Read here about NIKAJ’s new project: Extremecast: No Boundaries, Only Extremes!!
A new concept is emerging: Extremecast.
But what does extreme music actually mean to you?
Is it the tempo, the aggression, the confrontation? Or is it the moment when music grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go?
Extremecast is about bringing that vision together in one uncompromising mix. Not 45 minutes of Speedcore, but an explosion of styles.
As many genres as possible, without limits, as long as they hit hard.
Think about Gabber, Acidcore, Speedcore, Terror, Industrial, Breakcore, Avant-garde, Death Metal, Grindcore, Black Metal, Harsh Noise and Noisecore. Everything you consider extreme.
There is room for contrast such as: intros,using film soundtracks, opera or spoken word are all welcome, as long as the whole remains raw, intense and extreme. Extremecast is not a format — it’s a statement.
Alongside the mix, we want your story. How did you get into extreme music? What has it meant to you?
A short personal reflection that gives context to the sound being published on our social along with the mix.
My Journey Through Extremes
Extreme music has always fascinated me. My story begins in 87, with bands like Anthrax, Iron Maiden and Slayer. The real turning point came in 89 with the compilation Grindcrusher. Bands such as Repulsion, Napalm Death and Unseen Terror hit like a sledgehammer. From that moment on, I was hooked — the love was born.
In 91, I discovered Hardcore Techno. In 1993, Gabber and Terror followed.
From 1997 onward, I dove back into extreme metal genres like Goregrind and Cyber, and what I consider the forerunners of Breakcore the genre named Avant-garde.
From the early 2000s, Hard Techno, UK Hard Hardcore and Breakcore entered the picture, while my love for Hip Hop also began to take in a much more serious form.
The common thread was always the same: the search for extreme music.
Whether it was the sick guitar riffs of Kerry King (Slayer) in ’87, my first concert in ’88 with hardcore band Mucky Pup, my fascination with Repulsion after hearing Grindcrusher,Started Tapetrading and a Noisecore band in 90,my first techno party in 91 during the Houseparty 1 release tour, discovering the music of rap icons such as Tim Dog and Public Enemy, buying my first hardcore record (Global Hardcore Source, released on Plasma Records in ’93), my first Bloody Fist release (Embolism – Fist 4), my first Love Parade in ’95 — but even more important, my first Fuck/Hate Parade experience a few years later with USN and Noizecreator performing live.
All of these are deeply cherished memories, bound together by one shared element: extreme music.
I’ve created a mix myself to express my personal vision of what extreme music means to me.
For the next Extremecast, I would like to invite Gabbergirl to share her vision. Greetings, Nikaj.
N.I.K.A.J.: Guardian of the Crates, Enemy of Clown Mashups
NIKAJ is the kind of DJ who doesn’t just own records—he appears to live inside them. A vinyl-first (though not vinyl-only) devotee, he’s been collecting, trading, and obsessing over underground music since 1989, back when scene-building required stamps, envelopes, and the patience of a monk. What began with grindcore, death metal, and crustcore eventually escalated—naturally—into hardcore, techno, terror, and gabber, where he has remained joyfully entrenched ever since.
Best known for labels like Pure & Obscure, Gabberet, and the gloriously multi-genre Mainstream Pollution, NIKAJ wears many hats: DJ, label runner, curator, producer, and archivist. While he runs labels, he’s quick to admit it’s not about power or prestige—it’s about freedom, crediting producers properly, and releasing music without having to ask anyone’s permission. DJs who don’t post tracklists? Consider yourselves silently judged.
NIKAJ’s heart beats loudest for early ’90s hardcore and gabber—simple, brutal, and straight to the face. Albums like Ultraviolence – Psycho Drama sit atop his personal canon, alongside labels such as Mokum, Rotterdam Records, Bloody Fist, Industrial Strength, Deathchant, Terror Traxx, Reload, T3RDM, Enzyme, Drop Bass Network, Force Inc., Strike, and a small mountain of obscure 1993 releases only found by people who really, really meant it. His record collection, not only gabber but also techno and terror, hovers around 1,500 pieces: it’s less a library and more a historical archive with opinions.
Despite his deep nostalgia, NIKAJ isn’t stuck in the past. He actively seeks out modern artists who honor the old-school sound without sanding off its edges, releasing their work through his labels purely for love—not profit, because there isn’t any. His approach to DJing ranges from instinctual hardcore barrages to meticulously planned multi-genre sets, especially on collaborative projects like the bi-annual Mixmarathon, where structure, restraint, and mutual respect matter—and where jumpstyle, uptempo, happy hardcore, and trend-chasing nonsense are politely shown the door.
Outspoken, principled, and relentlessly DIY, NIKAJ believes DJs should find an audience that matches their taste—not pander, posture, or mash up classics for cheap applause. For him, the underground survives the same way it always has: passionate people, strange sounds, stubborn independence, and just enough obscurity to keep it honest. Up next? More Mixmarathons, tribute sets, label releases, and a continuing mission to preserve, challenge, and lovingly argue with hardcore culture—one record at a time.
Quotes from N.I.K.A.J.:
“I don’t believe in sitting down, and believing I am great in what I’m doing. I look to what I can improve in order to make it better. There are too many middle-of-the-road DJ’s who think they are fucking awesome, but they’re Copy-pasting Clowns with no love for the music.”
“We DJ’s are just taking advantage of the hard working; not rewarded producers. Just add a fuckin’ track list, you lame ass punks; that’s the least you can do.”
Article written with AI, edited by Charm Dreier. Sources include Nikaj Scheres, and this interview:
https://hcbxcast.blogspot.com/2025/10/hcbxcast-vol-70-interview-with-nikaj.html