During ‘Portal: The Next Gen’, loud music pops out of the speakers most of the day, but not at eight in the evening. That’s when the bar closes, and the music turns off.
The hardstyle event holds two minutes of silence for war victims. ”If you don’t keep your mouth shut, you will go out.”
Portal The Next Gen
These are the words of organiser Max van der Linde (21). Together with co-organiser Djem Oosterbroek (19), he wants to send a signal. ”The rawstyle and hardcore scene is often seen negatively in the news. We want to turn that around and show that we do show respect for this. To also show that things can be different and that we are not boys and girls who give a shit about everything,” says Max.
Bad image
Indeed, according to the pair, that image is wrong. ”People think we are a bunch of madmen who go to the typhus, ramming and taking drugs. That bad stigma is just not there anymore,” Djem explains. Thus, there is a ‘zero-tolerance’ drug policy during the party. Although the music has to be your taste. ”To an outsider, the music seems quite aggressive. We have that certain audience that comes purely for the music and our concept. You notice that all the visitors know the music and shout and sing along, which makes the atmosphere top-notch. I dare say there is never a fight.”
So, both the audience and the DJs, they have received positive reactions to their scheduled moment of silence. After the two minutes, the event resumes. ”Again, it is not the intention that everyone stands there stricken. It has to remain light-hearted. We will think about it for those two minutes but enjoy it even more afterwards”, says Djem.
Tears
For the Media and Event Management students at SintLucas, it is the third time they have held the music event. Like the previous times, this edition is also sold out. Four hundred men will be stomping at Club BOLD in Eindhoven on Saturday.
”I could never have imagined a year ago that where I am standing now was possible. I’m sure I’ll have a moment of realisation at the event. Then there might be tears too; that’s how much passion we have,” Max says.
Source: Studio040.nl
Translated by: Anitha Sevugan
