Krowdexx Reflects on Becoming Hard Dance ‘ICONS’

Krowdexx gives us an inside look into their latest album, ICONS, and reflect on their unique artistic path.

Italian duo Krowdexx has been tearing through the music industry for several years now, picking up significant momentum in late 2022 after rumors of their retirement began circulating on the internet. Luckily, these claims proved to be pure speculation as Krowdexx were preparing for the next phase of their careers: their brand-new album, ICONS.

The Gearbox Digital mainstays have become key players in hard dance by pushing the XTRA Raw sound to its absolute limit in their productions and inspiring the scene worldwide. To truly understand the duo’s evolution from newcomers to undeniable talent, it’s best to start at the beginning of their story with their iconic (see what we did there?) masks.

The masks came from the very beginning. We had to think of something that would stand out and be easily recognizable to people attending our first events. The design is inspired by The Joker, one of the most enigmatic characters ever. This offers many possibilities for our sound’s style – from dark to cheerful, which fits our brand perfectly.
Krowdexx

While the masks have become the duo’s calling card, they had to adjust to get to the elusive next level in their careers. After the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Krowdexx realized that they were excessively relying on their old, dark, and heavy sound due to it pairing well with their all-black look. Considering this, they completely changed their clothes to give their project a fresh image that better fits their current influences.

Our idea was to expand the possibilities of doing what we really like. Having rehearsed a lot of tracks live during that time period, we noticed how much people like crazy and heavy drops combined with more commercial breakdowns!
Krowdexx

Of course, an updated look wasn’t the only thing that changed. This new brand image was followed by the announcement of their latest album, ICONS. Throughout ten ferocious tracks, Krowdexx took fans on a sonic journey highlighting their new sound and delivering fresh collaborations with standouts in the scene like Mish, Barber, and Levenkhan. Creating cohesive bodies of work with artists from all over the hard dance spectrum is a challenge in itself, but Krowdexx excelled in this aspect.

When speaking about collaborating with so many different styles, the duo said, “It has been very interesting! We have enjoyed working with these artists, especially because we greatly respect them. Unlike making our own productions, it is always stimulating to start with a different production style or discover how our ideas can be modified following a different artist’s perspective.“

In addition to monumental first-time collaborations, Krowdexx also helped contain and classify the downtempo style that has become so popular over the past year. This newfound approach is ultimately an extension of their previous identity with leveled-up sound design through the use of creative elements like zaagkicks. Krowdexx nonetheless make it known that their new artistic direction isn’t only limited to new kick drums.

We don’t believe that one sound makes an artist’s style. It is the combination of sound design and all the creative elements such as melodies and arrangements. Zaagkicks are something we really like. We believe they give a lot of drive to hardstyle and rawstyle tracks, but we also like to experiment and evolve our sound to something new!
Krowdexx

This new artistic vision has been on full display during their ICONS showcases all summer at gatherings like Defqon.1 Weekend Festival, where they packed out the INDIGO stage for one of the most epic performances of the entire weekend. But when they aren’t tearing the house down and ripping festival stages, Krowdexx spend a lot of their time on the business side of the hard dance scene as owners of D&C Studios.

In early 2020, they opened up D&C Studios in an attempt to help producers in the scene improve the quality of their tunes and spread the hard dance genre to a worldwide fanbase. They explain that similar to pop music artists, producers don’t have to complete the entire process of building a track on their own. Instead, they can request assistance from professionals like mixing and mastering engineers or recording studios to make the finished product sound like a chart-topping track. With D&C Studios, Krowdexx aim to normalize the concept of seeking help when it comes to dance music production.

For this reason, we provide all kinds of mastering (stereo or stems), complete mixdown and mastering, add production, and even ghost production services to those who only want to perform or have their ideas printed on a professional product!
Krowdexx

Considering Krowdexx’s busy schedule, fans can’t help but wonder what else they have planned for the rest of 2023 and beyond. Luckily, the duo gave us some insight regarding the music front. “We are working hard on the next release and new edits for live performances, which will take our upcoming parties to the next level! Important new features will be coming later this year, but for now, we can’t say more.”

Apart from lots of new music in the works, Krowdexx also expressed their gratitude when they said, “We want to thank all of our fans for the incredible support over this year and hope to see everyone all around the world soon!” They closed off our chat with a call to action addressing promoters and fans in the States: “We hope to meet you very soon, especially because the USA is our dream country!“

The rest of 2023 is sure to be an integral part of the story of Krowdexx. Make sure to stay tuned into their frequencies, watch for upcoming tour dates in your country, and stream their latest release with Mish and Sickmode, “HATE OR LOVE IT,” on Spotify or your preferred platform.

Follow Krowdexx:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | SoundCloud | YouTube | Spotify