We talk w/ Dexphase: when tech and hard-techno meet at Blackworks

Blackworks was born in Madrid in October 2019 as an event promoter and record label, currently being one of the reference music events of technology and hard-techno in Europe. We interviewed its founder and resident DJ of Blackworks, Dexphase.

HIGHXTAR (H) – How would you defineBlackWorks for someone who doesn’t know it?

Dexphase (D) – Blackworks is a hardtechno movement born in Madrid at the end of 2019. A community of people from all over the world who are lovers of this musical style and who feel identified with the project has been created around the brand.

(H) – What made you decide to create this project?

(D) – I felt the need to create my own brand that would bring new artists and sounds to Spain. Also, I had the feeling that there weren’t enough options for the public, everything was a bit repetitive, the same old traditional promoters. There wasn’t a “touring” brand like ours that was a movement, a community, and not just a fixed club or venue.

(H) – What was the creation process like, and what challenges did you face in that first phase?

(D) – The first challenge was having to prove to venues and artist agencies that this was going to work. When a 21 year old asks a venue for a date to party with a brand that doesn’t exist yet, there are bound to be doubts. It’s not easy to go for it when there is no previous experience.

Then it was time to show the public that the event was going to be of the highest quality and thus make them want to repeat. Building loyalty with all the competition out there is no easy task.

(H) – Would you say that there has been a turning point in the trajectory of BlackWorks? If so, which one?

(D) – The summer of 2021 was clearly the main turning point. There was still a lot of uncertainty and a lot of regulations because of the pandemic. I took the plunge and scheduled several weeks in a row in open air format with top artists. Despite the fact that the capacity was very small, we managed to fill all of them and get people from all over Spain to come and meet us.

After that, all the artists and agencies wanted to work with us. And we also won the affection and loyalty of a huge audience.

Another big turning point was to launch the first festival in La Cubierta de Leganés in March 2022. Something that seemed impossible to me, we made it possible, practically filling the event, which made me gain a lot of confidence both in the brand and in myself. I think that after the success of this event everyone took us much more seriously.

(H) – Tell us a bit about the BlackWorks philosophy and sound approach.

(D) – From the beginning our philosophy has been to go for emerging artists and fast, hard sounds. I saw that in countries like France and the Netherlands this style was growing rapidly and yet, here, artists like Nico Moreno or Trym, who today are headliners of practically all the national festivals, were not recognised. But we have never pigeonholed ourselves into a particular style; at our events you can hear anything from techno (Chris Liebing), hard groove (Shdw & Obscure Shape), schranz (OBI), acid techno (999999999) or industrial (6ejou) to name a few. And this I think is a very important value for the continuity of the brand.

(H) – More than 100 artists have passed through the BlackWorks booth, which artists would you like to have in the future? And who have you been especially excited to share the booth with? 

(D) – I’m especially looking forward to sharing the booth with artists I used to go to see when I was younger. It’s amazing to be able to share the bill with artists like 999999999, I Hate Models, Kobosil or SNTS (just to name a few), who I used to dance and listen to on the dancefloor years ago. It’s a dream.

This season 2023-24 we will again have many new emerging artists that we will invite for the first time to Spain. Especially with my new project “Hyperlink”, which is a new sub-brand of Blackworks that will be focused on club events.

(H) – So far BlackWorks has had a rapid and exponential growth, what are your forecasts for the coming year, especially internationally?

(D) – The growth has been insane. Maintaining this pace is not going to be easy, and I think the next few moves are going to be key. My current objective is to make the brand last over time, so our events in Spain will be more limited and exclusive, and also larger.

On an international level, we want to gain presence in key points and work on a growth strategy in each country as an individual promoter. For example, in Germany we already have a fairly successful track record in Berlin, and now we are looking to expand into other cities. In Italy, we have already scheduled 3 showcases in Foligno, Turin and Catania between July and September. In the US we have already opened the market with New York, now we are getting more promoters interested in other cities.

We have to do some field work in each area as it’s very different from one place to another.

(H) – Do you think the international electronic music scene is still lacking something? How could it improve?

(D) – There is always room for improvement. However, I think we are in a great moment for electronic music in general. There are more and more proposals and possibilities, and among the population I think it is a very present option compared to other styles.

I think there is a good level of promoters. It’s true that when you travel around Europe and see some productions, you miss them in Spain. Even so, I think the public should be aware of the prices they pay for tickets in Spain, which are usually much cheaper than abroad, so the budget is what it is and you can’t do magic.

(H) – Besides being an event promoter, BlackWorks is also a record label, you had a break but now you are back in business. What can you tell us about the next releases? Any surprises?

(D) – From the beginning the label was paramount. It’s a way to show the sound we want to show, to promote new talents, and to gain positioning and prestige in the scene. We had a break because the growth in terms of events was very fast and we couldn’t cope with it. But now with the help of my friend Skryption, who is taking on the task of label manager, we’ve picked up the pace.

We have a monthly digital release of emerging artists scheduled, and we also have vinyl releases with very well known artists in the pipeline. For example, an AnD EP will be released on vinyl very soon. In early 2024 there will also be a Various Artists vinyl release with top global and emerging artists.

(H) – We can’t forget to talk about the aesthetic component that surrounds your raver movement, did you always have it in mind or is it something that has happened organically?

(D) – I think it’s part of what we were talking about before. We are a community, and our audience wants to feel part of it. With the way they dress, they want to express themselves, it’s part of the freedom that people feel at our events.

In terms of our clothes and accessories, from the beginning we have had limited edition items for our audience, but I never imagined that so many people would wear and wear our clothes. The growth has been totally organic, which has “forced” us to step up our game and offer better quality and more options.

(H) – And finally, where can we see BlackWorks next?

(D) – We already have plans in the United States (Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles), Colombia (Bogota and Medellin), France (Paris), Italy (Catania, Turin and Foligno), Germany (Berlin, Karlsruhe, Munster), United Kingdom (Glasgow), Netherlands (Amsterdam) and we are closing many more cities and countries that we will be able to confirm very soon.

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