Shaun T - My Year In Hard Dance

What's been your biggest achievement of the year?

2011 has been a huge year for me personally cracking the south coast scene was a real plus playing at some of their best venues (c103 in Plymouth & the o2 in Bournemouth) are two that stand out . Getting bookings in Ireland was another big plus, they're absolutely mental over there . Having great success in the studio with 3 mixmag reviews and another number 1 spot on TID and also having the likes of Dark By Design & Dj Thera remix my productions was amazing . Mixing my first compilation for Kiddfectious 3rd birthday which hammered the number 1 spot on many of the download sites . Watching our new brand (Universal nations)grow to the point that bouncers are refusing people in our rooms because they're well over capacity. Its amazing the buzz about the brand up here when we put a party on so keep an eye out for that in 2012 ;) . So in general 2011 was a massive achievement for me.

What moments will you never forget?

Playing main stage in 53 Degrees at Goodgreef before Lisa Lashes . Playing both this years Magna events they for me are the best hard events in Britian both numbers wise and atmosphere .

Who's been your favourite newcomer of the year?

Tranz-Linquants stand out dont they . I know not many have heard his name in England yet but id say watch out for David Rust this year aswell he's making some nice sounds :D .

Who's been the artist of the year for you?

This is really hard for me theres too many. Organ Donors . Josh Lang . Kidd Kaos . Dark By Design . A*S*Y*S . But I think its got to be the Donors as they're pushing boundaries again .

What's been your favourite label of the year?

Audio Surgery , Fe records , Theracords.

What do you think has been the best track of the year?

Hmm theres 3 . Without a doubt my remix of Dark By Designs Blackout which is out very soon on his label so look out for that its been killing it for me everywere . Kidd Kaos & Dj Tone Closer it has so much impact on a set and really goes off . Also my new track Decisions Reversed on Ourstyle records which comes out jan 16th so check that out hardstyle fans :D.

What's been your favourite event of the year?

Insomniacz & Universal Nations birthday at Magna in November . People say the hard dance scene is dying well if you seen our room or were there i think you would have a different opinion of that . I think alot of brands have gone abit lazy and even stale the way they do things we work seriously hard on promotion and not just on facebook where i think most brands fail . Thinking that only using djs to sell tickets , facebook promotion , booking the same acts & using the same venues as they were 4,5,6,7 years ago doesnt work anymore you need to be fresh with new ideas new djs and build some hype about the fresh talent rather than building hype on djs we've seen for the last 10 years and know all about. Thats really working for us and i think its the way our scene needs to go if we want it to get back to its best.

What's the funniest thing that's happened to you?

Ahh thats easy but also quite scary . I played at c103 and im not going to mention his name but I was there with another dj that was on and headlining the event. I was in the toilet and I heard someone behind me say look at the size of that I turned around curiously to find him holding his twig and berrys . Completely unexpected ... Well funny .

What do you have planned for the next year?

Well Universal Nation records is nearly ready to roll with some really exciting tracks so keep an eye out for that . Getting more done in studio , maybe even some collabs in the pipe ;) . To be honest im really looking forward to pushing some fresh talent with Universal Nations its all about the music for us so if you wana get involved get intouch peeps :D ... look forward to seeing you all on the dancefloor. xxxx

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