HARDSTYLE: A Rough Guide

[Ikon]

An Introduction to Hardstyle

 

What is Hardstyle? Hardstyle is a new genre of dance music that takes elements from many different styles of hard dance music to form it’s own individual style. It was an evolution from hard trance and borrows heavily from hardcore and hard house.

 

The Beginnings

 

Germany – 2000. Hennes & Cold release ‘The Second Trip’ (http://germantrance.com/content/_rams/TTX2020B.ram)debuting a bass line that would go on to revolutionise hard trance. The popularity of the track, and in particular the Dj Scot Project remix (http://germantrance.com/content/_rams/TTX2020A.ram)started a trend of tracks that were driven by an ultra hard bassline but with dramatic trance breaks. The most popular labels in this new style of hard trance were Overdose and Pulse (www.overdose.de) and Tracid Traxxx (www.tracidtraxxx.de).

 

Gradually a new trend began to emerge. People grew tired of the formulaic hard trance breakdown and thirsted more towards tracks that placed all emphasis on the bassline, leaving out the trance breaks. Whilst this trend was undoubtedly started in Germany, with producers like Uberduck (www.djthecrow.de) and Warmduscher (www.warmduscher.info), many of the German producers failed to realise that their productions were growing stale and it was up to another nation to take charge.

 

Evolution

 

Italy – 2001. Two great stables of producers emerge. Future Sound Corporation (www.futuresoundcorporation.com) was a label that started with hard trance and constantly pushed the sound as hard as it would go. Trance Generators - ‘Connected’ (http://germantrance.com/content/_rams/FTS003A.ram), Radium – ‘Only A Test’ (http://germantrance.com/content/_rams/FTS009.ram)- undoubtedly the hardest tracks around at the time within the genre, and were hugely popular.

Also on the rise are a group of producers on The Saifam Group (www.saifam.com) which includes Technoboy aka Dj Gius (www.technoboy.nl), who had shot to fame with his massively successful remix of Zombie Nation’s ‘Kernkraft 3000’. Again a production team that constantly pushes the envelope, trying to make each track harder than the next. Sub Labels include Titanic & Dance Pollution, both of which would give great exposure to the new wave of Italian producers who were now beginning to emerge and create their own sound.

Italy however was not where the sound was most popular…

 

Popularity

 

Holland 2002 - the new Italian sound is embraced with open arms. Talented dutch DJs help the genre to spread like wildfire with many crossing over from hardcore like Lady Dana (www.ladydana.com), The Prophet (www.scantraxx.com) and Pavo (www.djpavo.com) whilst Italian DJs flock in to to fly the flag for their country. Many club nights start playing the style but one club night in particular becomes dominant over all others – Qlimax (www.q-dance.nl). It is here that the name ‘Hardstyle’ was born.The popularity of hardstyle in Holland is unrivalled, and still is to this day. Qlimax host a variety of parties, some of which are absolutely huge, held in stadiums and playing only hardstyle.

 

 

Evolution part 2

 

2003 - Once hardstyle had really taken off, it evolved once again. Sub genres began to appear, although none are actually defined by name as of yet, and they are identifiable from their nationality mainly:

The dutch inevitably created their own branch of hardstyle, led by labels like Seismic (www.seismicrecords.nl) and producers like DJ Isaac (www.djisaac.com) The dutch sound is influenced by hardcore and hard house mostly so tracks become primarily fun, light, bouncy and contain high pitched vocals. Meanwhile, a primarily Italian style became much more dark. A lot of tracks are highly influenced by gabba, with hard industrial tracks becoming more prevelant on labels like 59 records and Italian Masters of Hardstyle.

 

The Future

 

2004 - The future of hardstyle is hard to predict. Here in the UK hardstyle has already peaked and fallen, but in it’s home countries it’s more popular than ever. Will the genre evolve again before it grows stale? We can only hope so.

[LiquidEyes]

I can't really comment as the RealAudio links don't work.

 

But having read the article, it just sounds like hard trance.

 

"borrows heavily from hardcore and hard house"

Yeah well hard house borrows heavily from hardcore in the first place... so, so far it's just a mixture of hard trance and hard house...

 

"debuting a bass line that would go on to revolutionise hard trance"

I can't wait to hear this revolutionary bassline... a bassline that is so outrageously different from anything that has been heard before, it merited inventing a new genre name.

 

"Gradually a new trend began to emerge ... leaving out the trance breaks"

Who said all hard trance music had to have big breakdowns in the first place?

 

I can't help but think that the invention of these supposed spin-off genres is more a reflection on how narrow-minded people were in the first place, rather than the new sounds being in any way cutting-edge.

 

I.e. start of with genre X;

continually make the definition of X narrower and narrower until every track sounds the same;

then along comes something that is slightly different from what we now class as X...

Hey presto, we hail it as revolutionary and invent a new name for it!

 

Anyway I'll reserve full judgment until I've actually heard some exemplary "hardstyle"...

[Stu]

QUOTE (LiquidEyes @ Mar 23 2004, 13:57)

I can't really comment as the RealAudio links don't work. But having read the article, it just sounds like hard trance. "borrows heavily from hardcore and hard house" Yeah well hard house borrows heavily from hardcore in the first place... so, so far it's just a mixture of hard trance and hard house... "debuting a bass line that would go on to revolutionise hard trance" I can't wait to hear this revolutionary bassline... a bassline that is so outrageously different from anything that has been heard before, it merited inventing a new genre name. "Gradually a new trend began to emerge ... leaving out the trance breaks" Who said all hard trance music had to have big breakdowns in the first place? I can't help but think that the invention of these supposed spin-off genres is more a reflection on how narrow-minded people were in the first place, rather than the new sounds being in any way cutting-edge. I.e. start of with genre X; continually make the definition of X narrower and narrower until every track sounds the same; then along comes something that is slightly different from what we now class as X... Hey presto, we hail it as revolutionary and invent a new name for it! Anyway I'll reserve full judgment until I've actually heard some exemplary "hardstyle"...

oh fuck off.

 

all Ikon was trying to do was give out some information. whether you agree that there should be all these sub-genres is irrelevant. the fact is Hardstyle exists - people like it, people dance to it and people CAN tell the difference between it and other types of hard dance.

 

stop being an arsey critic and appreciate the fact that someone has tried to contribute to the music knowledge base of the people on this site.

 

i read it all Ikon and appreciate the information.

[Ikon]

QUOTE (LiquidEyes @ Mar 23 2004, 13:57)

I can't really comment as the RealAudio links don't work.

RA links all work mate! Just tried them!

[LiquidEyes]

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 23 2004, 14:05)

oh fuck off.

Thank you for that. Ikon, myself and others were having a grown-up debate about the merit of having these kinds of subgenres. Nobody is disputing the "existence" of hardstyle, insofar as a number of people have penned a name for a given style of music. We're all grateful that Ikon posted the info about hardstyle. My issue isn't with Ikon!

 

If you're not interested in participating in the discussion why don't you go elsewhere?

 

QUOTE

whether you agree that there should be all these sub-genres is irrelevant

Why? Because you disagree?

[LiquidEyes]

QUOTE (Ikon @ Mar 23 2004, 14:11)

RA links all work mate! Just tried them!

Bummer, I must need a new version of RealPlayer or something. It says "can't connect to server".

[LiquidEyes]

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 23 2004, 14:05)

people like it, people dance to it and people CAN tell the difference between it and other types of hard dance.

And, as I said on the "hard house versus trance" thread, people also like "deep progressive tech house". They can also tell the difference between DPTH with an electro infuence and DPTH with a tribal influence. But do we invent a new name for each combination? No! That is my point.

 

QUOTE

stop being an arsey critic

I'm being arsey...?

[Stu]

QUOTE (LiquidEyes @ Mar 23 2004, 14:22)

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 23 2004, 14:05) oh fuck off. Thank you for that. Ikon, myself and others were having a grown-up debate about the merit of having these kinds of subgenres. Nobody is disputing the "existence" of hardstyle, insofar as a number of people have penned a name for a given style of music. We're all grateful that Ikon posted the info about hardstyle. My issue isn't with Ikon!   If you're not interested in participating in the discussion why don't you go elsewhere?   QUOTE whether you agree that there should be all these sub-genres is irrelevant Why? Because you disagree? don't patronise me.   Ikon is a hardstyle DJ (as far as I'm aware) and he posted a lot of information about his particular style of music. you replied by slating the article and essentially claiming that hardstyle wasn't a genre in its own right. if i was Ikon, i'd be offended. i thought what you said was insensitive given Ikon's position.   exactly what issue were you discussing that i was not participating in? what question was asked? i was voicing my disapproval about your (typically) jumped up tone - i think thats fair.   please don't have an intellectual battle with me sonny.

[Lisa]

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 23 2004, 14:32)

please don't have an intellectual battle with me sonny.

[LiquidEyes]

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 23 2004, 14:32)

if i was Ikon, i'd be offended. i thought what you said was insensitive given Ikon's position.

I very much doubt it. I don't think any self-respecting DJ would get defensive just because somebody criticised their genre of choice. I love techno and people who slag off techno are two-a-penny...

 

Check out the "do you prefer trance or hard house" thread. In a nutshell: hardstyle was mentioned, then we got into a tangential debate over what hardstyle is and whether there was any need for it. So, in the interest of keeping that thread on-topic, Ikon started this thread to continue that discussion.

 

I hope it's clearer now.

 

QUOTE

please don't have an intellectual battle with me sonny.

Again, there's no need to be so confrontational. Sorry if you've had a bad day but don't take it out on me.

[Stu]

QUOTE (LiquidEyes @ Mar 23 2004, 15:13)

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 23 2004, 14:32) if i was Ikon, i'd be offended. i thought what you said was insensitive given Ikon's position. I very much doubt it. I don't think any self-respecting DJ would get defensive just because somebody criticised their genre of choice. I love techno and people who slag off techno are two-a-penny...   Check out the "do you prefer trance or hard house" thread. In a nutshell: hardstyle was mentioned, then we got into a tangential debate over what hardstyle is and whether there was any need for it. So, in the interest of keeping that thread on-topic, Ikon started this thread to continue that discussion.   I hope it's clearer now.   QUOTE please don't have an intellectual battle with me sonny. Again, there's no need to be so confrontational. Sorry if you've had a bad day but don't take it out on me. there's a difference between what you said and 'slagging of techno two-a-penny' (sorry, are you genuinely still from the 1930s?). criticising a genre is one thing, claiming that it doesn't exist is another. Ikon may spend a lot of time crafting a good hardstyle set, only to find (lovely) people like you saying 'actually, that was just hard-house'.   you're quite a smug bloke aren't you? maybe you should spend less time quoting and more time out clubbing? you might develop a personality.

[LiquidEyes]

Got RealPlayer working.

Comments on the samples:

 

Hennes & Cold release ‘The Second Trip’ (http://germantrance.com/content/_rams/TTX2020B.ram)

Sounds like absolute middle of the road, generic hard trance to me. The bassline is quite "hard housey". I think you'd have to have a pretty narrow definition of hard trance not to call this hard trance.

 

Trance Generators - ‘Connected’ (http://germantrance.com/content/_rams/FTS003A.ram)

Didn't mind some bits of this, except for the dodgy cliched acidy 303 sounds and over-use of the sirens. Again, sounds like a combination of hard house and hard trance. Leaning more towards hard house this time.

 

Radium – ‘Only A Test’ (http://germantrance.com/content/_rams/FTS009.ram)

Ah the bassline is a bit more original on this one - rough as toast! It's still essentially a stomping hard house bassline though. Shame about the nursery rhyme melody that comes in at 1:40, and again, the dodgy acidy stuff later on.

 

Again, thanks for the info Ikon, but it just sounds like a load of hard trance cum hard house to me.

[LiquidEyes]

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 23 2004, 15:21)

you're quite a smug bloke aren't you?

How did you work that out?

 

QUOTE

maybe you should spend less time quoting

Spot the irony... (just scroll up)

 

QUOTE

and more time out clubbing?

What has that got to do with 1. this topic, 2. my personality?

 

QUOTE

you might develop a personality.

PMSL!

I'm not going to rise to your schoolyard insults. How old are you, 12?

[LiquidEyes]

QUOTE (Stu @ Mar 23 2004, 15:21)

criticising a genre is one thing, claiming that it doesn't exist is another

Back on topic: where did I claim that hardstyle doesn't exist? Are you deliberately missing my point?

[Stu]

you really have to understand something.

 

my primary intention with this post was to waste your time. to frustrate you and wind you up. i thought your original post was a little insensitive but once i realised your stubborness and arrogance, i couldn't help myself - the thread had to continue; i had to irritate you.

 

i could argue (like a big poncey ponce) like you. but i've discovered that life isn't about being intellectual on message boards. its about having fun. i'm having fun at your expense.

 

cogito ergo sum.

 

i win.