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This week in the series MY FIRST GIG, we feature the enthusiastic German hardstyle DJ/producer Joel Thienelt, a.k.a. Broken Element. After his first performance, he experienced an immense rush. However, he also admits: “Of course, I made plenty of mistakes. What did you expect?”
“I was born and raised in Paderborn, a small city near Dortmund. My parents are big music lovers, but I didn’t grow up with dance music. They listened more to ABBA and ’80s rock. When I was about twelve or thirteen, my father came home from MediaMarkt with a couple of Dreamdance CDs he had picked up for me. That was the first time I heard electronic music. To be honest, I didn’t connect with it right away. In fact, I felt a little lost in it and mostly listened to general radio stations.”
Counter-Strike: Source
“As a young teen, I was obsessed with gaming and spent a lot of time playing Counter-Strike: Source. Meanwhile, I was listening to international online radio stations like HardBase.FM. One day, I heard a track that hit just a little harder than the rest: Zany’s “Science & Religion“. Soon after, I found a download site with more hardstyle tracks. Whether these downloads were legal or not, I have no idea. I was young and didn’t care—I just went for it!” (laughs)
Showtek
“I was around fourteen or fifteen when I discovered music from Showtek and similar artists. I was instantly hooked! For two years, I just consumed tons of music. At some point, I wanted to see if I could make something myself, and that’s how I started producing.”
Holy Shit!
“At that point, I had never played in front of an audience. You had to be eighteen to go clubbing, and while plenty of guys went out with fake IDs, I waited until I turned eighteen. My first club experience was at a venue called Gigapark in Dülmen, near the Dutch border. I believe Korsakoff and Brennan Heart were performing. It was my first time seeing a live DJ and attending such a big event. Holy shit! I was instantly sold! Not long after, I went to see Headhunterz at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam and later attended festivals like Defqon and New Horizons in Germany.”
Scantraxx
“In 2014, I took the plunge and sent a decent demo of my track “Torn Apart” to Scantraxx, the label owned by Dov Elkabas, a.k.a. DJ The Prophet. He had already shown support for my music. I quickly received a response: Scantraxx wanted to sign my track. Yes! After that, I also released a few tracks on X-Bone Records.”
Musical Madness
“During that time, I connected with Daniel Grassi and Benny Reichert from event organizer Musical Madness through former Scantraxx manager Matthijs Noordhuis. Matthijs told Daniel, ‘Check this guy out. Maybe you can create something cool together.’ Daniel did just that, and we immediately hit it off. Daniel, like me, is from Germany. Musical Madness (picture below) is always open to new acts and organizes fantastic events, including boat parties.”
Super Nervous
“This brings us to my first time in the DJ booth. It was in 2016 at Club Paula in Dresden. It was a small venue with a crowd of about 100 people. That might not sound like much, but since it was my first time performing in front of an audience, I was incredibly nervous.”
Minutely Prepared
“In the weeks leading up to that first gig, I practiced like crazy. A friend of mine had a DJ setup in his bedroom, and I repeatedly played all the tracks I wanted to include in my set. I prepared the set down to the last detail. By the time I started, I was confident I knew what I was doing. These days, I don’t prepare my sets anymore. I’ve learned to keep one eye on the dancefloor and adapt to the vibe. It’s all about connecting with the crowd.”
WTF!
“Of course, I made plenty of mistakes. What did you expect?” (laughs) “For starters, there are two buttons on the player: the cue button and the play button. Sometimes you accidentally hit the wrong one, and the music suddenly stops. Everyone looks up, confused, like, ‘WTF!’ Or the BPM between two tracks doesn’t quite match. That’s always something to watch out for.”
The Vibe
“What I’ve learned from that first gig—and all the others since—is that mistakes usually aren’t a big deal. What matters most is the vibe you create. In fact, I’m even grateful for the mistakes I’ve made because they serve a purpose: you usually only make them once.”
Airtunes
“The first track I played in Dresden was my debut release, “Torn Apart”. At that time, I was still producing under the alias Airtunes. I had to change that name in 2017 because Apple used it for one of their services. I didn’t want to risk any legal issues, so I came up with a new name.”
Rush
“After that first gig, I felt an incredible rush. It was such a kick to have some level of control over the crowd and to play my own music for them! It felt like I had power over the design of the night. I was euphoric! That feeling only grew when the organizer handed me 100 euros afterward. It was supposed to be an unpaid gig, so I wasn’t expecting that. At that moment, I thought, ‘Holy shit, I can actually make money from DJing!’”
I Am Hardstyle
“As a teenager, my obsession with music sometimes caused friction at home. I’d be producing music until 2 a.m., even with an exam the next day. My parents weren’t thrilled about that – school came first, of course. But today, they fully support me. The turning point was when Daniel and Benny from Musical Madness put me on the lineup for I Am Hardstyle, an indoor event with about 7,000 attendees. I invited my parents to that gig, and it left a huge impression on them. They saw the massive show and finally understood that this is my life. My mom even stood behind me in the booth.”
Entrance Exam
“After high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do—apart from making music—so I started an internship at a music studio called LAVA Studios in Paderborn. They worked on films, TV commercials, and similar projects. After two years, I decided to pursue further studies and enrolled in a computer science program. Officially, I was a student for two years, but I didn’t attend for more than two weeks.” (laughs) “I was entirely focused on music. Oh, and I also went to a music school in Darmstadt with my mom, a five-hour drive from Paderborn. I had to take an entrance exam there, which I completely failed.”
Earning a Decent Living
“No surprise that I eventually decided to go full-time into music. And I have to say, I’m making a decent living from it. I’m also fortunate to have a business mentor like Daniel, who has guided me through the music industry. He’s been a tremendous help. Musically, though, I’ve figured everything out on my own.”
Branding
“Do I have any tips for upcoming DJs and producers? I’ve already shared a few pointers, but I’d like to add something. These days, you have to focus a lot on branding, or you won’t get anywhere. Come up with a cool name that’s easy for people to remember. And make sure you have a larger concept that stands for something. As for my own concept? Well, I haven’t completely figured that out yet. It’s still a work in progress.”
“I have several exciting and significant challenges and projects ahead, but I can’t say too much about them just yet. Last week, we were supposed to shoot a music video in a club. Due to COVID-19, that didn’t happen – unless everyone wore masks – so the shoot has been postponed. Let’s hope we can get back to normal life soon.”
This interview with Broken Element was originally published in March 2021 on This Is Our House.
Who is Broken Element?
An innovative and futuristic act has been conceived. From the advanced realms of the new age, this ingenious force is prepared to shape the world like never before and bring mankind forth into the next phase.Hailing from Germany, Joel Thienelt a.k.a. Broken Element is electrifying the scene with his tight and modern hardstyle sound that is about to shift listeners into higher dimensions.
With a bustling mind full of ideas, Broken Element has always had a golden ear for music and has been influencing the scene from multiple perspectives ever since. Taking the leap to drop his first release in 2018, this mastermind has moved full speed ahead and imprinted Broken Element’s name in memory banks worldwide with tunes such as “Through Our Veins” and “Insomnia”.
The natural born visionary thrives on creating refined and polished tracks that exceed the standard and evolve the genre into new heights.
More Broken Element?
More First Gigs? Check them all here!