Tom Hades - written by Paul Dailey (for Upfront Magazine UK)

Glace out at the dance floor at any party, anywhere, and you will find a multiplicity of characters getting down in a myriad of ways. A truly evolved melting pot of eclectic influences, few styles show this inclusion of stimuli more than modern Techno, and few people have positioned themselves at the forefront of this emerging musical globalism better than Tom Hades. He makes music that can pound the paint off the walls one minute, and trip you out a moment later.

Like many people involved in electronic music, Tom Hades (Wim Vanoeveren) began his music journey as a fan of technology and music. At a young age growing up in Belgium, he deconstructed his Commodore Amiga gaming computer, added a basic keyboard and began to work on tracks influenced by new wave and electro. However, it was his first visit to a "techno-minded" party that really showed him the direction he wanted to take his music in.

Tom set out to produce his own tracks and has released many highly regarded originals and remixes for the likes of Ben Sims, Christian Varela and Alexander Koning. He also has been fortunate to collaborate with long time friend, Marco Bailey, producing tracks for Pornographic, MB Elektronics, Zync and Primate (to name a few.)

Although he loves techno, Tom has an appreciation for the groovy percussion and basslines in Latin music. It is the addition of this "swing" to his productions that allow him to make banging tracks; that still retain a funky undertone. This is not only a signature, but something that makes his music universally respected and has added to his popularity in South America.

Another area where he stands out from his peers is that he is strictly a live performer. "For me it is better to not DJ. I've always had the belief that, if you are not 100% behind an interest, it is better to leave it to the guys who are…I can put my feeling in my own tracks and then bring these tracks in their very own way, to the people."

With upcoming gigs in places as diverse as Poland and Japan, Tom is showing how love and a strong work ethic can produce amazing results. "If you believe in something, and you can find your feelings and happiness in these things, everything will work out fine. I never believed that I would ever have a single release until 5 years ago, but suddenly everything can go very fast, like techno…"