Hardstyle Bangkok
Francisco Raya
Asia's first dedicated hardstyle festival arrives in Thailand this March and it's description has certainly got our attention. Mostly we were curious if Asia, more specifically Thailand, was ready for this European trend and it's unique idiosyncrasies. Well, it probably is.
On the line-up is Belgian jumpstyle heavyweight Coone, Dutch producer Noisecontrollers, ex-Bioweapon member Code Black, World Music Award-nominated producer Zatox and hardstyle-trap duo Lny Tnz. There will also be an afterparty at C LA VI with Dutch prodigy Davin Wild.
First up they have Matthias Richter, better known as Tujamo, who will most likely be the headliner. He is a German electro-house DJ known for tracks such as Drop That Low, Boneless, and Underwater.
Then we have Showtek, who is one of my favorites. I listen to them when I work out as they have some incredible melodic hardstyle tracks. Mellow and Bad featuring David Guetta are definitely worth a listen.
Juicy M and Jeffrey Sutorius are two dark horses at this festival. I have checked out some of their music and I am intrigued, especially with Juicy M. She seems like she will go the hardest with her set at the festival. At least I am hoping.
What so not and What is Sleep are going to kick off Dark Festival. I intend to come early to check them out as well. From my experience, the starting set and middle set DJs often do an incredible job.
Along with the decor and furniture, Dark Festival will take light and sound systems to the next level. There will be giant LED screens and all kinds of laser lights to really get you in raving beast mode.
Spread out across four stages over two days, the latest event hosted by Chang Carnival features many popular names among the various art, dance, and lifestyle activities, which will also take place at the festival.
Lovers of the harder styles can gather at the Urban Jungle stage and party with the biggest names in the scene. Dutch hardstyle legends Wildstylez and Sub Zero Project as well as Norwegian party duo Da Tweekaz will share the stage with a range of artists to celebrate all things hard and fast.
In this article you can discover all the most important indoor hardstyle festivals on the planet. We have noted as indoor festivals those that have all their stages indoors. In this article we will deal with festivals that dedicate almost all of their performances to any of the harder styles.
If Defqon.1 is the most iconic outdoor hardstyle festival, Qlimax is undoubtedly the one that encapsulates all the magic of the genre indoors. The ultimate indoor hardstyle event takes place every November in Arnhem and brings together the biggest names on the international scene, as well as a pair of surprise acts. Appearing in the line-up of Qlimax is far from easy, in fact it represents a great achievement in the career of the artists who make it, and the sets are extremely well cared both in terms of sounds and visuals. As a curiosity, the timetable of the event is not known, although you can guess the order of the performances by the way they are presented.
The other major hardstyle festival taking place at the GelreDome this year is Supremacy, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary and will be taking over the Arnhem venue for a very special edition. Organised by Art of Dance, Supremacy is the place to be for rawstyle lovers, as every year the best artists of the sub-genre gather at this festival to delight with new liveacts, premiere shows and lots of new music. The line-up for the next edition is not yet known.
There is no doubt that fans of the hardest sounds are deeply familiar with the hardcore brand par excellence. We are, of course, talking about Masters of Hardcore. Year after year it has made us accustomed to celebrate and dance the best hardcore in an unparalleled way, making the experience an absolute madness. The line-up is always very complete, featuring the biggest names in the hardcore scene and other genres to give us no rest for a second!
There are many important indoor events in the international hard dance scene and, without a doubt, there is one that is especially loved by the most passionate gabbers. In case there was any doubt, we are referring to Thunderdome. After its initial party back in 1992 and the announcement of what was to be its supposed end, the 2019 edition was a huge success and broke all records so that Thunderdome continued more present than ever. Last year, they celebrated 30 years of pure hard. It was clear that the hardcore culture is present!
The last big hard dance event of the year is Shockerz, held near Den Bosch. Aversion, Cryex, Vertile, Act of Rage and D-Sturb have been responsible for being the anthem makers of the festival in previous years in what is a great party for rawstyle lovers. If we look back to the 2023 edition we can find lives from Dual Damage, The Purge and Adjuzt, Anderex and DEEZL, Warface or Thyron. The guests at Shockerz this year are not yet known, but we are sure it will be a safe bet if your thing is rawstyle or xtra-raw.
Organised by REBiRTH Events, being the son of the brand dedicated to rawstyle, this year REBELLiON will have two dates and two very different contexts: an outdoor edition in August and the classic indoor version to be held in the 23rd of November. In addition, 2024 will mark the tenth anniversary of the festival so we expect a lot of news and surprises from the REBiRTH team. No further details about REBELLiON Indoor Festival 2024 are known at the moment.
Unlike the other events in this article, which all usually have a fixed location and dates, Hardmission is a hardstyle indoor event promoter that moves around the globe to create unique parties, with a very remarkable production and theme. Last year, Melbourne, Bangkok and Prague have all seen Hardmission events with top artists reaching 3 different continents. The next edition will take place in October in the Thai capital and the full line-up is not yet known.
Syndicate is another indoor event that is very much loved by the followers of the hardest beats. Despite having had only 3 editions to date (2019, 2022 and 2023), it has clearly earned a place in the hearts of lovers of the highest BPMs. It is an event where two very important characteristics come together: a good atmosphere and a spectacular line-up with great figures of reference in the scene and high quality sets.
X-Qlusive Holland, as the name says, is the hardstyle event dedicated to celebrating Dutch folklore and culture. Crazy and fun performances, special themes and a great production by the Q-dance team are the main ingredients of this party. Definitely, if you want to try something different in the world of the harder styles festivals, X-Qlusive Holland is the event for you! This festival is usually held in September at the GelreDome in Arnhem, but no details about the 2024 edition are known yet.
The best legends gather every year at Vroeger Was Alles Beter, the event dedicated to the classics of hardstyle organised by Shockerz Events. Like REBELLiON, this year there will be two versions of VWAB: an indoor one in July and an outdoor one in October. At both we expect a bunch of artists that will take us back in time with the greatest gems from the different sub-genres of hard dance music.
One of the reference events for lovers of classic rawstyle is none other than Origins of Raw, which after the success of its last edition with artists like Phuture Noize, Crypsis, Unresolved or Warface it will return to the Autotron in Rosmalen in mid-October this year. The line-up is not yet known.
He was also a guest at the legendary Freqshow and managed to silence a sold out Ziggo dome to perform Audiotricz Inception, making grown men weep in the crowd. Kicking off the new year with Villain on stage of the biggest Hardstyle party of the NYE! His delivery of emotions through his beloved keys is so on point, I dare you to watch the video bellow and not get goosebumps more than once.
I have been a bedroom dj since 13, but really it all started at the age of 18, when I was legally able to attend clubs and events. I started a small event in Glasgow with a friend called Odyssey, putting on a variety of music styles at the event. This lasted for about 3 years, and also led me to meet some of my closest associates in the hardcore scene. Meanwhile I was bursting to get into producing music since the age of about 16, but never knew how. Finally around the time of running these events I came across some music production software and that was the entry.
You have recently started organizing hardcore parties in Bangkok as Darkside Thailand. Tell us a bit about this concept. Have there been any local core events or core being included in lineups before this?
I spoke to my close friend Al Twisted who runs the original Darkside events in Scotland, which have been going on for 18 years now. He thought it was a great idea too and suggested that I could use his brand name and I decided to start the franchise Darkside Thailand.
Events here remind me of what the gabber scene was like in Scotland 10 years ago, but still even smaller than that. Small events of like-minded people with an open-mind for good underground music. As for anyone anywhere in a position like that I think the possibilities are massive and exciting, but also will be very challenging and a struggle at times. But the people who stick it out will usually achieve their goals.
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