Wave and hardstyle or Canada and hardstyle are not two of the most obvious pairings one could think about, but both make perfect sense if we put Angel Cannon as the common denominator. Based in Vancouver, Angel Cannon is a multi-genre producer and vocalist who caught my attention in early 2022 thanks to his seminal EP Heaven Gen_1 released on vibe.digital. This project propelled him into the firmament of the new generation of wave producers, but little did I know that his wave side was just the tip of the iceberg. What at first seemed to be simple hardstyle excursions within his hardwave songs turned out to be his “real focus,” as his “love for hardstyle has been with me forever.” Over the past year, his releases have gotten bigger, better, and louder, culminating in the DIVINE DESTRUCTION EP on Yellow Claw’s Barong Family imprint. With a background rooted in Celtic and Persian music, as well as wave and EDM, I am sure we are witnessing the rise of a producer who will become unique in the scene.
Let’s start from the very basics: why Angel Cannon? How did you come up with the name?
So the name came from a junkie kid song called ‘Angel Cannon.’ I saw the name and was like damn this is a fire name and I was able to implement meaning into it that fit my sound. My music is ascending, beautiful, and euphoric like an Angel. But is also intense and blasts you in the face like a cannon. But also an Angel shooting out of a cannon is just hard asf like damn bruh.
I got to know you as one of the champions of the new generation of wave producers but your sound is a much wider meeting point of influences. How did you develop your musical background?
My inspiration comes from many many places. My dad is Persian so I was always around Persian music and my mom makes Celtic music so that really inspired the kind of scales I use and the speed and intensity of the music I make. I’ve been a huge fan of all types of EDM since I discovered Skrillex as a kid and slowly branched out to discover other genres like my one true love hardstyle. I also listened to a lot of pop music back then in the early 2010s, like Usher, Will I Am, David Guetta, whose sound really influenced my melody writing and my vocal style. I also got into metal in high school and learned how to scream and play guitar so I’ve been trying to implement that more into my sound. If I should mention three artists that have inspired me the most it’s gotta be Tristam, The Plot in You, and Stonebank.
Since I’m a huge wave fan myself I need to ask you this: which artist or which track introduced you to wave?
The first wave song I ever heard was ‘Spirit’ by SHDOW. I was just browsing YouTube at like 3 am back in 2018 and heard that track and immediately fell in love. I found skeler and Klimeks shortly after and the rest was history.
I think the internet changed a lot because of social media since that era passed and it made everything super fast-paced and without connection. I feel like it’s affected music a lot as well with the way streaming platforms and the industry itself is. I think some things have improved a lot but some things have been lost to time that I wish hadn’t.
In your bio you highlight that the Angel Cannon project is deeply inspired by pre-2010 internet subcultures. What do you miss the most from that era? How do you think the internet has changed over the last decade?
Well, my main influence is from the era of like 2009-2015 as that was my childhood and my most formative years of the sounds I enjoy. The thing I miss the most from that era is just the general sound that EDM, pop, and rock all had. I miss electro-house and metalcore and just the way everything was, it’s hard to put a finger on why. I think the internet changed a lot because of social media since that era passed and it made everything super fast-paced and without connection. I feel like it’s affected music a lot as well with the way streaming platforms and the industry itself is. I think some things have improved a lot but some things have been lost to time that I wish hadn’t.
What about the Canadian culture you grew up in? Did it have any influence on your musical taste?
I mean it mostly just sucked for the local scene aspect. The only places in the country that I’m aware of that have thriving local EDM scenes are like Toronto and Montreal but I am from Vancouver also known as the “no fun city” so take that as you will.
With your latest EP, DIVINE DESTRUCTION, you proved that your love for hardstyle is definitely “not a phase.” How did it come together and did you get in touch with Barong Family?
My love for hardstyle has been with me forever and it’s always been my true focus. The problem was that the genre is so complex and difficult to master that up until recently I never felt I had the skill set to truly make good hardstyle. especially being from Canada where information on the production is so hard to come by due to there being literally no hardstyle scene. I got in touch with Barong through the homie gravedgr. We did a couple of tracks together and he sent one of my demos to them to listen to and they got the vision so here we are. They are a really dope label pushing a lot of great stuff especially hard dance and speed house, you definitely need to check it out.
Will we ever get an Angel Cannon and Deadcrow hardstyle EP?
Hahaha that would be cool! I’d love to do so if the opportunity arose.
Any production tips for those producers willing to add a hardstyle flavor to their songs?
I think the #1 thing with coming into hardstyle from other EDM genres is to forget everything you know about mixing. The way a hardstyle kick is processed is so different from the way you make a drop with regular drums that you have to kind of unlearn some things. I hear a lot of people implementing hardstyle kicks into tracks but not really putting enough care into making them hit properly. Focusing on training your ears to a lot of hardstyle and watching tutorials on kick design is your best bet. Make like one or two kicks every day and you’ll be making sick hardstyle faster than you think.
If you’re not going more insane than the entire crowd how are they gonna match your energy?
Your multi-genre approach is also dominant in your DJ sets. On r/wavepool I often find comments that praise your set/mixes and take them as an example of how a set should be handled. How do you approach the art of DJing? Do you have a specific formula you follow or do you go freestyle every time?
My approach to DJing has changed over time the more shows I play but there are a few things I do to keep it fresh and hype. I like to start with a slower bpm and over time bring it up faster and faster rather than slowing down and speeding up. I also like to focus on surprising the crowd. People are afraid to switch up genres but you’d be surprised how many great reactions I get from fake drops and genre switches. I think pre-planning a mild guideline of your set is also important as even tho you are going to change things up live, having a playlist of like 50 songs you know you may play can make it more intentional. Lastly don’t just stand there and bob ur head that’s boring. If you’re not going more insane than the entire crowd how are they gonna match your energy?
What can you tell us about this mix you prepared for FUXWITHIT?
Well, no spoilers but I’ll say it’s gonna have some IDs you’ve never heard before in there and a lot of fat kicks and big Melodies so stay tuned.
Tracklist
