| Hardstyle | |
| Stylistic origins | Hardcore, Hard Trance |
|---|---|
| Cultural origins | Early 2000s in Western Europe |
| Subgenres | |
| Early Hardstyle, Nu-Style, Lento-Violento | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Belgium, Netherland, Italy | |
Hardstyle is probably the most emblematic genre of the Hard Dance scene that emerged in 2002, in Netherland.
Characteristics[]
It's characterized by heavy, distorted 909 reverse bass kicks, hard trance supersaw synths, epic melodies that are often highly melodic and emotional, and track structures that include powerful builds and drops.
History[]
2002 - 2005: Early Hardstyle[]
The origins of Hardstyle date back to the early 2000s as early hardstyle, when hardcore was at its peak in the Netherlands. Jumpstyle, a sister genre to hardstyle appeared in 2002, which is influenced by UK Hard House, Euro-Trance and Happy Hardcore. The two genres would become more popular in the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Italy and Germany.
Early Hardstyle is characterised by a repetitive structure, Hard Trance synths, screeches, Reverse Bass, and a slow tempo fixed at 140 BPM. The genre will evolve in 2005 into Nu-style, and will give born to a subgenre named Reverse Bass.
Modern Early Hardstyle: Reverse Bass[]
The modern version of Early Hardstyle is named Reverse Bass, a more recent version of Early Hardstyle that emerged in the early-to-mid-2010s. Its name comes from the typical kick percussion from Early Hardstyle.
Influenced by Nu-style and Jumpstyle, it features minimalist melodies, powerful, dynamic builds-up and drops, a percussive bassline and a repetitive structure like in Early Hardstyle, but is more energetic, has rawer screeches, and the basses are crunchier and more distorted. Its tempo can vary between 140 and 150 BPM, but can reaches 155 BPM in rare case.
The most notable difference between Reverse Bass and Nu-Style is the kick, which is saturated with attack for Newstyle, unlike Reverse Bass, which has virtually no effect at all and draws from its ealier version. Reverse Bass was made for peoples who listen to Early Hardstyle, with a touch of modernisation, a rawer energy, powerful, and festival-friendly.
This version is popularised by the Italian band TNT, with several songs like Reverse the Bass or Scarbourough Fair (with Timmy Trumpet), and by DJ The Prophet with his song Reverse Bass, a song that popularised its name. Many songs has only one Reverse Bass drop with Nu-Style drops, such as the first drop of Take it all from Sound Rush, the first part of the third drop of Seasons from Cadmium and Rival remixed by NIVIRO, or again, the first drop of Joker by Freshtuff. Some Hard Techno songs incorporates Reverse Bass drops, like Ashes (VIP) by Naeleck, who uses Hard Techno synths and screeches on Reverse Bass drops.
2005 - today: Nu-Style[]
In 2005, hardstyle began transforming and became more powerful: the Nu-Style era has begun. This version is characterised by a higher tempo, around 150 BPM, more melodies and the famous "hardstyle kick". It will be popularized by artists like Headhunterz or D-Block & Ste-Fan. In the early 2010s and more precisely in 2011, hardstyle will be divided into two genres: Euphoric Hardstyle and Rawstyle, one focusing on emotion, and the other on power. It will merge with many other genres, such as Dubstep, Big Room House or Psytrance.
Even today, hardstyle remains a steadfast underground genre among fans of hard dance.