In the vibrant realm of electronic music, where the rhythm of innovation never stops, certain figures become iconic pillars, crafting the sonic tapestry of our times. Among these legends, D-Formation, also known as Dimas, stands tall. With Beatfreak Recordings, he’s not just created a label, but a movement, an ethos, and a sanctuary for artists to truly express themselves. As the landscape of melodic techno, Indie Dance, and electronic music continues to evolve, it’s visionaries like D-Formation who sculpt its future. Join us as we journey into the heart of Beatfreak, diving deep into conversations about its inception, direction, and the genius of the man behind its beats. Settle in for an enlightening tête-à-tête with the maestro himself, D-Formation.
WWD: Hello Dimas, thanks for joining us today, how are you and what are your plans for this week in Amsterdam?
It is a pleasure for me to be able to share with you too. This week is going to be quite busy, lots of meetings with people in the industry, meeting again with many friends and meeting in person many others. ADE is really the perfect place for networking. On the other hand and as usual every year we have our Beatfreak Show Case in the John Doe club, which will be our third year in this club, very good location and perfect to welcome all our fans and friends in this great night.
WWD: Tell us about your Beatfreak Showcase, what you have planned and who we can expect to see on the line-up?
As I said before, this is a very special night for me and all the beatfreak team, we are expecting a long night, from 11pm until 8am on the 23rd, of course surrounded by a great line up of the beatfreak family. Artists from all over the world like : D-Formation, CHUS, Darin Epsilon, Rauschaus, Nihil Young, Modeplex, GRAZZE, Alex Sharp, Max Selby, Masella (Live), RDJ, Ark Nomads, Nishan Le
Definitely not to be missed…
WWD: What can you tell us about Club John Doe and the people who usually come to your parties?
John Doe is a great club in Amsterdam that has a big crowd all year round, if we add to this ADE and the great line up, we will definitely be dancing till dawn, plus I am looking forward to see the renovation they have done this year in the club, new sound and a lot of new things.
WWD: You’ve just celebrated your VA Beatfreak ADE release, there are a lot of new names on it, tell us about that and how you went about selecting the tracks for it.
For this ADE VA we wanted to go for a more underground sound in general and going a little bit out of the usual beatfreak sound, with the help of our new A&R Imanol, I think we have created a very diverse compilation and betting on new names in the scene but tremendous artists.
WWD: Tell us about the musical direction of the label? Are there any interesting projects, events, releases in mind?
As for the label, we are always in continuous changes, and I think now is the time to give some fresh air, we want for this next year to bet on new promises and give opportunity to great artists who are not for the moment well known, on the other hand we continue with the expansion of our show cases that soon we will also take it to Asia, no doubt we do not stop working and sienore mirabdo for new horizons.
WWD: Tell us about how you can manage the label at the same time as your artistic career, how can you do everything?
The truth is that in many occasions it is quite complicated to be able to do everything. The label requires a lot of effort and work, but I am not alone, GRAZZE and Imanol are fundamental pillars for everything to work together.
WWD: We enjoy many great productions from you. How is the feedback from the listeners and the crowd?
It is always a pleasure to see and feel in first person how my tracks work in front of the public in my gigs, I think this is essential to be able to value a track that previously I have only heard in the studio after many hours of work, when you are in front of the public and you see that the track is a bomb, imagine the feeling,
WWD: How would you describe what you’re doing at Beatfreak and what differentiates what you’re doing from other labels?
I think beatfreak as my tracks have their own identity, I have always limited myself when choosing artists or tracks for beatfreak in what I would like to play for some of my sessions, if the track fits me as a dj, it fits me for the label.
WWD: What are your thoughts on the melodic techno, Indie Dance and Electronic music that’s being released at the moment? And where do you see Beatfreak going in terms of sound?
Well as I said before, in my opinion we are around a tremendous musical saturation, something new is needed, that’s what I feel, I love the melodic sound, I have always liked it, but my tendency and the one that the label will be little by little moving away from that melodic sound or at least the current melodic sound.
Where will we go? Who knows, just like production one day you change the chip and go down a totally different path.
WWD: Tell us more about the Beatfreak artists, are there any names that you would like to highlight?
As for the beatfreak artists, this year as in previous years we have and have had great artists, I can’t name them all, but here are a few of them Andre Winter / Baime / Bebetta / Betoko / Chus & Ceballos / Citizen Kain / D-Formation / D-Nox / Daniel Rateuke / Daniele Di Martino / Darin Epsilon / Dirty Doering / Dmitry Molosh / Giza Djs // EdOne / Hannes Bieger / Haze- M / Jan Oberlaender / Jiggler / Julian Wassermann / Kasper Koman / Kintar / Lonya / Lunar Plane / Marc DePulse / Matchy / Matter / Modeplex / Mononoid / Nick Muir / Qiuvver / Rafael Cerato / Several Definitions / Sezer Uysal / Stan Kolev / Stas Drive / Stephan Jolk / Teenage Mutants / Tom Zeta / Yost Koen
WWD: What are the D-Formation and Beatfreak goals for 2024?
My first goal as an artist for 2024 is to continue enjoying what I love most which is music and to be able to continue having the opportunity to take my music to all corners of the planet. As for the label something similar, to be able to give the opportunity to many new artists, in this year we have made our 25th anniversary, I just hope they can be many more, that will be a sign that everything is going well.