3 questions with Coone, the hardstyle maestro soft for his family

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3 questions with Coone, the hardstyle maestro soft for his family

There's something very simplistic about the touring life of Coone: he just wants his daughter around.

The celebrated hardstyle DJ made a song just for her when she was only one, and he was crestfallen when he was not allowed to bring her onboard for his set at last November's It's The Ship music festival, where we also spoke about music influences, how hardcore and hip-hop led him to hardstyle and his peers in EDM. Read our brief chat below.


What is one item you absolutely have to bring on tour that isn't technology?

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Coone: My little girl, Faye, for sure! She didn’t allow me to leave without her but unfortunately she isn’t of age to come onto the ship.

It’s funny because I’m more used to having to say goodbye for tours but it gets harder every time, if that makes sense. But if you’re talking about a material object, that’s really hard.

It’s a great question, but I think I’m just sticking with my girl for this one. Everything else is material and can be substituted."



Who were your influences growing up outside of EDM?

I’m a huge hip-hop fan, so I grew up with this really weird combo of hip-hop and hardcore — like really fast, heavy music with pounding beats. So when you listen to my music now, you can feel that energy and that weird blend of hip-hop influences with hardstyle.

I’m a huge fan of Eminem, in my opinion he’s the greatest rapper alive at the moment. I’m not a big fan of anyone in particular except for him.

He’s like, the main dude, he’s on a whole different level than the rest and that’s what I want to be like, he’s my ultimate goal to work with. Besides Eminem, I grew up to Dr. Dre and all that West Coast shit."

In the current music scene in EDM, who would you say you look up to?

I have huge respect for Martin Garrix and what he’s done. He deserves to be No. 1 on the top 100 DJs list. I’ve watched his sets on YouTube and when he’s out there, it’s not just him and his music, it’s the whole vibe that surrounds him, it’s his team and what they do.

That’s what I love and I am also trying to achieve, to get a really good team behind me and have a really good atmosphere. Everyone’s like “Oh, he’s just a kid!,” but the thing is he’s not. He’s a fucking legend already.

He’s doing a great job. I also love guys like DJ Snake, Yellow Claw, Diplo, Skrillex."


Special thanks to It's The Ship for arranging this interview.