Q-Dance: A Hardstyle Takeover Of The U.S.

The beauty and strength of electronic dance music as a genre resides in its adaptive qualities to withstand the test of time and its ability to please the palate of most with its versatile spectrum of flavors.  Ever since its inception in the Disco Days of the late 70s, sub-genres have spawned from the musical talent of DJ/producers utilizing technological advancements as their paintbrush to create fresh sounds for the shifting tastes of the listeners.  One success story of a beloved sound in the rich history of EDM is that of hardstyle.   Born out of the deep desires of those yearning for a harder sound than what was available at the time, hardstyle has been steadily infecting ears worldwide.  It has gained massive popularity in the past few years outside of the Netherlands, its home of origin, and is seeing a growing demand from the new kid in town, the U.S.  Meeting that demand is the irrefutable #1 hardstyle event production company in the world, Q-dance. Here’s our full event review of Q-Dance at TomorrowWorld and the Shrine in LA.

For those unfamiliar with hardstyle, this particular flavor is best described as sinister and not for the faint of heart.  Originally used as a blanket term to describe the harder styles of electronic dance music such as hard trance, hard techno,  gabber, and hardcore, hardstyle emerged as its own sound around 1999.  Influenced by the sub-genres it was used to describe, Hardcore producers like The Prophet, Dana, and Luna helped develop the reversed bass sounds of old which evolved into what is now the bass pounding, kick pitched sounds of Nustyle.  Much of hardstyle’s growth as a genre is owed to Q-dance which has played an integral role in its introduction, development, and progress.  The introduction of hardstyle to the Dutch public is largely attributed to Q-dance’s monthly event Qlubtempo back in 2001.  From there, both grew together as Q-dance adopted hardstyle as its primary and brand defining sound, and the genre spread like wildfire through Europe particularly the Netherlands via now legendary Q-dance events such as Qlimax, Q-Base, and Defqon 1 and Q-dance hosted stages at Mysteryland and Tomorrowland.

Mid-2000’s, hardstyle was given a melodic face lift which brought forth what is now the most popular form of Dutch hardstyle, Nustyle. The melodic content seemingly made the dark, resounding bass of early hardstyle more accessible to a larger audience thus furthering its global reach.  What was once a genre mostly isolated to Europe and Australia has now gained popularity in Asia, South America, and the United States.  The increasing presence of the skull pounding genre became evident with the collective hysteria from dedicated American hardstyle fans when Insomniac announced Q-dance’s American debut at the 2012 edition of Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas.  The successful introduction of hardstyle to a fresh audience on one of America’s largest electronic music platforms opened up the fastest growing electronic music market in the world to catapult the genre and Q-dance’s growth into hyper-drive.

Fast forward to the 2013 US festival season , you’ve got hardstyle artists like Headhunterz playing main stage at EDC Las Vegas, and top DJs, such as Tiesto and Dash Berlin, dropping hardstyle in the middle of their sets.  Fast forward to a few short months to now,  you’ve got a Q-dance hosted stage for all three days of the upcoming debut of TomorrowWorld at Chattahoochee Hills, and Q-dance continuing the invasion of the US with their own dedicated show in Los Angeles at the Shrine called The Sound of Q-dance. If you’re making the journey to TomorrowWorld, here are three artists you can’t miss at the Q-dance stage.

WILDSTYLEZ

One of the biggest stars in this genre is Joram Metekohy, better known as Wildstylez.  Not only did he land himself in the top 50 of last year’s DJ Mag Top 100, his resume also boasts the first hardstyle track,”Year of Summer”, to be played on daytime radio and to reach gold status in Holland.  He co-produced crossover anthem, “Lose My Mind”, with genre legend, Brennan Heart, and created one of the most successful partnerships with Headhunterz called Project One.  The list gets even more impressive when you add all of his recent high profile remixes like “Never Say Goodbye” by Hardwell and Dyro and Nicky Romero vs. Krewella’s Legacy.  Listen for yourself below:

PSYKO PUNKZ

Next up is the Dutch duo, Psyko Punkz who have been raising the standard for new artists in the hardstyle scene for the past three years.  Sven Sieperda and Wietse Amersfoort joined forces in 2008 after a chance meeting and shared love of hardstyle and quickly rose up in the ranks.  They have also broken into the DJ Mag Top 100 and have collaborated with scene superstars like Headhunterz and Noisecontrollers.  The duo has garnered a loyal following called the Psyko Soldiers who were undoubtedly won over by the Psyko Punkz gritty productions and energetic sets.  Check out their recently released video for “Love This Life”.

GUNZ FOR HIRE

Gunz For Hire caused quite a buzz when they emerged on the scene with their secret identities and raw productions in what seemed like the shadows of the underground.  Come to find out, Gunz For Hire was created as a side project by hardstyle heavyweights Ran-D and Adaro.  The masked pair had already been producing together in 2008 and decided to make the collaboration an official duo in 2011.  Since then, Gunz For Hire has been obliterating the dance scene with their high octane productions offering an even darker side of hardstyle.  Check out one of their biggest hits, “Kings of the Underground”.

Hardstyle is not a genre of casual listening or to be played as background music.  It’s a sound that permeates down to the very core with its breakneck BPM’s and screeching kicks and commands attention in the foreground.  It’s become a lifestyle for millions abroad, and Q-dance is finally going to show America what she’s been missing with their world renowned stage productions and artist lineups.  Don’t miss the beginning of the Hardstyle Takeover at TomorrowWorld September 27-29.  Q-dance will be hosting their own stage for all three days with a lineup that would send any hardstyle fan into a school girl frenzy.  Not only do you get to see the above mentioned artists, but legends like The Prophet, Brennan Heart, and Noisecontrollers will also be performing.  So, come rage face with us and explore the harder styles of EDM.  In the meantime, watch the jaw-dropping closing ritual of this year’s Defqon 1.