Alpha Lion is an Uptempo Hardcore producer hailing from Utrecht in the Netherlands who has quickly made a name for himself in the Harder Styles scene. His unique sound combines cinematic and melodic elements with a true Hardcore feeling and powerful kicks. Contrary to the visible change in the scene, he does not set out to produce the heaviest and fastest sound. His carefully crafted and powerful sound is a response to the modern evolution of Uptempo Hardcore. We talked with this new talent about his unique sound, his career, and his goals. Read more about Alpha Lion in the following interview.
Mitchell Hoogervorst didn’t start working in the Harder Styles industry yesterday. His entry into the scene was rather unusual, as he worked as a fitness trainer, organizing his own workouts in 2020-2022 at various festivals. At „Beat the Beats“, he motivated tired festival-goers to work out after all-night dancing. Now he heats up the crowd himself as a DJ.
| READ MORE ABOUT THE BEAT THE BEATS WORKOUT IN OUR ARTICLE. | (German only)
Fitness is not his only passion. He loves music just as much. That’s why he’s focused on his uptempo DJ career in the last few years since the outbreak of the corona pandemic. By now he has released some brutal tracks, which are produced in a modern way, but are staying true to the origins of Uptempo Hardcore. In an interview, he told us more about his DJ project Alpha Lion.
The interview with Alpha Lion
Hard Facts: „Hello Mitchell, thank you for talking to us. First of all, please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you as a person.“
Alpha Lion: „My name is Mitchell Hoogervorst, born and living in Utrecht (the center of The Netherlands). As you might know from the Beats the Beats workouts, I’m a sports teacher and fitness instructor in my daily life. With my new act Alpha Lion, I strive to turn music as my other hobby besides sport into a profession.“
Hard Facts: „Since when have you been producing music and why did you start?„
Alpha Lion: „I literally grew up with music because of my dad. He was a radio DJ and made his own mixtapes, even by cutting and pasting parts of cassette tapes. I started making my own sounds 4-5 years ago. I got the chance to learn from the best. – A big shoutout to Aftershock.
Besides that, music is emotion. A good track really can change my mood and gives me the best motivation during a gym session.“
Hard Facts: „And how did you come up with the name ‚Alpha Lion‘?„
Alpha Lion: „Since I was born in August, I got fascinated by this powerful animal that likes to dominate. The addition of Alpha stands for the brutal sound.“
Hard Facts: „How would you describe the sound of Alpha Lion? What makes your music different from the sound of other Uptempo Hardcore producers in the scene?„
Alpha Lion: „Qualitative music that touches your feelings.. cinematic sounds, vocals with a storyline, melodies with true Hardcore feelings. The Alpha Lion sound is a new sound with the best of both worlds, of Hardcore and Uptempo: Hardcore melodies and alpha kicks determine the Alpha Lion’s sound.
You can see the Alpha Lion’s sound as an answer to the current Evolution of Uptempo. I have a feeling that nowadays everyone wants it harder and faster no matter what, even at the expense of the quality of the track.“
Hard Facts: „Where does your inspiration come from?„
Alpha Lion: „Especially older music and cinematic films. Using these elements improves the arrangement of my tracks.“
Hard Facts: „Is there an artist that you are looking up to/ that you would like to work with in the future?„
Alpha Lion: „My dream collabs are Barber, Spitnoise, and Tha Playah.“
Alpha Lion has released on the labels Barbaric Records, Afterlife Recordings, and Q-dance Records (QORE) so far. Already in the last two months, he has enriched the Uptempo Hardcore scene with two new powerful tracks:
You can stream his latest track „Blood Thirsty“ on Spotify as well as on YouTube or on Soundcloud.
In April he released „Pump The Fck Up„. You can find this track on Spotify, YouTube and Soundcloud.
But that is not all, he has many more releases coming up. So stay tuned and don’t forget to follow Mitchell on Instagram.
| Searching for some events where Uptempo gets played? – In our event calendar you will find all the Harder Styles events of the month. |
