard for, I think, for everyone to be at the top level. But at the beginning, it’s like, with everything at the beginning, it is always the hardest point.
What would you say was the first big opportunity that you guys managed to get?
J: I think it was Defqon. 1 main stage and–
M: In 2016.
J: But I think which feels for us–
M: As a breakthrough?
J: As a breakthrough I think it climaxed in 2018 when we heard that we were going to play in this event. For us this still feels like being at the top in hardstyle.
M: Yeah, I think that was the breakthrough like you said. For us, it feels like that.
If there’s one thing that you can say your other twin is better than you at, what would it be?
J: He is better at producing, I think.
M: He’s better at drinking.
What were some of the biggest challenges that you guys faced in your entire journey so far?
J: Producing wise, you have to, uh, hold on to your own sound, but you also need to see and accept the evolution and go with it. But you need to keep yeah, you need to stay true to yourself and to your music, what you stand for. You really need to keep the passion and the love for the music. It’s cliché, but yeah, it’s also what the people see. For example, today, if you’re playing for money or like go in thinking, “I don’t really want to be here,” or “I’m not feeling well,” people can see that, you know. Like you can’t fake passion or whatever. So, yeah, it’s a shame.
You guys are known for having such a positive and uplifting message and basically your entire image, your brand, how do you translate that into your music when you’re playing on set?
M: Still euphoric. Yeah, all our songs are euphoric. And of course we have some hard tracks. Um, we have also made some uptempo songs, but at the end it’s with a melody and euphoric and that’s what we stand for.
J: To really have emotion in the song. Like for the most of us, I think music is like passion, emotion and yeah, we tried to do our best to bring that to the people, to the fans.
Before you go on stage, do you guys have any pre-show things that you guys do, like rituals or whatever? Do you drink? You sound like you drink a lot.
M: Yeah, yeah. The ritual is always a shot before we go on stage, but it’s also more like to feel a little bit, um– We are never nervous actually, for performances. Like almost never. But yeah, it’s like, nowadays it feels normal to, do some drinking before the show, you know.
J: To feel more relaxed.
What’s the choice of poison?
M: The choice of poison? It’s the vodka, yeah?
J: Yeah, that’s our love. That sounds like pretty good.
All right, so when I’m in the crowd partying for even 30 minutes, I’m like, “I’m tired.” But you guys today are going for 60-minute sets, how do you keep your energy high throughout the set?
J: I think it’s also something in your body which is like, I think maybe adrenaline. You are just going, you are like in a tunnel vision or something. So 60 minutes feels like maybe one minute.
M: For a set.
J: Yeah, yeah.
And so you’ve performed all over the world now. So many different events, many different festivals. Has there been any memorable experience, a story that you’re able to share?
J: Last weekend, just a few days ago, we had our whole entire show for, I think 25,000 people at the football stadium.
M: Yeah that was really big, really special.
J: And it’s like the top five biggest hardstyle events in the world. Yeah, we were like, for like two or three months for the show and that was last Saturday. So we are still in the mood. Yeah.
One last question for you guys. Apart from the Titanic song, is there any other song or artist that you’re currently listening to that people might be surprised with?
M: To be honest, we don’t listen that much to all the music. Yeah, because when we are at home in the studio, we are in the studio almost every day when we are available. So it’s music all day long.
J: All day long. So when we are not in the studio. You are really happy that you–
M: But besides that, we really follow what is happening in our scene. So we are checking everything and going with the flow and getting all our inspiration from all the other hardstyle songs.
So what do you guys do in your downtime?
J: Spending time with our girlfriends, yeah and chill with our friends. Just the basic things.
Stream Sound Rush on Spotify here. For more information on IT’S THE SHIP, visit here.
This interview has been edited for brevity. Original interview by Joel Lim. Article written by Sng Sok Hing and Joel Lim.
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