Maurice: Artist Biography

1990 - 1994: Maurice's musical journey began in the early 1990s. At the age of ten, he received a collection of tapes from his cousin, featuring tracks from the houstemple "Parkzicht," which he greatly enjoyed. When the "Houseparty" mixes were released, he was among the first to purchase them. His passion for music deepened when he discovered the record shop "Midtown" in his hometown, marking the start of his vinyl collection. His first e.p. acquisition was "Reanimator - Bigger and Bolder," released on the K.N.O.R. label.

1994 - 1998: With a growing collection of records, Maurice shifted his focus towards music production. He acquired an 8-bit monotracker from a school acquaintance and began creating tracks. This led him to collaborate with others interested in forming a live act, including a partner who worked with MIDI, providing a novel experience for him. Utilizing his studio, he produced several tracks. By 1998, he had completed enough material to approach 80 Aum Records, which also operated a shop in his hometown. They appreciated his work, leading to the establishment of "Unknown Species Records," with the debut release being "Dark Earth - Wisdom of the Grave." Unfortunately, the collapse of the hardcore market meant there were no subsequent releases.

1998 - 2005: During this period, 80 Aum transitioned into AMP International, a company focused on licensing tracks to other entities. Maurice explored various musical styles, collaborating with companies such as Essential Dance Music and Combined Forces. In 2001, he co-founded the FIX label with Phuture Rave, launching it with the release of "Zanthrax - My Project" (FIX 14).

2005: Following numerous releases on FIX, Maurice was approached by Paul Mols, who invited him to release music on his label, Underground Society. This opportunity allowed him to explore different musical styles beyond those he produced for FIX. Underground Society subsequently released two records titled "Mind Battle 1 and 2," with "Mind Battle 1" featuring the track "Children Of Hell," which gained traction on compilations such as Thunderdome, Hardcore Emotions, and Partyraiser's One Man, Half Machine.

2006: After realizing that AMP International was not fulfilling its promises, Maurice chose to end their collaboration and continued producing for other labels. In May, he launched "The Ben Harder Show" on Drechtstad FM alongside Ben Harder, Stalker, and Xytec. This monthly show highlighted the best in hardcore music and artists. Maurice submitted a demo to the SYMP.TOM label, which led to two of his tracks being featured on SYMP.TOM 5. His collaboration with Mental Wreckage resulted in the formation of Dual Mechanism, a project focusing on raw, mechanical-sounding tracks. Additionally, he collaborated with Xtrecist on "Melody Remedy," which was included in the compilation "Thunderdome 2006."

2007: Zanthrax's "Dark By Nature" was finally released on Zero Tolerance Records, a track that had previously appeared as a limited white label on Dark Descent. By the end of May, Maurice's first solo e.p. under the name Relic was released on SYMP.TOM. The tracks produced under the Dual Mechanism project also saw release this year in SYMP.TOM 7. Furthermore, he provided a remix for Neophyte's "Recession," which was featured on the anniversary edition ROT 100 and ROT CD 50 from Rotterdam Records. This remix received significant playtime from Partyraiser and appeared on two of his compilations.

2008: This year saw a wealth of releases from Maurice on SYMP.TOM. He collaborated with Moleculez for a versus track included on Moleculez’ release, SYMP.TOM 8. Additionally, he released a new Relic e.p., "Angel's Share," on SYMP.TOM 9, featuring the notably dark track "White Darkness." By year’s end, he had also put out a 2CD mix compilation on SYMP.TOM 4 in collaboration with Mental Wreckage. The Ben Harder Show continued to thrive, gaining increasing popularity.