MUSIC, MUSCLES, MEMORIES

A festival sensation hit the Mainstage yesterday right after the Daybreak Sessions, and got everybody moving without touching the DJ decks even once. The Warrior Workout by Q-Dance, first popularised at Defqon.1, was truly a sight to behold and a spectacle to experience. Thousands of you made the ground shake with your energetic movement to the sounds of gut-punching hardstyle-kicks. For 30 minutes, Ronny and his crew took over Arcadiana and got everybody jumping, pumping, and sweating like there was no tomorrow. We caught up with Ronny to talk about the magic of exercising at festivals, and got him to explain how you can recreate the Warrior Workout anywhere.

“It actually all came together very naturally. At every step of the way, all of those involved loved the idea of making it bigger and bigger and now we can bring this mad workout to the Mainstage of Tomorrowland. I have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming, to be honest. And who knows, maybe we’ll conquer even some more mainstages in the future…”

Working out at a festival might seem farfetched for some, as most days on the Holy Grounds already feel like a workout by themselves. Why is it still a great idea to do the Warrior Workout?

When all your muscles have already been activated, you are way less likely to pull or strain something. And finally: It gives you so much confidence and that in turn helps you connect with others a lot easier. For me it seems far-fetched not to do it!”

The Warrior Workout will sadly not return to the Mainstage on Sunday. What’s your advice for those who want to recreate it at DreamVille instead?

Ronny is probably the happiest workout instructor you’ll ever see. With his ‘open for everybody’ attitude, he has made the Warrior Workout one of the most memorable moments of Defqon.1. Follow his steps and access his source of unlimited energy!

Estelle

“Put on the Spotify Warrior Workout playlist, follow the steps and spread those smiles around. Whenever we do the workout live, I see so many people smiling – I hope that people can recreate that on the campsite and involve everybody. And don’t forget the most important move, ‘Shirt off and twist it’!”

In a matter of just a few years, the Warrior Workout has turned from a fun online idea into a Mainstage hit. Tell us about the journey!

“We’ve never been to a workout like this at a festival –but oh my god, it’s so much fun!” Estelle is still jumping up and down long after Ronny’s team has left the stage.

“I feel so energized now – I bet I’ll have a beautiful glow for the rest of the day!”

“It’s simple: nothing hypes you up like getting a good workout – so while at first you might think that it will tire you out, it will actually give you more energy. Doing a full-body workout is also a really good way to lower your risk of getting hurt while you’re out enjoying the festival.

Ronny Christopher France

Q-dance Instructor Germany

Christopher and his friends are all sporting the perfect workout outfit, so it looks like they came prepared. “Actually, I decided to come here after picking out what I wanted to wear today. What a beautiful coincidence.” Indeed!

From His Heart Straight To Yours

Boris Brejcha has come a long way from listening to his first Thunderdome CD as a teenager, wondering how on Earth all of these strange sounds came into being, to being the renowned hightech minimal artist he is now. Seventeen years into his career as a recording artist, creating futuristic sounds still fascinates him more than anything else: “If I were ever asked to choose between sitting at home and making music or to be on tour DJ’ing, I would always go for producing because that’s where I came from.” Preferences aside, the reason Boris travelled to Tomorrowland this year was to present his incredible sonic art during a min- bending threehour-long ‘In Concert’ live set, and we can only hope you were right there, at the Freedom stage, to witness it. If not, you’ve got something to look forward to as Boris Brejcha, one of the world’s most ingenious mavericks of electronic music, will certainly be coming back for more.

“It may sound odd,” says Boris as he gets settled in a deluxe armchair somewhere backstage, “but I’ve never been much of a raver. My friends were always asking me to go out partying with them, but I couldn’t help thinking that if I did go, someone else would be working on music at home and get better at it than me. I was so detached from the nightlife scene that initially, I didn’t even realise that to many people being a producer as well as a DJ is a logical and workable combination of professions.” The German producer’s obsession with creating highquality, authentic work goes even further than insisting to stay at home, as it turns out later in the conversation: “I do listen to hip-hop, pop music and film scores when I’m at home, but never to tracks by other techno artists, as I want to stay away from outside influences when I produce music. Creating music that’s unique is very important to me.”

A recognisable sound

Very few producers have it: a signature sound that, even though all of their works are different from one another, is always recognisable to the trained ear. Boris Brejcha, however, certainly is one of the select few. Boris laughs: “It puzzles me that people can tell that I’ve made a certain track. I’ve done so many different styles of music. Sometimes it’s house, sometimes techno, but they identify me nevertheless. Yet all I do is go to the studio and make the music I love and there definitely isn’t a secret to it.”

Is it the graceful kicks, maybe, which lack the heavy bass so prominent in a lot of today’s techno, that causes his music to sound unlike anyone else’s? “Well, it’s true that I’m not a fan of the pumping type of techno that you hear a lot of these days. I love creating punchy beats that I then combine with a great melody. That’s what makes people remember the track. It gives meaning to my music. When it comes to the balanced distribution of energy within a track, I actually often compare it with sex: you don’t want to go hard all the time, you look for a combination of hard and soft, and it always needs emotion.”

The healing power of music

And this is not the only reference to emotion that Boris will make during our conversation, completely unfazed by sharing the source of the outpouring of emotion in his music. “I very much enjoy playing live sets, with nothing but my own music, and the fact that Tomorrowland lets me go on for three hours at that is something that I absolutely love. To connect with people, to let them feel something, you need to let a track run for five minutes, not one. Certain tracks can’t be rushed, as you will miss the point as a listener, you won’t reach that state of trance. As an artist, I need the time to gradually increase the intensity of my music. Performing for me is also about sharing my feelings with the crowd. The reason this is important to me is very personal: I had no friends when I returned to school with burn scars after a severe accident when I was six years old. Other kids would say crazy things to me and I felt completely alone. Later on in life, music gave me a chance to express myself. It was therapeutic. That’s why it is so important to me to just play my own music, so people can hear: this is Boris and the music comes right from his heart.”

The thrill of playing at Tomorrowland

Even for someone who is foremost a producer and not a clubber at heart, presenting his music to the keen crowd of Tomorrowland remains something very special. “I used to only know Tomorrowland from videos on YouTube, and I was always impressed by the sheer size of the festival, the flags and all the crazy stuff everyone was wearing. I never imagined I would ever play here. Then when they actually booked me, it truly felt like a dream was coming true. I drank several shots of vodka to take off the nervous edge before going on stage at the Atmosphere stage. When I came on I could not believe my eyes: there were all these people wearing my mask! Some of my fans actually have Boris Brejcha tattoos on their body. There’s hundreds of them! I just can’t head wrap my head around that, as I admire many artists myself, but I would never have their logo or picture on my body myself. I mean, it’s forever –it never comes off. But in the end I’m grateful, because it’s the best compliment you can think of: these fans love my music so much that they want everyone to know!”

Having reached a near legendary status in the radio landscape, Tomorrowland’s One World Radio has been king of the airwaves ever since its conception in 2019. Boasting exclusive tracks, mixes and live sets 24/7 in the mix, they’re bringing all the goods live from the festival and its associated artists as well as gems from the vaults. One World Radio, in other words, is your trusted companion, a safe haven for electronic music lovers from around the globe, and an eminent channel with a worldwide following. Providing a new standard in live dance music radio, it has become the go-to place for People of Tomorrow with a need to keep in touch with what’s what and who’s who in today’s overall electronic music scene. Throughout the weekend, hosts Justin Wilkes and Adam K are hitting the airwaves with the hottest items live from their studio located next to the CAGE stage – and we managed to catch up with Justin in between tracks.