Summer | The HARD DATA

On Sunday August 5^th I finally had the opportunity to take advantage of this incredibly warm weather this summer and go to the beach! Instead of just being a normal person and spending the day laying out, tanning, and swimming of course as always there was a pre-game meet up and a festival, Hardcore at Sea!

I met up with my friends after rushing from work (nothing like changing into rave clothes and dashing out the door) on the beach in Bloemendaal in the afternoon for a QSA picnic. If you don’t know by now or are just reading my blog for the first time, QSA is a group of American hard dance ravers who go to festivals and parties together. The best part about having a picnic outside the venue was being able to hear the music during the sound check not only from Hardcore at Sea but from Hard Classics next door.

Then after a few hours we wrapped up the picnic and headed inside to the festival. First let me start by saying the stage was SO COOL it was a giant inflatable shark, perfect for the beach vibes theme. This is my second edition of Hardcore at Sea and this year was even bigger and better than last year. The venue, Beachclub Fuel is a small but intimate bar situated right on the beach with three stages: main stage, frenchcore, and rawstyle. I have to say out of all of the festivals I’ve been to since I can remember this was the longest amount of time I have spent at a main stage. Usually I am a side stage girl (terror, uptempo, frenchcore, etc.) but the music was just so on point at the main stage and the weather was so nice, it was really the place to be.

The first set of the day was of course my besties Rob GEE and Da Mouth of Madness. As always they crushed it packing in a wild thirty minute set ranging all the way from early hardcore classics like “Ecstasy You Got What I Need” to Rob’s new hit of the summer “A DJ Saved My Life.” Of course for me with Rob GEE sets always consist of singing, yelling, and shaky Iphone videos.

Next up was probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen at a party. During Destructive Tendencies vs. Dr Peacock, which was an AMAZING first time ever set, the shark ate the stage, there was literal shark week at Hardcore at Sea. The giant inflatable shark mouth ate the stage! So epic!

I spent the rest of the day wandering around and catching up with everyone. One really amazing thing about the party was all the Americans there! Partyraiser even introduced me to his two friends from Illinois, so cool!

Perfect weather, perfect music, and therefore a perfect day! See you next time!

Every year thousands of gabbers make the pilgrimage from all over the world to a small town outside of Eindhoven for the largest hardcore gathering in the world. This year was no different. On 21 July my friends and I embarked on our epic journey to the festival. Of course being my group of friends there were several obstacles along the way: missing IDs; lost OV chip cards; almost missing both the bus and train; and a packed sauna-like shuttle ride. Nevertheless after the three-hour journey we made it there!

This was my third edition of Dominator and one important difference between this year and the previous years (I went in 2017 and 2015) was that this was one of the hottest days on record in the Netherlands (according to me having spent almost four summers/partial summers here now). Thankfully Dominator is located on a beautiful beach with plenty of room to swim. Despite the heat the organizers were prepared and preemptively cancelled the fireworks as a result of the dry terrain. Furthermore, a big shout out to the organizers for providing cups and free water stations and potable drinking water near the bathrooms; that was a lifesaver.

We started the day off with Fan4stik. It was my first time seeing them and as a new recent fan of Billx it was the perfect start to the day. If you like Hard Tek check these guys out. Next we made our way over to the main stage for Bodyshock. Even though it was early the main stage was packed and the crowd despite the heat was so energetic. So energetic that people kept trying to steal our inflatable pig totem (Wilbur)! Thankfully Anne is a marathon runner and hunted the perpetrators down and returned Wilbur safely to our crew.

After now slightly dying as result of the heat I hopped in the water for a little swim during Radium’s set. The highlight of the set for me was while I was swimming I heard Rob GEE’s new track “A DJ Saved My Life” (side note: I heard it again later during Mutante’s set, could this be the festival anthem of the summer?). Next was the QSA (American hard dance) meet up during Billx’s set and as per usual it consisted of a sloppy failed attempt at a group photo then half of the group disappeared.

After that I got separated from the group and because they closed the beach off for Sefa’s set, myself and the other festival-goers trying to get to the other side of the festival had to cross through the water. This was probably my favorite part of the day. An exodus of sweaty people carrying dirty socks, shoes, and all their belongings (somehow still all texting and taking selfies) through the water to the other side of the island from the Frenchcore tent to the Extreme Hardcore tent. It was a long trek but we made it!

Last but certainly not least, my friend Hellcreator closed the talent stage and he crushed it! This is now two years in a row that a friend of mine had the opportunity to play on the talent stage at Dominator, what a treat!

Exhausted, dirty, sweaty, and sore. These are some of the words to describe how we felt the end of Dominator. Dominator festival is a must visit for anyone who likes hardcore; every year it gets bigger and bigger. The festival overall no surprise was an absolute success. The music was amazing, the production level was high, and the crowd was energized. The only thing that would make it better is if the Rawstyle stage was the Speedcore stage, well I can only dream.

See you next year DOMMMMINNNNAAAATTTOORRRRRRR!

Dedicated to the harder sound of electronic dance music.