Los Angeles-based artist SOREN reflects on his hard dance origins and delivers an all-original guest mix for his Paradigm Shift debut!
Los Angeles-based artist SOREN is consistently at the top of his game, with 2024 being one of his biggest years yet. The hard dance artist continuously solidifies his project as a staple in the American scene, performing at the most sought-after festivals like EDC Las Vegas, Ultra Music Festival, Basscon Wasteland, and more. On the music front, SOREN has been busy with four banging releases on DWX Update. In addition to his many tasks as an artist, fans may also know him as the host of the monthly Basscon Radio guest mix series on Insomniac Radio.
During his explosive career, SOREN has caught the attention of promoters and labels worldwide, such as Basscon Records and Welcome Records. Some years later, he was invited to join the Dirty Workz family full-time, becoming the first and only American artist signed to the label full-time. Since then, his musical endeavors have led him to a growing dedicated fanbase, technical production prowess, and a blistering sound that is uniquely his.
Although this project recently caught fire in the scene, SOREN shared that it’s been in the works for over a decade, beginning at TomorrowWorld in 2013. “I had gone with a group of friends, and we stumbled upon the Q-dance stage,” he shared. “I had never really heard the music before that festival, and I immediately caught the bug just from the music’s energy in a live environment. After the festival, my friends and I went down the rabbit hole of discovering new hard dance artists.”
SOREN does admit that he initially went down the bass music lane in his early days as a producer, but he became hooked on the complex sound design, mixing, and interesting musical composition that comes with producing hard dance music. He committed to the sounds of the harder styles and earned his first break by releasing through Basscon Records and playing some shows with them. He continued to push the envelope of his project, which caught the attention of Dirty Workz, prompting his invite onto the Belgian record label.
Recalling how he feels to represent the American scene on Dirty Workz, SOREN said, “It’s really special to me and has always been a dream of mine since I started listening to hard dance music! So many of my favorite acts are a part of this label: Sub Zero Project, Hard Driver, and Da Tweekaz to name a few. It’s an honor to be tapped as Dirty Workz’s artist in the United States, and I couldn’t speak more highly of everyone at the label. I hope other American acts can see that it’s possible to be accepted into the Dutch scene by being authentic, not following ‘trends,’ and creating a unique sonic identity in their music.”
Unfortunately, hard dance in the States doesn’t have the same market share as in Europe, with Basscon being the only major promoter consistently putting on festivals and events. However, SOREN is elated to see the rise in demand for the genre, stating that “Ultra Music Festival Miami has recently jumped into the conversation with their Dirty Workz stage takeover at their last three festivals. Other promoters, such as Hard Dance NYC, have started putting on shows with notable international acts that have been starting to get attention in the US scene.”
Riding his wave of momentum, SOREN stopped by to make his debut on our hard dance mix series, Paradigm Shift! For 30 minutes, listeners get to know SOREN at his purest form with a guest mix that includes 100% original music and remixes made by him. In addition to his recent releases like “ON MY OWN” and “BLACK TEARS,” SOREN snuck in an exclusive sneak peek at a brand-new, unreleased record, “Avalon.”
The appetite for hard dance music has grown slowly but consistently. This creates opportunities for American-based acts to increase their presence in the States and abroad. As an established American act myself, it’s exciting to see this increased interest in hard dance music. It leads to greater responsibility for domestic acts to begin establishing themselves in the larger hard dance scene throughout the world.
SOREN
Dive into the mind of SOREN and stream his debut guest mix for Paradigm Shift on SoundCloud!
