Belgian-based X&trick, often hailed as the founding father of the 'Neorave' genre, has been a prominent figure in the international underground electronic scene since the late 90s. Initially making his mark as a hardtechno and experimental electronic promoter in Belgium, he swiftly gained global recognition as a DJ and producer, embarking on tours worldwide. His performances included renowned venues like Berghain, Blackworks, Fabrik, Spazio900, Verknipt, Dour festival,...and hundreds of clubs, festivals and underground venues.

In 2008, X&trick launched the infamous Rave Alert parties in Ghent, his hometown. These events seamlessly blended genres like (hard)techno, trance, hardcore, gabber, acid, and electronica across multiple rooms. This eclectic approach laid the foundation for Rave Alert to evolve into a label and agency in 2018. Noteworthy artists like Airod, Trym, DYEN, VCL, Jan Vercauteren, and others, discovered and signed early in their careers, showcased X&trick's talent for identifying innovative and forward-thinking voices within the rave spectrum.

Recognizing that this emerging wave of 'techno' transcended traditional boundaries, X&trick coined the term 'Neorave' for the genre. In the subsequent years, the Neorave movement has permeated global territories, catapulting X&trick into a hectic touring schedule with a packed calendar. His solo mission revolves around disseminating the distinctive sound of the Neorave worldwide.

Kenny AKA "X&trick", talks to 6AM about his musical journey, Rave Alert's evolution, plans for North American expansion, and his passion for space and existential physics.

 

Hi Kenny, thanks for chatting with us today! How are you doing?

Hi 6am team, I’m fine and recovering from an amazing show at Sound Department in Italy yesterday night, It’s a pleasure to talk with you, thanks for the invitation

 

Alright first serious Q, how do you pronounce your artist name?

XNTRICK as in excentric

 

Can you tell us a little bit about your upbringing? Where did you grow up and how was life as a child and in your teen years?

I grew up in a little village in the west of belgium, as a child I had an early fascination for music and sports… I played football and was a cyclist, school wasn’t really my thing..

 

At which point did you discover electronic music, and what was it? What drew you to it?

Belgium has a very huge culture for electronic and dance, so it was all around me since my childhood..new beat was a thing in the late 80s, and eurodance was very normal to hear 
later on the belgian trance and techno was all around us and that sound drew me to some of the most legendary clubs like Cherry Moon..

 

Can you elaborate a little bit on your musical evolution since that point?

As a teenager I was into dance music, namely trance, however, around my 18 I discovered the sound of detroit techno by seeing people like Jeff Mills, Laurent Garnier and Richie Hawtin play at my first real underground raves..

It immediately changed my life and I knew this was something very profound for me..I had a crew with friends and we organised underground raves, I started dj’ing there and soon developped my own sound... We were pioneers in a new sound when we started to mix techno with hardcore and drum’n’bass..it would later be know as breakcore, a genre which was very hot in the early 2000’s

 

How would you describe your musical output and sound as a producer and DJ these days? 

These days I am basicly all about neorave, its the genre which is for me a logical evolution of my own personal traject..it has the influences from techno and (hard)trance, added with hardcore, psy and other hard dance styles..

As a producer I always try new things, and trough the years I have been experimenting in the studio a lot..i have therefore released probably 100’s of tracks under a whole number of aliases spreading over techno, drum’n’bass, dubstep, electronica and even ambient..I find it very important to think outside the box and writing music is a creative process for me, not a ‘preset’ endused thing..

Who are your musical idols? 

I have many, and I listen to almost anything, but if I have to name one it would be Aphex Twin..his music has had a huge impact on me as a producer, dj and person...

Next to that I do admire the detroit legends like Jeff mills, drexciya..experimental artists like Squarepusher, Nicolas Jaar, Oneohtrix Point Never and I am also a huge fan of Italo disco with Patrick Cowley and Giorgio Moroder as a few examples

 

You are the founder of Rave Alert. Please tell us a little about what the Rave Alert mission was when you started the project and its evolution since.

I have started Rave Alert in 2008, as a underground rave party with 3 rooms... we would combine several styles of music, and the range went from the deepest electronica to hardcore to the bone..For many years we just raved our asses of until I decided to take it to a new level... I felt the need for a new breed of techno, an I saw similar things happening around us..techno was changing and it wasn't pure techno anymore..so I decided to call it Neorave as I felt this was a new genre and needed a new name…

I started the label and agency and signed artists like Airod, Trym, Dyen, VCL, DXPE,...in the very beginning of their carreer..since then we have evolved in a world wide movement and we are known for our events, releases and artists.

These days we host label nights on a world wide scale and it seems we are far from the end. The most critical achievement was the release of Creeds ‘Push Up’ single, which has been groundbreaking and was the number one dance hit of 2023 with literally billions of plays world wide...

 

Where is Rave Alert going in the next year, 3 years and beyond?

I hope we can keep growing as we do and keep releasing quality music and artists..i believe the music we do appeals to a wide audience and I am happy to see people worldwide to enjoy something which started at our small local underground parties..

A lot of things have been happening, and with our release of Push Up I feel we can grow even harder and faster then before..

 

The word neo-rave has been buzzed a lot in today's scene. What does it mean to you and where does Rave Alert fit in with regards to it?

As said I came up with the name, so you could consider me the father of neorave I guess..needless to say it means everything to me and Rave Alert..

We call ourselves ’the home of neorave’ and we hope we can keep contributing and innovate the genre and it’s exciting to see where this will take us :)

 

Is there a plan to bring Rave Alert to North America in the coming years?

Yes there are some very concrete plans and we are working on a branch RAVE ALERT US

It’s all very exciting and we can’t wait to share all our plans with the American rave audience

Does this mean you will be coming to perform yourself?

I would love to yes, and once I have the necessary paperwork done I am ready to bring the sound of neorave to stages all over the US.

 

Where do you see hard techno and neo-rave going in the next 5 years?

Personally I feel hard techno and neorave are not the same..hard techno is more based on kicks and percussion, with a hypnotic drive while neorave is much wider: with reverse bass, psy influences and the room for trance..it also has build ups and drops..in that perspective I see a clear split between the two and Neorave might evolve into some kind of ‘EDM’ where hard techno will go it’s own way... There is also a clear trend of trance with artists like Dj Heartstring and Marlon Hoffstad. We also started a sublabel focussing on this kind of sounds, it’s called Neotrance ;)

 

You are obviously very busy running record labels, an agency and your own artist career, plus personal life. What does a typical weekday for you look like?

I wake up early, have a lot of coffee and hit the office..there are  currently 4 people working at Rave Alert. I run the labels with my girlfriend who has been a huge support to get trough all my work..At night I try to take time for family things and the usual stuff but I also find myself having meetings because we work with people on a world wide level and the timezones kind of leave me no choice :)

How about a weekend?

I am mostly on the road during the weekend, so I will most likely will be travelling..as a matter of fact I am currently in a taxi in Italy on my way to the airport :) When I'm not playing shows I like to be in the studio, take some time with family and friends and see some sports..

 

What are some things you like to do in your spare time outside of music?

I love sports, mainly football (yes soccer :) and I go see the games as I live close to the stadion of my favorite team. Next to that I love to walk in nature, cycle and swim...

 

And lastly, share with us something about you that many do not know about!

I have a tremendous fascination for space, (existential) physics and the infinity... I love to read about it and philosophise about our place in nature and what might be a simulation :)

Thank your for your time and I can’t wait to mee the 6am team and their ravers at some point soon <3

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