Looking for something to do the night before Defqon? Looking to hang out with other Americans?
Join us for International Hard Dance Meeting (The Official QSA Meet up)
27 June 2019
Facebook info: https://www.facebook.com/events/300685847499305/
*A five minute walk from Amsterdam Central Station
*A portion of the proceeds from the party will go to Musicians Without Borders
On Saturday 9 February 2019, 30,000 hard dance fans from all over the world gathered together in the Gelredome for Hard Bass: The Last Formation. For those who don’t know, Hard Bass was an annual party for the last ten years at the Gelredome organized by B2S (one of the major hard dance event organizers in the Netherlands). Last Saturday was the final edition of Hard Bass and the end of one of the largest most popular indoor hard dance events in the world.
What made Hard Bass unique is that, unlike other parties where DJs typically perform one-hour sets back to back (or in some instances longer sets versus other DJs), Hard Bass was notorious for its use of “teams”. The ten-hour long party (as always, not long enough in my opinion) this year was divided into five teams: Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, and Heroes (Ten Years of History). Each team consisted of multiple DJs who perform in a similar style. This edition was coined the “hardest” Hard Bass, which was evidenced by the predominance of rawstyle DJs on the line up – B-Front, Ran-D, Radical Redemption, and E-Force, to name a few.
Although my heart beats at 300 beats per minute, I was blown away by the production and music on Saturday night. This truly was a show rather than just a typical rave, so much that at times sitting out in the stands (the Gelredome is large stadium with tiered seating) I felt as though I was watching Hard Bass: The Musical. Each team was provided with a proper introduction and ending similar to the curtain call in play. Once they finished performing their epic last track, the lights would go off, everyone would applaud, and an introduction would start for the next team.
Being from the New York area and having attended multiple Broadway performances, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to attend this as a play where you sit down and watch the performance as if you were watching Phantom of the Opera or Fiddler on the Roof, for instance. All of the elements were there. The stage was a giant space ship, which fit perfectly with the theme, the lasers were out of this world, and of course there was fire, fireworks, and even some theatrics.
The evening truly was a tribute to ten years of hard dance, and to the artists and fans who made it all possible. The music was a quintessential mix of the classics we all know the words to, such as “Imaginary”, “Castles in the Sky”, “You’ve Got the Love”, and “Eternalize”, as well as some new tracks including my one of my personal favorites of the evening, “The Last Resort”.
This night was particularly memorable for me because I learned what “kick rolling” was for the first time. As previously mentioned, although I do enjoy rawstyle, I have not had much exposure to it, as it is a stage I don’t typically frequent at festivals. Usually passing by the rawstyle stage at Defqon, Dominator, or Masters of Hardcore, I would always see a large crowd of very tall, buff Dutch guys all moving their hands in a chopping motion to the beat. I figured this was just a dance that everyone did both collectively and individually, for example as gabbers hakken.
However, now I know that it is in fact a style of dancing (which is often pre-rehearsed) so that the chopping motion hits right on the beat. The more you know! I found this particularly fascinating because with speedcore/terror we have something similar (albeit less rehearsed and fluid) where when the beat drops you see everyone with one hand to the sky basically having a seizure (don’t judge it until you try it!)
My favorite team of the evening was definitely Red, and those last few minutes were the perfect ending to the night. I particularly enjoy when rawstyle tracks are sped up, although I guess this would make kick rolling more difficult for some. Rawstyle is known for its brutal kicks, complex layers, and screeches, therefore just kicking it up a bit to 200 beats per minute makes it even better (in my humble opinion).
The evening concluded flawlessly with the GPF remix of Killshot-Beastmode, which of course kept me wanting more. The finale of the show consisted of the space ship taking off, closing off a chapter in history of ten years of Hard Bass. What will B2S have for us next?
*Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are strictly my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the companies and organizations I am affiliated with. Furthermore the pictures water marked “Hard Bass” are not my own pictures but rather B2S.
Here we have an artist who has literally done it all with so much ease and sleaze. Sei2ure has released on nearly every important hardcore record label known today with a repertoire that has stretched from the industrial side of the spectrum, to crossbreed, all the way over to uptempo. He is known more for his elaborate, crispy-crumbly kick drums as well as his sounds that can only be found inside of a steel factory or, perhaps, an airplane crash site. I mention this because his most recent release, ‘Partystarter’, on ‘Footworxx Digital’, isn’t where you are going to find the “top-of-the-line” Sei2ure. Although the second track, ‘Serial Killer’, sits at 175 BPM and has more groove, it is still designed in the same vein as the title track and the final, albeit stronger track, ‘Back the Fuck Up’: typical straight driving bass lines with the occasional vocal sample at the end of every 4 bars. But its Sei2ure’s sound itself that makes this uptempo release more invigorating and worth a rinse out at the next hardcore party.
Sei2ure on Social Media:
Making a debut into some slower industrial, the uptempo monster eDUB shows that he sits right at home at any tempo with his latest release on Oblivion Underground Recordings.
“I’m Not The Only One” – This beauty features screaming synths that sit ominously in the background with upfront 2/4 snares that fit in the mix perfectly. Not that it really needs mentioning but that characteristically brutal eDUB kick is there and rocking.
“Industrial Meat” – The track that initially got me interested in this release definitely delivers. The slowed down eDUB kick with it’s hard nose and tone heavy reflexive tail does well creating a dirty yet bouncy slow industrial monster. Effective kick edits and vocal sample use drive the track and the ominous break in the middle do service to add feeling to the track.
“Right Behind You” – The title track of the release does not disappoint. We have some of the screaming screeches in the back with good spacial effects much like first track in the release but with eDUB’s drum and bass influence and uptempo speed. The break and sample use of “Right Behind You” keeps up with eDUBS overall vibe of ‘electronically creepy’. If you do uptempo, this ones for you.
“Primitive Technology” – This track featuring Alexander Head turned out to be the one that I didn’t see coming and, despite there being a 150 BPM banger, my favorite of the release. The kick is fat and ultra noisy and seems to incorporate all the other sounds of the release nicely into one gnarly track; ominous synths to fill the background, the 2/4 snares sitting nicely above the kick, the break has movement and motion to it rather than being dull and limp, the 4-4 snares after the break really ramp up the energy after the drop. Out of a whole release of nasty, dirty, rough, and noisy industrial tracks, this one tops it for me.
-CAP
December 23 was the return of Basscon to the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. Unlike previous Basscon shows however, this promised to be very different. Insomniac managed to bring out a very special lineup featuring exclusively raw hardstyle and hardcore acts, a first for Basscon! In the main room, Basscon featured Angerfist, Radical Redemption solo set, and the US premiere of Minus Militia. In the Ballroom was The Hard Data’s very own Ballroom Takeover, featuring The Hard Data DJ Team – DJ Deadly Buda, Mindcontroller and Lost Boy. The hype for the US debut of Minus Militia, along with the return of Angerfist, brought a larger than life crowd, even selling out the show in the last few days of ticket sales. It was raining hard when many of the partygoers arrived at Belasco and many were getting drenched while waiting for security, but as I watched people get checked in, the excitement on their faces was palpable. Everyone knew they were in for a good night!
Belasco’s two separate rooms allowed the crowd to wander around the venue between the two stages easily and get a little taste of all the artists playing that night. I was reminded of many fond memories from previous shows at this venue as I walked in hearing Darksiderz playing one my favorite hardstyle tracks, TNT & Audiofreq – Screwdriver, as I made my way to the Ballroom.
The Ballroom was packed full of loyal hardcore heads for The Hard Data DJ Team and I felt like I was immediately surrounded by friends from all over coming up to say hi. Mindcontroller was on the decks when we walked in, and we made our way over to see The Hard Santa. My friends and I told him to check his list, and he said despite us being very naughty this year, he still had a present for us – The Hard Data Ballroom Blitz CD – a special CD mixed with everything from raw hardstyle to happy hardcore to hardcore and uptempo. I always love receiving CD’s at shows and I knew we would be listening to this on the drive home!
We bid Santa farewell and did a time check; there was just enough time to grab a drink at the bar and make our way to the dancefloor before Radical Redemption. As we walked to our ususal spot we had the pleasure of running into Chain Reaction and Crypsis! I had a short conversation with them and Chain Reaction told me that he was very excited to play for the US crowd for the first time. Crypsis added that it was exciting for them all to finally bring Minus Militia to the US.
I looked around the room and it was packed as Darksiderz finished his set. The anticipation for Radical Redemption to begin had built an immense amount of excitement from the crowd. When Radical took to the stage his powerful 
baselines and melodies echoed throughout The Belasco! Radical’s set was a whirlwind of raw hardstyle and his set included a great mix of some of his popular tracks, including Smack Bitches, HardBass Tribute, Suicide Baseline, and a collection of his iconic Brutal tracks including: Brutal 3.0, as well as crowd favorites Brutal 5.0 and his brand new Brutal 6.0.
As Radical Redemption finished his set it was time for a short intermission while Joey (Radical) ran to get his wardrobe changed for the Minus Militia set. In the meantime while the crowd waited, a live vocal female singer alongside Darksiderz kept the corwd entertained. As we waited, I looked over to the bar and I noticed Angerfist standing nearby. I went to go talk with him and he also mentioned to me that he was excited to play. He said that it was amazing to see so many people come out for the night and he couldn’t wait to play some hardcore for us! 
It was at this time I saw Crypsis, Chain Reaction and Radical Redemption take their place crouched behind the decks in their flack jackets and preparing for their US assault. Finally, it was time for the US debut of Minus Militia!
What happened next is hard to put into words. The lasers created a web of light over the crowd and powerful kick rolls and screeches brought so much energy to the crowd, I thought the barricade fence at the front of the stage was going to fall over from the force of the crowd that raged behind it! Their set included Obey and Arise (Official Militant Mayhem 2016 Anthem), Cracking Your Ribs, The Genesis (Supremacy 2014 Anthem). To complete the Minus Militia experience, Chain Reaction stood at the edge of the stage waving the large red minus Militia flag over the crowd before finally throwing it out to one very lucky fan.
Last but certainly not least, it was time for Angerfist to 
unleash hardcore upon the crowd. The mosh pit that had formed for Minus Militia grew as people dug deep to finish the night with hardcore. Angerfist pounded the crowd with his track selection, including classic tracks like Incoming, The Depths of Despair, Streetfighter, The Voice of Mayham, Strange Man In Mask and Just Like Me. I was also very excited to hear (and from the cheers of the crowd so were they) when Angerfist crossed over into dropping several frenchcore tracks, including The Sickest Squad ft. Lenny Dee -Minimal is Criminal, Radium – Rocking Fire, and his collabs with Dr. Peacock – Caveman and Inframan.
Overall I thought that the night was a blast and I hope that this show opens the door for Basscon to throw more exclusively raw hardstyle and hardcore events! Relive the night and check out some of our photos here. Up next for Basscon – Check out 15 Years of TNT featuring TNT aka Technoboy and Tuneboy, Audiofreq and Mekanikal on January 21, and Atmosfears’ North American GATE Tour featuring Atmosfears, Code Black and Tuneboy with a ‘Classics’ set on February 24th.
In closing, I would just like to take an opportunity to say a very special thank you to my friend Elise Valiquette aka DJ unicorns for her help with this article and for the continued adventures we have together, Joel Bevacqua and The Hard Data for continuing to allow me to contribute, and thank you to all my friends (too many of you all to name) who continue to come out to shows and create such great memories with me! 2016 was epic, have a safe and happy New Year and I hope to see you all in 2017!
– CabZ
![Release Review: eDUB – Right Behind You EP [OBLIVION 006]](http://www.theharddata.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/edub2-672x372.jpg)
