RAD Review: Hard Bass 2019

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2019 marked the final edition of Hard Bass, one of the longest running harder styles events in Holland. The event has grown to become one of the biggest and best indoor festivals in the country. Each year, four carefully curated teams, representing blue, green, yellow and red, come together to represent their sounds and style in a unique and mysterious way. An exclusive live act then closes out each team, with a special showcase or takeover. The final edition saw a 5th team introduced into the Hard Bass programme, representing the hottest and hardest tracks of the last decade. Five teams took to the stage to perform in front of a sold out crowd of 27,000 and put on a performance to remember! Everything from the teams to the crowd, venue and production were absolutely spot on and b2s closed this chapter of hardstyle history flawlessly. 

TEAM BLUE

First up was team blue, consisting of everyone’s hardstyle favourites; Wildstylez, Coone and D-Block & S-te-Fan. The group kicked off the night with timeless classics from festival anthems to iconic chart toppers. Carefully alternating between the hardstyle pioneers, the first team set the perfect tone for the rest of the night. Following an incredible performance, hardstyle legend Headhunterz took to the stage for an exclusive live performance. Mixing everything from crowd favourites to debuting brand new tracks and remixes, the fast pace live act closed out team blue perfectly and left the entire crowd wanting more. 

TEAM GREEN

Next up was team green – made up of old and new school artists. Hardstyle pioneer Noisecontrollers teamed up with fellow Dutch DJ’s and rising stars Atmozfears and B-Front for an hour hardstyle madness. Playing everything from iconic hardstyle anthems to unreleased tracks and brand new remixes, team green was without a doubt my favourite group of the night. 

Closing out the second team was Brennan Heart, Code Black and Toneshifterz with the official I AM HARDSTYLE takeover. Although it was definitely more of a Brennan Heart takeover, no one was complaining; as the entire crowd was singing along to classics such as ‘imaginary’ and ‘gravity’. Fellow WE R artists came through with their signature sounds, perfectly showcasing the label’s talent. The takeover also saw Brennan Heart debut the brand new I Am Hardstyle anthem for 2019 ‘true colours’, for his own headlining event next month. After an abrupt ending to the takeover, a mysterious hooded figure took to the stage to debut a brand new act. Surprise act Aftershock stunned the crowd of almost 30,000 with his very first performance.

On top of the incredible track list, team green once again comes out on top, with the overall best light show of the event. With their allocated colour working in their favour, every inch of the stadium was filled with flickering beams of green light.

TEAM GREY

For the first time at Hard Bass, an additional 5th team classed as ‘team heroes of hard bass’, took to the stage for an exclusive ’10 years of history’ performance. One by one, ten heroes of the harder styles played their hit tracks in the fast paced 45 minute slot. Adaro, B-Freqz and B-Front took to the stage to present ‘3 The Hard Way’ before fellow heroes Brennan Heart and Noisecontrollers returned to the DJ decks for a brief moment. Donkey Rollers, E-Force, Gunz For Hire, Radical Redemption and The Beholder made up the remainder of team grey; and gave the sold out crowd, a set to remember. 

TEAM YELLOW

Resuming the regular Hard Bass schedule was team yellow. Frequencerz, Phuture Noize and Sub Zero Project kicked it up a notch with their timeless, raw and invigorating sounds. Debuting a tonne of new music, among everyone’s crowd favourites and genre-defying remixes, the most popular team of the night delivered an unparalleled performance. Closing out team yellow was none other than the man himself, Ran-D. Showcasing his album ‘We Rule The Night’, the man responsible for some of the most iconic tracks in the harder styles, absolutely blew the roof of Gelredome. Opening with the number one hardstyle track of 2018; Hurricane, the Dutch DJ had the entire crowd dancing and singing along throughout the entirety of his set. 

TEAM RED

Finally, with the home stretch in sight, team red closed out the final edition of Hard Bass with two hours of the hardest and fastest tracks. E-Force, Radical Redemption and Rejecta pumped out hit after hit into the early hours of the morning. With only an hour remaining of the event, the venue was just as packed as it was from the start; and Warface, Delete and Killshot came together under the live alias End Of Line; for the final ever act in Hard Bass History. 

With one final wave of lasers and a brief end show, 27,000 harder styles lovers witnessed a piece of history; as Hard Bass said it’s final goodbye. Overall, the entire event definitely lived up to the hype. Going in, I had very high expectations for this highly rated event; and b2s went above and beyond to deliver a mind blowing and memorable final performance. Although this chapter has closed, I cannot wait to see what b2s has in store for the future! 

PHOTO CREDIT: Katarina Cvetko for Rad Season

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Katarina Cvetko

Katarina is an international journalist and photographer from Sydney, Australia with a strong passion for music festivals. Since her first solo adventure in 2015, Katarina has travelled to over 30 countries in 5 continents and has attended over 100 music festivals worldwide. After conquering a bucket list journey of 52 music festivals in 52 weeks in 2018, Katarina continues to live a digital nomad lifestyle, travelling to festivals in a different country every week and sharing her experiences on social media.

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