Like Toneshifterz, Krusaders seemingly bring nothing of real value to the label, as their tracks sound like extremely generic nustyle.

Their typical over-the-top biography tells us these two dutch brothers were competing with each other to become better producers or something.. I dunno, just take a look at it on their newly launched site, krusaders.nl.

They are due for a 3 track EP some time in March. Previews of these tracks are available on their site.

Meh.

That’s exactly what The Pitcher is giving us over Q-Dance radio, at 8PM (NL time) on the 26th of December. We were promised a Christmas surprise and a Fusion Yearmix is what we’ve got. Covering all the big Fusion releases over the past year, I think we’re all in for a treat.

Here’s the teaser/promo video that was posted earlier today to give you some idea of what it’s about:

Click here to view the embedded video.

We at The Harder View are a bit less festive, and all we can really offer you is this animated Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Antonio Dona, better known as Tuneboy and Hardstyle Masterz, and co-producer of projects such as Technoboy, K-Traxx, The KGB’s, 2 Best Enemies, Dark Oscillators, Zappaman, TNT, Builder, The Raiders and DJ Phil Ty, just to name a few, has finally launched his artist website, tuneboy.it.

In recent months we have seen an explosion of artist to fan interactions, such as the establishment of Twitter accounts, official label YouTube channels and various brandings of both artists and labels. This, like many other new artist sites, does exactly that. It serves as a way of putting a face to a name, or many names in this case. Tuneboy is also now sporting a sexy new logo to match the sexy new site, further aiding the brand.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we begin to see Tuneboy appearing at a few more events in the future, and I for one couldn’t be more pleased, because if any man with such a long history in the scene and the skills to match (just check out the discography on his site) deserves it, it’s Antonio Dona.

I tip my hat to you, Mr Dona.

Fun bonus: A high quality preview of Tuneboy’s new track ‘Overkill’ is available on his site.

The new artist, Titan, which some of you may recognise previously as Pinas, a man who has already played at Q-Base in 2006, and Defqon.1 in 2007 and 2008, not to mention a vast array of smaller events, was officially announced – it was assumed Titan was going to be signed to Fusion as he was performing on the Fusion truck during the parade – in a similar fashion to Slim Shore, via a video on YouTube.

Coming seemingly from nowhere, because as far as I can tell he has no prior productions, he must have spent a while locked in the studio, practicing and possibly being mentored by Zany, as the preview of his first track Titan - Strength and Fury definitely has a Zany touch within it.

Check out the track embedded below, which sounds quite dark and rough, and very professional, so a spot at Fusion does make sense.

A big congratulations to Titan, we’re looking extremely forward to seeing what he can come up with.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Two of the more (arguably) admired Scantraxx hotshots, Scope DJ and A-Lusion, have come together to bring us a completely new alias – the somewhat unoriginal -, Second Identity.

A site has already been created for them, at secondidentity.nl, which includes the short, over-the-top bio that we’ve typically come to expect from Scantraxx. ‘Never done before in the hardstyle scene’ – what? Have collaborations never been done before?

But I digress, if you’re a fan of quite cheesy nustyle, then you’re going to love this. After their first collaboration, Reaching Out/Between Worlds, it’s been proven that these two blokes can work together to create some high quality music. Backing this up, embedded below, is a preview of their first track under this new alias, Second Identity – Identify. It features a chord filled melody, some semi-rough kicks that we’ve learned to love from Scope DJ, and a few lines of cliched, yet catchy vocals.

What’s interesting to note is that Second Identity have been booked for a live performance at Hardbass 2010, which means the guys are going to have to churn out quite a few tracks by then to be able to make up 30-60 minutes worth of set.

Let’s see how hard Scantraxx are going to push this alias in the future..

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is not so much of a surprise, after his recent move away from Showtek’s label, Dutch Master Works due to some disagreement, and the subsequent dodgy cover up by the DMW boys in Dutch Master’s biography. Shortly after the move, Slim Shore – what an odd name – was quickly scooped up by Platinum Agency, so I daresay there are already some plans in the works for him over there.

There is no doubt that there is a significant amount of work in the future for Henry, rebuilding his reputation, but with the production skills he possesses, and already a strong rebrand in place, it shouldn’t be much of an issue (however Fusion’s release schedule might be).

The move to Fusion was announced in a YouTube video on Fusion’s channel, where Slim Shore’s latest work is being displayed.

The semi-cheesy track, ‘Scars‘ seems to be having a dig at DMW, in a vein similar to that of Showtek’s ‘World is Mine‘, oddly enough, but have a listen for yourself:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Take a look at his website for a bit more information: http://www.donkeyrollers.com/slimshore/

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s one for all you budding producers out there. Seemingly, backpeddling in an effort to clear up the meaning of the vocals in his somewhat controversial track Push Play!, Brennan Heart and our friends at Scantraxx are giving fruity loopin’ losers the chance to have their track released on the final album sampler for his album, Musical Impressions.

Mr. Heart has this to say about the apparently misconstrued lyrics of the track:

“I’m really supporting the new generation. Sometimes it’s too bad to see that a lot of young ‘producers’ are focusing too much on the internet and writing on forums. Some of them seem to have lost focus. Making music isn’t about being “blogger #1”. With ‘Push Play!’ I was inspired by this internet and forum phenomenon. Maybe not the best way to make friends, but I felt the need to express my opinion on the matter. The new generation needs to re-focus on the music itself again, because the scene needs it.”

While the intent of Push Play! is certainly an attitude I’m sure many artists and fans share, the execution of the message was done somewhat distastefully, and left a lot to be desired. The reason people misunderstood the lyrics was because the lyrics themselves had little connection to the message that was apparently being tried to convey. The smug-sounding, repetitive vocalist and lack of elaboration didn’t really help to enforce the intended meaning either. There’s no doubt it’s controversial lyrics were written with intent to cause a stir, as to generate a bit more hype and talk about the album, and it has clearly succeeded.

Like many artists and vocal supporters of where the scene is currently heading, in argument to the lack of quality of many releases in recent times, they are somehow caught up in the notion that you can either slog it out in your studio, producing, or spend time on forums. Not both. We are led to believe doing so will get you nowhere and you’ll never make it in the ‘bizz’.

But enough of that, onto the details:

You are to submit a remix of any of the following:

• Memento
• Revival X
• Faith in your DJ

Download the remix resource pack from the M!D!FY site.

Ensure that you adhere to the following rules:

• Remix has to be a ‘Hardstyle’ remix
• Only ‘FLS’ users can join the contest – How they’re going to verify this, I have no idea.
• Contest closes at 30-11-2009
• You can submit as many remixes as you want
• Please send an e-mail with a download link to rmx@brennanheart.com
• Download link: please use YouSendit or Megaupload to send the remixes
• WAV files only
• Send your full name, address, telephone number and email address
• Only complete e-mails will be accepted
• Winner will be announced in the first week of December 2009

This rumour could have some merit due to the fact that ruudvaneijk – who does the large majority of Scantraxx and Q-Dance artwork – is currently creating some sort of artwork for Bioweapon, as stated in this tweet.

It would certainly be beneficial for Scantraxx if they signed Bioweapon, as having a presence within Australia seems to be a strategic move that may prove useful in the near future, considering Australia’s exponential growth in the hard dance scene. This also seems increasingly likely considering Fusion’s recent move to sign Toneshifterz, another Australian nustyle duo.

Even from the small glimpse of the Bioweapon studio we get in the video, and taking into account their previous production history in both their recent hardstyle efforts and their earlier happy hardcore, it’s crystal clear that they’re incredibly talented in the studio, and have already established themselves as locals in the large Sydney scene.

Click here to view the embedded video.

To vote, just visit the video on YouTube and leave a comment!

Let us start with a detail that the rest of the hardstyle world does not seem to have picked up yet. Gostosa, in Brazilian-Portugese, basically means ‘hot chubby’. You know the type – the somewhat plump, but extremely self-assured and thus charming Southern-American lady with the gorgeous behind. ‘Our’ Gostosa seems quite the opposite of that – skinny, made-up, following the Western ideal of beauty. Just one of the many things about her that beg for the question: is Gostosa real?

Of course, half the internet has already answered that question with a firm ‘no’. The other half has no brains, thinks she’s hot and doesn’t care. Yet what proof is there for her being ‘fake’?

First of all, let’s consider her biography, which is to be found on her own website. In typical broken hardstyle English, it tells the dramatic story of Sindy, who has been born and raised in Brazil. She’s so poor that she doesn’t even have a surname, apparently. Anyway, after five years of saving, she buys a flight to Gran Canaria, eventually meets Headhunterz and the rest is history. She apparantly earned her money by cleaning up a local club in the morning. Her desire to leave Brazil already developing in primary school is another detail that makes it all just a little too sweet ‘n easy.

Okay, so far, we only have a site that’s taken care off suspiciously well, a launch straight into every major DJ’s CD map, and a biography that seems just a tad too dramatic to be true.  Some, however, are convinced that she already made her first appearance on an ’07 SWAT flyer. Here is Sindy.

Try not to pay attention to her nakedness and not all that big tits, but to her characteristically crooked face instead. Now here is a SWAT flyer.

Several investigative minds point at the face the girl on the SWAT flyer is making and its resemblance to Sindy’s. However, when looking at both girls’ eyebrows and lips closely, one observes a few differences. *Edit/update: we now have confirmation that it is NOT Sindy appearing on the SWAT flyer. See comments for source.*

Now let me state clearly that I think though the story is dodgy, at least part of it is probably true. Of course, Gostosa & co. did their best to make it look as dramatic as possible, but there’s no hard evidence to prove that we really are dealing with a great swindle. Moving on to the ‘ethical’ side of things though, there is a lot more to say.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hard dance has by now seen dozens of pretty faces that don’t mean much – Korsakoff and Stephy to name a few. It seems Scantraxx decided they needed their own sock puppet to enter in the competition. At least they are not being secretive about it – even in the ‘clip’ we can all clearly see the production work is handled by Headhunterz. Still, the development worries me. So much time and money has been invested into Gostosa – a shiny website, promotion, production, and so on – it seems hard to believe Scantraxx does not believe to make a lot more out of it. And this is a prime example of the kind of commercialization the true fans don’t like to see – drawing in casual fans with a pretty face and a pair of tits. Even though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it takes just a minute or so on Partyflock to realize that people are falling for it by the hundreds.

The productions themselves are actually quite good, from what we have heard so far. The question, now, is what direction things will take from here – will Sindy join Headhunterz in the studio, learning to produce for herself, eventually becoming a respected and valued addition to the Scantraxx team? Or will she keep on being just a DJ, content to capture men’s hearts at parties, face of commercialization in hardstyle?

In the first case, we can all shut our gobs and enjoy the music – she was just lucky to meet the right people and get launched like this. In the second case, well… in the name of all people who truly enjoy music, instead of just listening to it, I’d like to ask all record labels – this is not aimed just at Scantraxx – to stop being whores. Of course, since the very existance of the record industry, this has been an issue – but for good reason: hardstyle will die like hardcore and jumpstyle before it if it gets too big.

Don’t push it, guys.