Original subtitles

Toilet? - Toilet?

- There's no toilet here, the toilets are downstairs.

- Just take a piss against a tree.

Start, start, let's go!

This

Is

SEFA

It doesn't matter how high your high is,

or how low your low is.

There's always that drive in your brain that tells you:

"I want more, I want it better

I want it to be more extensive"

I wanted more decency,

I wanted it to be more erudite, more musical.

I felt something snap the moment I walked off stage at Defqon 2019.

The seed that was planted then grew,

into a gigantic tree with ideas, concepts and musical projects,

and then came 2022.

- Okay, we're just gonna start.

For real?

- First, we're going to talk about your youth.

I was about 9 or 10

and sometimes people came over to visit.

By chance one of them had brought a stereo set with him

which was playing this rhythmic, hard and intimidating music.

So me being 9 years old, I asked him 'What is that?'

and he said 'yeah, that's hardcore'.

'Gas met die zooi'

So I went to look up 'hardcore'.

That takes you to certain websites not meant for the eyes of a 9-year-old.

Luckily YouTube had the auto-fill function which brought me to 'hardstyle'.

One of the first tracks I came in contact with was 'Scrap Attack' by Headhunterz,

the well-known Defqon anthem,

and that's when I first heard 'Feasting on our waste'

and the iconic Defqon.1 vocal.

Defqon.1

This is f*cking sick, so I investigated more

then I saw videos from Defqon 2009.

That was just absolutely insane, and I thought that's where I have to be.

Defqon.1

So I saw a video with people listening to the same music as I did,

and they all went crazy to that music,

in the same place, on a stage, at a festival from Q-dance,

to that track I had heard.

What the f*ck

I immediately thought 'I need to be in that DJ booth'

because even back then, I thought that expressing myself through music

is the most beautiful thing in the world.

Defqon, for me, is the number one event.

It's where the strength of Q-dance comes together

with all the creativity we want to put into a festival.

For me it's like a theme park and seperate world we create for the people.

That was my first impression of Defqon

and immediately, I was sold on Defqon, hardstyle,

the scene, the feeling of unity,

I loved it.

Both the hardstyle lovers, the extreme hardcore fan,

or uptempo or early hardstyle

it is the place where everybody comes together.

We sometimes call it the Mecca of the harder styles.

It's just the biggest,

it's like coming home.

That's why we welcome everyone home at the beginning of the party.

Weekend Warriors

welcome home

That's Defqon for me.

It's like coming home.

Crap

Oh

You know that website very well.

What is it that gentlemen wish?

What would they have?

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet

as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?

Forbid it, Almighty God!

I know not what course others may take; but as for me

give me liberty or give me death!

It'd cool if we started with one continuous note.

I started producing hardstyle

and by chance my mother ran into Dr. Peacock at a local club.

They started talking, and Steve ended up at my home,

he saw me producing music on my laptop.

And he said: 'don't you want to try making Frenchcore?'

So I looked that up.

I thought it was way to fast, I honestly didn't like it.

What I did like is that he put in recognizable melodies

which are melodies you couldn't use in hardstyle.

because there everybody took themselves way too seriously.

A fter a while it grew on me and I made my first frenchcore track

which I sent to Steve

and he said: "This has potential, you should keep going"

- or give me death!

How did it go again?

'or - give - me - death' Yeah.

That could be more organic.

So I got the hang of it

I kept getting better and better and when I was 13, Steve said:

'this track is good enough, we're gonna release it'

For me that was the official start of releasing music

and showing my style to the world.

No, it has to be earlier.

I immediately knew there was untapped potential in frenchcore,

a gap that should be filled

I didn't know who would, but I didn't dare just yet

because that music is very dark, that wasn't what I wanted to make.

So I had to find a way to push through the things that made it music I was proud of

and not music the scene was into

that was quite difficult for me.

Okay, this is the structure.

I'm eating all the peanutbutter leftovers

I need to get to my highly coveted 1980 calories.

You want to create the image of the self-neglecting mad professor right?

And then contrast that with the suit on stage.

- I don't have to put in much effort for that

What was that?

- I don't have to put in much effort to capture that.

Right, you don't have to ask 'Sefa, act weird for a sec'

that's not necessary.

I thought it was about time to look for a serious publishing partner,

there are a number of large parties and I was talking with one of the biggest,

and they said: "Your music is too niche"

but they did mention a certain name:

"You should visit them"

Go ahead

We are Rick and Tom.

I remember not expecting much.

We sat down for a minute, he had also trained that day,

the weather was really bad

but he walked in with his shorts and t-shirt,

he just didn't care.

I really didn't care, I thought this wouldn't amount to much

I'll sit down, hear them out and leave.

We thought: "who is this?"

and Laurens too was thinking: "who is this guy?"

That's when I showed them a demo of 'Fly'

and they went: "oh, did you make this all by yourself?"

I composed it all by myself.

Then we talked about music and found out we had quite a lot in common.

It's Wednesday right?

yeah

- Morning

A different studio he had been to thought that his music was not for them

and we felt the complete opposite.

Apparently they could link me up with musicians to produce my album

because I wanted to create an album with real musicians.

This was a cool challenge

the opportunity to record a harpsichord and an organ

with somebody who dares to take that risk.

And the great thing Sefa does

is that he lays out an idea which he knows nobody else can top,

and we love to take this idea and try to make it even better,

that was the only thing that triggered us.

So these guys can take care of all of this?

Those crazy ideas stuck in my head can finally be carried out?

That was a realization for me

okay, apparently these ideas can become reality.

I immediately knew

I found these people

they are the ones I want to work with.

That's when we recorded my album 'Klaagzang'

Did you know that when you take lentils

and let them soak in water overnight

and dump them in a blender

and add the white of one egg

you can make wraps out of that?

It contains almost nothing apart from fiber.

Can you play that?

Ah, I did do it right.

Yeah those pauses

- Okay

Doesn't it go like:

- Yeah that's what I thought.

That's it.

I felt like I was working with a huge celebrity

with a certain arrogance maybe

but when I met him for the first time

he started apologizing for sending over the parts late.

I didn't expect that when getting to know Sefa

I initially thought that he would be some macho DJ

but it turned out he was actually still a bit of a kid.

What sets these guys apart from all the other parties I could have done this with,

is the fact that they have the 'can-do' mentality.

It is such an unusual combination, because we don't have a background in hard dance.

Look, the thing that differentiates Sefa

is the variation between beautiful, almost classical melodies

with organs and strings and such.

That's what I especially like,

and the kick is of course an important part,

but the variation, that's what makes it fun.

'Leven = Lijden' is a timeless album,

'Klaagzang' is already timeless as well.

In the attention to detail and care, in the maturity of the writing

in the maturity of Sefa personally

it's that amount of care that gives something its soul.

Yeah, one bar in advance.

Greetings.

Let's run through it once.

That is this part.

Don't you guys feel that sometimes?

That random urge to just shout 'help' when you're in the car?

- no

Oh

Alright let's go

Once more from there.

PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR THE GOLDEN BOY RIGHT HERE

SEFA

In 2017 we had a line-up in mind, we were booking artists

and when I looked at it I thought it missed something special.

I needed something more, so I called Steve

and told him "I have one spot left,

I want you to give it to a talent"

someone that makes you think: "it's crazy he's playing Defqon already".

And the first thing he said was

"Sefa"

So that's when I got the call

You're playing at Defqon.

At that moment...

Never heard of him.

At that moment that was the biggest acknowledgement you could get,

and I had to nail this performance, down to the last detail.

At the core of the frenchcore scene there were quite a few people becoming fans

so from the moment we decided he would perform at Defqon

a lot happened in those 6 months.

So I started my set

and to my surprise, people started flocking to the area.

We take care of the riders from artists and the only thing he wanted was 'ice-tea'

so we took care of that.

For me that was a huge confirmation

that firstly, there was a place for what I was doing.

Secondly, I could silence my inner demons by expressing myself through music

and by seeing other people giving me recognition for what I was doing.

And thirdly, I knew very well that I was a 16-year old boy who was booked for Defqon

Q-dance was watching.

What I heard from Sefa was something different

which made him very interesting.

At that point that's how I looked at it

I wanted to do it right and I wanted people to see

I felt very mature but in the end I was just a 16 year old kid.

You don't know this track?

- I'm not sure but I don't think so.

I still need to make an intro for this one,

let me have a look what I've done already.

Absolutely nothing.

It's hard to describe

the thing that makes music so special is that can't really put your finger on it

and the mystery that surrounds it is part of what makes it so attractive.

I often take a more musical approach to my tracks than many of my collegues

There's nothing wrong with that, it's a matter of preference

but I've noticed that I need it to really get into it.

Oh yeah I started it totally different,

it starts in-

D

- Got it

The studio we're currently in is where the preperation and recording takes place.

And the next logical step was

these are real instruments

we need to get these people on stage.

That's when I got a request for a solo performance in Dortmund

The idea had been in our heads for a while

it's what we all wanted but nobody had said it out loud yet.

We had a conversation and asked ourselves, why don't we just do it?

We're going to bring all the instrumentalists

and talk about how we're going to realize this.

That's how 'This is Sefa' was born

This time the piano is much nicer

because it's a big one.

We'll have to tape this one to the ground

- Okay

but not right now.

Everywhere I'm testing the limits of what's possible.

Unfiltered

bringing back erudition and quality

in a way that our scene has not often seen before.

But that's what I want.

I want to be able to express myself without filter

and I want the people to be able to hear me without filter.

But it's still within the genre I produce and love so much.

Alright, I'll put more piano in.

- Can you take care of that?

Yeah sure.

But why wouldn't you elevate your genre with what you want to do?

I asked myself that question, and for me 'This is Sefa' is the answer.

There I felt something I had never felt before, standing behind the decks.

The fact that it was my music playing,

that I was playing the piano,

that there was a string quartet playing with me,

playing notes I had come up with, which had been arranged for them,

that right in front of me, a guitarist was going ballistic,

playing a melody that I had written,

I just didn't know what hit me.

That was the moment I realised, this music can and does go much further.

That was the problem before

I could always do it in my head, but now it had become reality.

And that was the primer I needed to get inspired again

to express myself in the way I had always wanted.

Just like how in 2015/2016 I had gathered enough courage

to put a kick in the right key

and incorporate more melodies in music that was always considered very hard,

I now had the go-ahead for myself

to once again get to the next level, musically

and do something that was always inside me, that wanted to come out

but nobody had the key for the cage it was in.

We all had a taste, and we wanted more of course, that was obvious.

The people wanted more, Rick & Tom wanted more, I definitely wanted more.

This had to be taken to the next level, we all agreed on that.

I've seen a lot from artists during my career

but the speed of Sefa's rise is just absurd.

That year I was once again booked for Defqon

again on the Yellow stage.

I had a conversation with a colleague who was in charge of crowd control at Defqon.

We had to make sure it wouldn't get too crowded

so I told him I had a big problem.

There's this boy who opened the yellow stage in 2017

but I'm scared to even put him primetime on the Yellow this year

because the area will overflow completely

and people will get squashed, we can't have that happen.

At Intents, Koen from Q-dance came to me and he told me

"we've put you on the Black stage"

In 2018

on the Black stage

eeeeh....

So I was like

"Okay, great, at the Yellow there might have been casualties, so thanks"

I was very happy of course, and modesty has its time and place

but at that moment it was more than clear to everyone

that the Yellow absolutely wasn't going to cut it.

During the closing ceremony, during Project One, in the Black

there we'll just be able to handle it.

I walked up the stairs, Partyraiser & Bulletproof were performing

and I looked over their shoulders

and what I saw was, well...

I saw people standing outsite the tent, queues of people who couldn't make it in.

and he still managed to pack the venue with 20.000 people.

It's absolutely insane.

For me this was the ultimate challenge

and when you manage to pack the Black, on a Sunday, during the end show

I'm so happy right now, it's indescribable.

I always knew that 'Muzika' had a singable melody

but I never dared to pull the fader down

until a certain moment on Defqon when I was high on adrenaline

I grabbed the microphone and said:

"Alright, I wanna hear you sing along to this one, come on

sing it with me, come on"

and the entire Black went:

That was the first time I ever heard that.

Someone new enters the scene who has a different sound and a different vision,

someone who causes mass migrations during festivals.

I couldn't believe what had happened, and my summer couldn't get any better.

I took every opportunity and performed my ass off the entire summer.

Then he performed in the 'Beter Kom Je Niet'-bunker at Q-BASE.

We placed him at the same time as our Midnight Pyro Show

but even then, it was still insanely crowded.

The same thing happend at Dominator

where we had to close down a part of the festival grounds

because half of the main-stage went to see this little kid

perform in the frenchcore area.

That's when I suddenly went

from being a relatively obscure frenchcore niche artist to

to a mainstream harddance artist, in half a year.

Another highlight, another benchmark, once again at Defqon.

That started the tradition, Defqon means bigger and better

and every year a benchmark for what I can do musically.

And that is exactly what I think Sefa's future will be.

In five years it won't be 'music that is hard', but 'the hard side of music'

When Covid had dissappeared to such an extent

that society wouldn't get back into a lockdown

we started running like mad.

So, we did that show in Warsteiner Music Hall, which was a success

but we all had our eyes on the festival summer.

After two very long years, Defqon.1, Primal Energy, is finally happening.

The biggest addition to the weekend and the day you have to look out for

is without a doubt, Fresh Friday.

You'll get access to the festival grounds from 11 till 11

including all new show moments such as the opening ceremony, and-

With 'The Release' we knew, this is happening.

on Friday we gained an extra day

and we wanted to open the RED-stage in an honorable way

to create a new moment in which people would know

they're seeing the RED-stage together for the first time.

That's how we got to the Opening Ceremony.

Sefa is often scheduled to perform at the end of parties

just because his music is fast

but his music isn't necessarily agressive.

Of course his music is hard and rough, but it's also a musical journey

and that makes it possible to place him at the Opening Ceremony.

I liked the idea,

but in the end it would come down to me to make it bigger and better,

but a 'This Is Sefa' show was out of the question

that was still in its infancy.

Then came March

then April

and then May

Defqon is in one month, I have the opening slot, but what am I going to do?

So I called Koen, and told him I wanted a meeting next week. It's urgent

to talk myself and them into it

to give this show a chance, on the biggest stage at Defqon.1.

Let's just do it.

We'll make it into the biggest, craziest, most ridiculous show you've ever seen.

I'm going to focus all the energy I have into preparing this show.

The only thing we need, is a go.

Goodmorning!

- What day is today?

Wednesday

June 1st

The month of Defqon.

Sure, sounds dope, a show with instrumentalists

but you need scale it to the size of Defqon.

The stage width is 150 meters

and the band consists of just seven people.

How are we going to do this

so that we've made use of all available space on the stage?

And by the way, we're also adding a choir with 45 singers.

Alright, do we have money for that? That's just ridiculous.

That's why we're doing playback right?

- That's just like what Koen said:

"let's save some money by recording the choir"

Do you know how much f*ing time it took us?

We've been busy this whole week with your f*ing choir

we've done nothing else.

I feel like I'm at school again.

- Real life can be more like school than you know

♫ What would you give, for a moment like back then ♫

♫ because in the school of life, there are no second chances ♫

Hey! That's Sefa?

- You guys have very similar energy.

Hey! I'm Stefano.

We're going to start with 'One Tribe', you guys can warm up, we'll do a soundcheck.

It's going to be a very long day, just so you guys know.

We're using this space to warm up our voices.

Keep the front of your tongue touching your teeth

but relax the back to create the 'a'-sound.

Breathe out, breathe in

I'm gonna turn it into a very melan-

melancho- melan- melod- me-

melo- mel- m-

meh-

melodramatic story.

We've got a choir of 30 people here.

We've hired them, had them practice.

-Come in!

This costs an absurd amount of money,

but Q-dance hasn't given us the green light for the budget yet,

So I'm not sure if we'll be able to pay for this.

- What kind of play is that? You've just started without their consent?

Correct!

They don't know this is happening.

- Send a quick picture or video to Jonas.

'Hey man, we've started already

let me know about the budget, we've already begun'

We're dealing with fixed budgets and this show just kept getting crazier.

Colleagues told us: "You've gone insane, are we even going through with this?"

I'm ready to go.

- Punch it

Alright, you'll get eight beats in advance.

So much time and energy has gone into this one show.

Normally our artists just perform behind a deck,

and now suddenly we have to take an entire orchestra into account.

- Dope!

Acceptable

- Acceptable?

- I'm allowed to whine, not you guys!

It was extremely ambitious, people kept telling me:

"You have a month and a half, how the f*ck are you going to pull this off?"

First of all, the Warsteiner Music Hall show took two months of preperation

and there we had 1/8th the amount of musicians on stage we're aiming for now.

There's no room, no margin for error.

Rick and Tom have no margin, I have no margin, Q-dance has no margin

the musicians have no margin.

- Cool

If I haven't finished working yet at five in the morning,

but the session starts at eight

I'll work until it's time to get into the car.

Those are our working conditions for a month and a half.

What does the repeat mean? Section H is the same as?

second to last section

- 'F'

Yes, let's go.

Rick, are you stressed?

- No. We just gotta go quickly

and I personally think it's unnecessarily complex for what it's worth.

You should've taken it a little easier.

You immediately shifted into 6th gear.

You've made choises that are based too much on MIDI,

and what's possible there.

And it's not like they can't sing this, as you can see, that's not the issue,

you just forget that there's limited time to work.

That doesn't quite match.

With a little effort here and there we can fix these recordings,

throw in a quick reverb and it will sound amazing,

but if the parts had been slightly less complicated,

then we could've recorded everything once more.

That's where it's not quite ideal.

I mean we can make it work, just like with the album these are high intensity sessions

so there's no time for messing about.

So we've all got to be on point so that the choir can stay relatively relaxed

because if they get stressed out, the quality nosedives.

So, am I stressed out? No.

But am I keeping up the pressure?

Absolutely.

There are actually three or two right?

- Hey mister Vlaarkamp.

Hello mister Schmidt.

- How are you doing?

I drove to the studio during rush hour

and I'm now driving home during rush hour once again

we've had a good but heavy session today.

- We have to discuss Defqon.

What it comes down to is that we need more money

and I know that this is a little sudden, but we really need it.

- What do you want to do? Do you want to scrap certain things, or split the bill?

For me this show is all or nothing

I'm not going to skimp out

I'm going to be honest and transparent, I don't care either way.

If you guys want me to pay for it all, I will.

For me that money will pay itself back.

It's just a question of how much you're willing to accommodate.

If there's no budget, there's no budget.

If you can split the bill, we'll split the bill.

- Alright then.

- I'm in, let's go.

- Top top, lets get it.

Chill!

- You're going to take a look at the arrangement for strings right?

- Keep it simple, hashtag.

- So we have something we can share with the players.

What is the absolute deadline for that?

Yesterday, I know

- Monday last week

Yeah yeah

- But seriously, I would like a first draft tomorrow.

- It doesn't have to sound good yet

- I'm not yet going to do timecode

but just so we have an idea of what we're going to play.

I'm tired of all of my 1040 liked tracks.

'Laat Me' by Ramses Shaffy.

Everybody seems to think it's a work of genius.

- It is

If I wrote a song called 'Let Me Be', sure, whatever

but when it's an alcoholic singing it, you know.

- What does that matter?

He isn't singing about being a lone soul, or that nobody likes him,

no, he just wants to get drunk.

That's what that song is about.

- Brilliant idea.

He just wants to drink.

Welcome to the first rehearsal for the Sefa show at Defqon.

Defqon

- Wow, what a great introduction, amazing.

- Eating healthy foods

Yeah, pickles man

- Sefa, tell the people Defqon starts in 2 weeks.

I don't know how to read sheet music.

It all arrived a little late, but we'll have to take it, that's the new normal.

I know it's heavy, for everyone.

Everything has to be taken care off, there's quite a bit of pressure

but this is the big Defqon show it's all about.

At one o'clock the gates open and everybody will run towards the stage

then there'll be fireworks at something like 16 minutes past one

and directly following that we'll start playing

and that's why we have to rehearse this at least twice.

This can't go wrong, it will be livestreamed as well.

It is heavy

There won't be a second chance to nail this.

Please make sure you've checked and rehearsed your parts

because on stage you won't hear a thing, the music will be unbelievably loud.

Sefa, do you have anything to add?

-Gonna be fun, let's start!

Alright everybody check your sheets.

I think Sefa's growth can be defined by the results he has achieved.

When you compare 'Leven = Lijden' with 'Klaagzang', there's obvious musical growth

and because we had to translate that into live elements

we had to really work with him, initiate a process.

That process was all about communication, to musicians and everyone involved.

When you work alone in your attic, communication is easy

because you're on your own.

But when you start working in a team you have to mature quickly

and learn and dare to open up about your feelings towards a record.

And because we started to work with him in that aspect, he had no choice.

He just had to open up, there was no other option.

Okay, let's go

- Do you want it like this?

- Or more like this?

Let's do it connected, I feel that's more beautiful.

Yes.

One more thing, rain means no show.

- Are you excited for rain?

If it rains I'm taking all my clothes off and I'll run naked across the stage.

So far so good, we're halfway done

but we've only done 1/4th of the songs.

But this makes sure Sefa feels the pressure.

Next week we'll do one more rehearsal,

and the week after that is the soundcheck.

In a certain way, Sefa is a genius

but that also introduces a whole bunch of caviats.

Musically, it's brilliant

but that means that there's some organizational deficiency.

- Isn't that the artist's curse?

I don't think so, this has more to do with how he's been raised.

It has to do with his work ethic.

It's not that he doesn't have one, but he prioritizes his own case.

He sometimes misses the bigger picture

because he doesn't know it exists.

You have to understand that when there are 120 people working on one show,

they're not continuously talking to everybody,

so you have to make sure everybody is on the same page.

That's our job, we keep it all together.

They've taken care of the musical elements, and I've focussed more on the production

to make sure that everything is handled correctly.

I have to make sure we can do try-outs, and the stage is prepared.

So it al starts with Sefa, he has to finish his tracklist as soon as possible

because we need the setlist to create a timecode for the show elements.

At the center of this story, who has to perform on stage, am I.

I don't just have to create an entire new show in a month and a half

but it also has to flow in a way that for me,

and for the fans, the people who're coming to the show,

who all have 2019, 2018 and 2017 in mind

for them it has to feel like this show is the next step,

this is once again a musical benchmark at Defqon.

This is the new bar

that has been raised

by 'This Is Sefa'.

So do I just say my name?

My name is Sean Collins, and I'm a Sefa fan.

Just like that?

-Yeah, nice.

I was with a friend of mine who was already going to parties for a while

and I remember sitting in his room one day and there was a set playing

Hardcore at Sea 2016, I think.

There were loads of weird sounds, but it stayed very melodic

and still the kick underneath it all, it fit perfectly.

That attracted me.

That's when I found out it was just some guy, a year younger than I was

that defied logic for me.

I remember the first time I saw Sefa playing, at Vive la Frenchcore.

That was my first live experience

and I felt a certain euphoria awakening in me

and that feeling is still here.

That was the first time.

I took a picture with him, and I still have that picture

from 5 years ago.

But I wasn't fully sold yet, I didn't know if this was what I really loved.

- Did the real 'fan'-aspect come during 'Leven = Lijden'?

Yeah, that was the moment for me.

He also played his album on the piano

and that was the first time I saw him play the piano,

which is something I never experienced in such a setting

everybody is partying and there's this 17 year old kid playing the piano

which builds towards the kick, and everybody goes wild.

That just awakened a certain feeling in me

and I thought, this is it.

A few months later I got the idea to get that tattoo.

I haven't had the easiest life

so that phrase really resonated with me, 'Leven = Lijden' (Life = Suffering).

To be able to truly live, you also have to suffer.

When I saw the title for the first time I remember thinking that

this is not something you see everyday.

Normally people choose some generic English title

So when I saw that I thought it was unusual.

People come up to me, give me a fistbump

and you can tell by their reaction to the tattoo they've had to suffer as well.

For me it's a beautiful thing

to meet people at parties who have suffered or are suffering.

It was an emotional outlet for me. Those days I had a lot on my mind.

Sometimes it was hard to get through the week

but I had a Saturday to look forward to

and I remember those feelings dissappearing when I was there

that it was a great emotional outlet, and that I could feel truly happy.

In 2018, I filled the Black Stage

and I think that made Q-dance realize that this type of music

had more potential than people thought.

Q-BASE was the yearly Q-dance event at Airport Weeze

which always had OST's.

Yo people, it's Sefa. Q-dance has honored me with the opportunity

to create one of the OST's for the last edition of Q-BASE.

In my style, like I always do, the melodic style

That ended up being 'The Future', the Q-BASE track.

That track was released in September, and doing pretty well.

That anthem was a success.

and without really knowing

I had showed Q-dance that I know how to create an anthem.

Bring on those anthems

In November, I got the call from Q-dance

"We've got something for you"

We wanted to translate the feeling of 'One Tribe' into an anthem.

I told him to get to the point, please get to the point,

so then he got to the point.

Well...

Ehh...

We are going to have an anthem with three parts, called 'One Tribe'

which is about the unity of the harder styles.

The RED-stage with KELTEK, the BLUE-stage with Phuture Noize

'and one anthem will be yours'.

F*ck it, let's just do it.

At that point I didn't believe it could work at all

until the point the track was released I thought people would hate it.

But I had to take the risk

because this was a chance for me to put my music on the map.

So we went into the studio with these three artists, and started working on the anthem.

- Let's keep this, it's simple.

That's a C.

G

Yes!

Yes!

But Sefa lived at night and slept during the day.

So, I was listening to music and suddenly heard something that went a little like.

And I was like, sure, that's cool but it's in a 3/4 time signature.

So I change the chords

and I end up with:

Alright that works, it's modal, it has a major fourth.

We didn't hear from him for a long time

that's when I got to know that side of Sefa.

Okay, an upbeat.

Dope.

The melody starts with A, the first chord is A minor.

Hmm, we need to find a rhythm.

Keep it simple, keep it clappable.

The 'I don't answer calls and deadlines don't exist'-Sefa.

The next chord is a C

alright, let's take the melody to the third, an E.

Sometimes a week passed without hearing from him.

and with that motif you can carry on forever.

Things got a little tense towards the end.

We have to resolve that major fourth to a D chord,

that way we can end on the D.

Then we need to move from that D chord to an A.

Add a little variation.

And in five minutes the melody was done.

I added a kick,

finished the track,

and ultimately I even made the deadline.

He submitted it way past the deadline.

Eventually it turned out great,

but it had taken quite a few calls to come to the the end product.

The three masterminds that made this year's Defqon anthem

Phuture Noize, KELTEK and Sefa. Welcome!

The one who breaks the rules is the one who people notice.

That was my great advantage at that point

because I had made a frenchcore anthem

it had a Defqon melody and a Defqon break, the only difference was the 190BPM

and it was my style.

And everybody thought: 'What the f*ck is this?'

Whenever you're ready.

We're here with the one and only Sefa at Defqon.1.

Let's go back to your first time at Defqon, you were opening the YELLOW-stage.

One year later you were the closing act at the BLACK-stage

and now you're the closing act for the RED-stage.

How would you explain this tempestuous development?

It's always easy to talk about it in hindsight

'I did this and this'

but honestly, I have absolutely no clue how this happened.

And now I'm on the RED-stage.

Check the stage out man, it's so dope.

The sick production quality of Q-dance

combined with my music,

I can fully express myself with this performance

and I think I prepared an amazing set, it contains a little of everything

kicks flying everywhere, but there will be beautiful moments as well.

I love that balance, and I'm just extremely excited for this set.

I was more worried about his DJ-set that Sunday evening.

What can I say?

They say that on the other side of that hall

there's at least 500 people waiting for me.

-Only for the endshow.

There's this defining moment for every DJ who has ever performed on the RED-stage

which is when you climb the stairs and see that the booth is obstructing your view

but to your left you can see the crowd, but you're not really seeing people

you can only see dots.

I've always seen people at my performances, this was the first time I only saw dots.

It's absolutely wild

you're gonna break the house down, believe me.

So I had to fill 50 minutes on the RED-tage with frenchcore.

That gave me quite a few sleepless nights.

How was I going to make sure it hit right?

Do I have to make concessions?

Do I start soft?

Do I just play soft?

THIS IS YOUR TIME BROTHER

THIS IS YOUR MOMENT!

In the end I decided, f*ck it, I'm going in hard.

I'll start with the 'Nothing Like The Oldschool' kick edit

so, that's what I did and that ended up working pretty well.

What the f*ck is going on?

- Dude, why are you wearing those warm clothes?

Self-glorification?

- Yes

Okay

- I have to edit myself in at least once right?

How're you feeling?

A little tired?

It can't be that bad right?

- What time did you go to bed?

Just ask Tom at what time I delivered the parts.

Ah, I haven't heard, but that must've been something like 4AM right?

Something like that.

Cool.

It's going great.

The night before I've only slept for 2 hours.

Nice.

After this I'll be able to take a day off to rest

and then we'll get back to it.

Nice.

We're gonna start.

No, you don't have to take anything with you except for the violin.

If it rains I'll have a violin for you.

Then we'll play on the fake violins in the rain and get wet together,

then there'll be no drums and no cello,

Oh wait, she can bring her own fake cello,

and then we'll party in the rain.

Good afternoon!

Michael!

Manager!

This is not usually how it goes in this scene, but for us it's a must.

We always have to expand our horizon, right?

Definitely!

Sefa has thought about what you should do during this set, and where you can shine.

- More like a guideline

And of course you know how these performances go,

but at the same time, it's always nice to check everything once.

Definitely.

I'll do a quick explanation.

This is the first track.

In the beginning, I'll casually walk towards the piano,

and I'll play the first chords

It will still be a little bit of a mystery what's going to happen.

And at 2:20 the stuttering and build-up will start

and then the loud kick will come in.

- Who will be on stage?

Everybody who's playing.

- From the beginning?

Yes, from the start. Alright.

And then at 3:19 the first line of Sunrise will start.

You'll play that, Nina, that's sort of your track as well.

so then Nina will walk forwards.

- All the way to the front of the catwalk or on the logo?

Towards where I'm at.

- Where you're at.

Okay.

She should be prominently visible.

That's it, Sunrise will end just like the regular track,

and then we have to bridge a silence, hopefully that's where Michael comes in.

- And then we'll pick it back up with 'Incoming', that one starts with the drums.

Okay let's go.

Then at around 8:00 the main melody starts playing just like the regular track

and the crowd is supposed to sing along.

- Sef, do you want me to double Nina, during that line?

Yes, if possible.

Just like you did at Reverze, right? That was dope.

All tracks are done live, which is very cool.

There's quite a bit of pressure on me during those shows

because there are so many melodies, solos, and technical elements

and of course you want to nail them all

even more so during Defqon, in front of tens of thousands people.

It's definitely a challenge,

but that's what I like about it.

The most important moment of Oko which is

where you're playing your guitar solo and I'm playing the chords

there it's of the greatest importance that you're standing in the front.

- Sefa produces everything on his computer.

Yes.

- How do you translate that to something playable with human hands?

I don't.

Sefa came up with a guitar solo, which was simply unplayable on a guitar.

He writes quite a few things that are impossible to play for a human,

which has lead to quite a few funny moments

where Laurens tried to figure out what to do with his fingers

and he would look at me and say, yo

That's just not possible, that doesn't exist.

I only have four fingers that I can use to press the strings,

not sixteen.

What Sefa often does is the following:

There'll be a melody here, high on the neck,

and underneath that melody, there'll be

a second melody that should be played lower on the neck.

So I would have to play like this.

I understand that he has only worked with computers to make his music.

So Laurens did a proposal

I think this and this and this will work

but I'll play the the other parts like a guitarist would do.

I think we should have fireworks here, the full package, we'll start that for you.

That would be cool, how much time is left?

I guess three minutes.

This

Is

SEFA

F*cking sick.

How often do we speak with Koen or Jonas?

Three times a day?

Four times a day?

In varying levels of stress.

Look, they are...

An amusing duo.

Rick is the happy one, and Tom has a more serious energy.

This collaboration is very remarkable for everyone,

we're pushing boundaries

and even for a company like Q, who do amazing things,

we're exploring new grounds,

things that are slightly different from their usual bread & butter

with more focus on musicianship and playing live,

which is something Sefa really wants, but we're pushing as well.

Show the world how epic it can be when those two worlds connect.

Okay, thanks for the info.

That rolling riser issue is something that isn't being fixed yet.

For them, that moment is everything,

but for us, Defqon is everything.

So the time and energy they're asking for that show

is simply excessive.

He'll call me again,

I might just not pick up this time.

The production manager had the same issue

"I have to make sure the stage will be finished in the first place,

I just don't have the time to fix two extra monitors".

That's where the problem is, okay,

so the distance to the monitor placement.

Alright man, keep it up, talk later, see you tomorrow, bye.

Bye.

So, we've arrived at an impasse.

People refuse to give us the information we need.

I notice that this is all moving very slowly, but we will make it work.

I try to keep the positive energy going with everyone I talk to

but if you tell my sound guy, you can't stand here,

then I tell them that that's not an option.

Then there will be no show.

And if he then tells me he doesn't care

I'll tell him that I do care. That's where the issue is.

At one point I got a call from Jonas, telling me:

'That Tom has to shut up,

he keeps distracting my production manager,

we have to finish Defqon!'

I said, it will be alright, I'll call Tom

I'll play the middle man, make sure the tension is lifted

that's just part of it.

Everybody wants it to be the best it can be.

I think it's a unique opportunity when a company like Q-dance tells you:

Sure, do it live,

and we'll make our team available to bring it to the next level.

That's quite amazing.

We can do the finishing touches.

Create the final set?

Yes.

It'll be okay.

- So first there's that little thing at the end:

- 'The truth has been revealed, and the master and his crew

- to prove you that music has no boundaries or rules

- combining classical with hard dance music is what they do'.

Yes, sick.

- 'This was the Opening Ceremony, brought to you by the prodigy and his orchestra'.

Yes, superb.

- That way we can include them all together.

They'll take their moment.

- Yes, check.

- Alright, cool, everything is cleared up.

Could you check this for me, maybe you'll see something I can improve?

It's mainly this:

This part is difficult.

Then it goes to D, but then my earlier fingering doesn't work anymore.

- Yeah there's something in between.

And here I already get stuck.

- 1, 2

Okay, 1, 2.

Then I'd have to-

- Impossible, true that's not possible.

This is a hard part.

Just do it like this, whatever.

It's a piano solo at the end of the show.

It's the only moment I'm not sure about.

I'd make sure the left-hand part is as basic as it can be,

because it's the left hand that's causing problems. The right hand is fine.

One more piece of advice for your melody:

Make sure you're really using your fingertips.

I see you doing this all the time:

Yeah, try going like this:

Think: 90 degrees downwards.

Make sure they don't sweep.

It's cool, it's a great experience.

It's a little different from what we're used to.

I'm curious how the festival will be, seeing as it starts on Thursday.

So you're playing immediately that Friday one o'clock,

I think you can count on everybody being there, right?

I mean, that's the plan. Have you seen the weather forecast?

I did see it'll be around 20 degrees, but that there might be rain.

They're forecasting a thunderstorm for the entire day.

That's awful.

But I thought I had seen it would only rain a little?

Let me check once more, I'm curious.

Friday - damn, that's quite a shower.

They're now suddenly forecasting 11.6mm of rain.

Last time I checked two days ago, it was around 4mm,

that's what I assumed.

The forecast gets more accurate the closer we get.

They added the lightning and thunder symbol as well I see, that's even worse.

But it will feel like 23 degrees.

- Okay, you're taking a tour of the festival grounds later, right?

Yeah I'll check out the stage I won't perform at

if there's a thunderstorm like the forecast suggests.

- Oh my God...

Good afternoon.

How's it going?

Terrible, it's going to rain.

Wow!

-What?

Nothing, there's a dead frog here.

Sorry.

Yeah so,

Defqon has a build-time of about four weeks

which is actually way too short.

When 'Opwekking' has ended, we have to startimmediately to finish in time.

- Yo man, what's up?

I'm doing well.

- I feel for you.

How the f*ck does this thing work?

In the end, almost 10.000 people work here during the Defqon weekend.

Counting everybody building the stages, the people working in the bar,

security, ourselves, extra helpers, artist handlers,

it's such a large organization.

We'll figure it out.

No worries mate.

Bye.

But haven't seen anything yet?

No, I just arrived.

Alright, then we'll quickly do 'the rounds'.

5000 people?

- Yeah, something like that, 3000, 4000, or 6000 if we really have to.

So for four weeks we're building a world

but only in the last week, things start coming together,

so we can start try-outs, so we can check how it really turned out.

This is number two. From the YELLOW we went to the BLACK.

That's ridiculous, man.

Absolutely hardcore, but with a kind of sophistication.

Does the stage entrance work? Are there enough dressing rooms?

Those are the things that get added on last minute.

Logistically, Defqon is a real challenge, and because it's even bigger this time,

everything is more extreme.

So this is the "old tent', for the BLUE a new tent.

Yes.

The thing is like the size of the GelreDome.

We've really pulled out all the stops this time.

We've never had this many indoor stages and seats,

there are so many small spots, places to hang out.

It is, in my opinion, the best edition of Defqon.1 ever.

How are you?

- Great.

You're feeling calm?

- I just need to have a good night's sleep tonight.

I've been trying that for 3 months now.

- I haven't had time to sleep until now, so that's great.

- I'm a little concerned about the weather forecast,

- but that's something we can't change, so we'll see what happens.

It always feels like that's just a part of it.

- Yes exactly.

There's no real plan for when it rains.

We can buy some plastic violins, but that's it.

The choir? Can't perform if it rains.

The violins? Can't play when it rains.

Guitar? We might be able to make that work.

But piano? No way. Absolutely no way.

That's a kind of depressing cloud that's passing over us,

that won't go away.

These things will all be moving

and this will be a space to "be in".

The BLUE is the first to get built, and as you can see

today is Wednesday, tomorrow is the big day

then there'll be 30.000 people here

and we haven't even finished it yet, so that's great.

You haven't seen anything of the RED yet?

- No

Close your eyes for a second then.

3...

2...

1...

Disco.

- Damn.

- That's a phoenix.

- Yes, exactly.

Insane huh? This huge field almost looks small and cute in comparison.

When you're invited to go to Biddinghuizen and check out the stage,

and you're standing there in the sun, 25 degrees,

and the only thing you can think of is next week, that is...

I have to admit the whole explanation went completely past me,

because I could only think of the worst case scenario.

A real doom-scenario.

Storm means no show. No question. And we're expecting a thunderstorm.

- What time is it?

Time to go.

- If you could just finish up.

We'll have to get ready in time.

- Yeah after rehearsal we'll go back immediately.

Ready for the rehearsal.

No, we're on our way, we'll be there in one minute.

We're here for a soundcheck.

- No, go back first.

We have to get to a soundcheck, can you please quickly let us thro-

- Look what's waiting there.

I understand, but can you please let us through? We have to get to the soundcheck.

- Can't you see what you're doing? You're blocking the way!

- That's why we don't want people to pass this way.

I understand, can you please let us through quickly?

- I can let you through, but next time you're taking the long way around.

I won't do it again.

- Okay.

I think Jim is in a hurry.

Hi!

- Hi.

Can we go to the artist parking please?

- Are you the one that was honking just now?

No that wasn't me.

- Oh, alright, it was someone else.

Alright, we'll be there in one minute.

What's up?

You ready? Feeling the nerves?

100%

How are you?

All good.

It's a little chaotic, so we'll check if everything is sorted.

How is Sefa doing?

He's doing fine, he's chill.

- A bit tense.

Right, tense but not in a bad way?

Cool, that's fine.

My job is quite interesting. I'm actually a keyboard player,

but for this show I positioned myself at the front of house.

Which means that it's my job to mix the sound from in front of the stage.

Hey, nice to meet you!

- How are you?

Great, thanks.

So it's my job to make sure the nuance within this style

between the drops and live elements feel right.

It's going well? It's going well.

Everything is where it's supposed to be.

Crap, my hairgel is still in my backpack.

How much time do we have?

- How much time do you need?

Ready in five.

Do you have my hairbrush?

Perfect, okay, jacket.

I'm ready.

Why didn't we leave earlier?

- We have dressing rooms there, but you wanted to go back to the f*cking cabin.

- What is your problem man?

You didn't say anything!

- F*cking hell!

You're here for Sefa?

- Definitely.

Okay, let's go, thanks!

We're ready.

- There's no rain!

No rain, exactly.

- It's fully packed.

You're kidding!

Let's get it boys, enjoy.

- You too

That's why we're here.

Take it away.

Good luck man

- There's no toilet here, the toilets are downstairs.

- Just take a piss against a tree.

Start! Start!

START!

Start, start!

Start!

From the first time I shared a Defqon anthem with my friends via Bluetooth,

to a This Is Sefa show, on the RED stage, in 2022.

That whole process revolves around me

showing Sefa from the past

that the doubts he had back then

can be taken away later.

If I walk off that stage and can tell everyone, including my younger self:

'I did it'

Well...

Then...

Then that will be a sign for me to continue.

And this ambition, that seemed so inachievable a month and a half ago,

has been accomplished.