We’ve been graced by two new stages this year, one of which is replacing grey. There is now a hardstyle stage (blue) and a weird green stage that encompasses many genres, unlike it’s dutch counterpart that covers various kinds of techno.

In addition to the lineup, the anthem has been revealed to be a ridiculously cheesy hands-up number from none other than arguably the world’s biggest nustyle act, Headhunterz. Preview of the Headhunterz – Save Your Scrap For Victory (Official Defqon.1 AU Anthem 2010) [what does that even mean] at the end of the post.

Red – Nustyle:

Headhunterz
Tatanka
Wildstylez
Frontliner
Stephy
Dr Willis
B-Front
Bioweapon
Psyko Punkz
Nik Fish

Blue – Hardstyle:

Tatanka v Zatox
The Prophet
Suae & Pulsar
Pavo v Isaac
Max Enforcer
Alpha Twins
Toneshifterz

Black – Hardcore:

Promo
Evil Activities
Unexist
DJ Mad Dog
Korsakoff
Outblast
Spellbound

Orange – Hard Trance:

ASYS
Scot Project
Derb/Kan Cold
BRK3
Pee Wee Ferris v John Ferris
Kutski
Arbor v Cantosis
Hardforze v Micky D
Amber Savage v Steve Hill
Nathan Cryptic v Andre Jay
Matrix v Shadower

GREEN – Electro/Minimal/Psy/Techno:

Azza
Rob Zobec
MSG
Dylan Griffin
Substance
Keirra Jade
Alex Up
Macrotix
Ritchie Jay
Thao
Abuse

Purple -New Talent:

Soul-t v Karpe DM
Hektic v Arbee
HSB
Xdream v Keely
Sdee v Toxic
Nick Watts v Zac Slade
Audio Damage v Kid Finley
Scotty G v Bennett
Tempa v Nomad
Producer Comp Winner

Click here to view the embedded video.

Having earned their merits at the legendary Qlubtempo parties in the early 00s, slowly conquering the world from there on, Arjen and Anco Timmerman can be considered one of the most constant factors in the hardstyle scene ever since it was born. With performances all over Europe and, recently, even in Australia, their dark sound slowly conquers more and more souls worldwide: this is the story of the Alpha Twins.

Making their Q-Dance entry at the very first Qlimax event held in the Heineken Music Hall, these brothers have seen a small promoter evolve into the Netherlands’ biggest hardstyle event organizer. Playing almost every first edition of what are now world-famous festivals, they have always buffeted crowds with dark melodies and evil themes. “It’s a matter of taste,” Arjen says. “We both happen to like dark, raw hardstyle. It’s always been like that, really – there’s no particular philosophy to it, although it is a way of setting ourselves apart, in a sense. Of course, this doesn’t mean we don’t play the more accessible stuff; there’s really good tracks in that department too, and it can often be very useful during a 2 hour set.”

The twins, who aren’t actually twins at all, often team up with others for their releases. “Of course, solo releases are very important, but we do like to collaborate with other artists. Besides the social aspect, which is always a lot of fun, we also learn a lot from it. Other artists always tend to have a different approach to things. For instance, we recently did a new collab with Wildstylez, producing a new track we named ‘Atrocious’. A collaboration with Zatox is also in the pipeline.”

Gaining a steady crowd of followers over the years, Anco & Arjen never really had a home base. After releasing various records on labels such as Mythica and Sys-X, and even the Qlimax 2006 anthem on Q-Dance Records, they finally decided to set up their own label. With the April 2008 release of ‘Nowhere to Hide’, A² Records was born. “It’s something we had been planning to do for quite a while. Of course, it’s cool to have your own label as an artist, but we mainly see it as something that completes the picture,” Arjen comments. “The good thing about having your own label is that you can plan your own release schedule: no more waiting for those other two releases before it’s your turn. We’ve known the other artists on our label for a long time. 2-Sidez already were somewhat popular but didn’t have a home label yet, and we thought their sound fit ours. The same goes for Ran-D, although maybe he wasn’t as well known at the time.”

Even though the boys are running a label, producing, and performing every weekend, they still have time for other activities. “We both like to play tennis and you may find us at the golf course from time to time.” Whereas Anco lives off the music business, Arjen works from 9 to 1 four times a week. “Because I enjoy doing it, and because it helps me keep a healthy day/night rhythm.” He also confesses to be guilty of producers’ sin #1: “I regularly meet with friends at Friday night to play some games.”

Earlier this year, the guys decided to join up with what is probably the world’s famous hardstyle label: A² Records became a sublabel of Scantraxx. “They already had a bunch of sublabels, but none of those represented the harder sound. Of course, we did and Scantraxx asked us to team up with them. Things went rather fast and we quickly agreed on everything. The only thing really important for us was that we could keep our own identity, separate from the main label. Of course, joining Scantraxx has certain benefits. We’ve been getting quite a few extra bookings abroad lately.”

According to the Timmerman brothers, the future of hardstyle is looking bright. “At big events, you still see loaded hardstyle areas every time. And they’re often the biggest areas, too! We also notice hardstyle is on the rise abroad. As we said, we get quite a lot of bookings and so do our colleagues. The great thing about these booking is that in other countries, an event is still a ‘special’ experience.” Personally, they have achieved pretty much everything there is to achieve: bookings all around the globe, a Qlimax anthem, mainstage at all big events. Still, their work is not complete: “One of our goals was to play in Australia. We’ve recently accomplished that, and with great success: Defqon.1 Australia was unbelievable! Of course, an X-Qlusive Alpha² would also be great. It’s simply a party that’s all about you as an artist: you get to decide what the night looks like, you decide who gets to play. Besides that, we’d like to continue crossing the globe. We’ve already played in quite a lot of countries, but there’s a lot of other ones where we would like to go, to see if we can spread the hardstyle virus over there, too.”

Arjen also has some plans outside of the hardstyle world. “It’s nothing concrete yet, but recently I have been working on minimal, techno and tech-house and even performed with these style at the Q-BASE freestyle area,” he says. Don’t worry that he might leave the dark side, though: “I’m not sure yet if I’m actually going to do anything with this. Of course, Alpha Twins will always be more important.”

Of course, the British enthusiasm hasn’t go unnoticed with the brothers. “We’ve had the privilege to perform in England numerous times, and it has always been a blast. The crowd goes on and on and they’re extremely enthusiastic.”

As a parting message, they have one more thing to say:
Check alphatwins.nl , myspace.com/alphatwinsnl , facebook.com/alpha2 , twitter.com/alphatwins to follow the latest news!

And with that, these busy brothers return to their work: delivering some of the darkest sounds in the scene to us!

Once again, these livesets are courtesy of the wonderful people over at Hardtraxx.nl.

Tracklist:
01. ID
02. ID
03. DJ Felix Project – On The Floor
04. Dustin Zahn – Stranger (Len Faki Podium Remix)
05. ID
06. Joyengergizer
07. Tuneboy – Housensation
08. Marcel Woods – De Bom 2001
09. A*S*Y*S – Acid Nightmare
10. Space Frog & The Grim Reaper – Follow Me (Derb Remix)
11. K-Traxx – Hardventure
12. Shithead – Shithead
13. Vortex & Arpa’s Dream – Incoming (Arome Remix)
14. ZX – Scream
15. Donkey Rollers – Motherf*ck (Zany Remix)
16. Razzle Dazzle Trax – Rattlebrain
17. Tuneboy – Demolition
18. The Real Booty Babes – Derb LK
19. DJ Isaac – Thriller
20. Julian DJ & Davide Sonar – Go Go Go (Tatanka & Peter Damir Remix)
21. Jimmy The Sound – Hasta La Vista Baby
22. DJ Isaac – On The Edge (How Long Edit)
23. Bison meets The Quakers – I Got Tonight
24. Hardheadz – Wreck The Remix (The Beholder & Max Enforcer Remix)
25. The Raiders – Salamandra
26. Taq 9 – Slavez

Download DJ Isaac from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
Dailucia:
01. Phase 3 – Fine Day
02. The Pitcher – Serenity
03. Brennan Heart feat. Shanokee – Feel U Here
04. Headhunterz – A New Day
05. Wildstylez – Pleasure
06. Project One – The Story Unfolds
07. Frontliner – Spacer (Original Mix)
08. Bass Modulators – NRGizer

Beat Providers
09. Dozer – Robin’s Revenge
10. Frontliner – Sunblast (Beat Providers Short edit)
11. Beat Providers – Stereo Providers
12. Noisecontrollers – Venom (Wildstylez Remix)
13. Headhunterz & Wildstylez vs. Noisecontrollers – Tonight (Beat Providers edit)
14. Beat Providers – Second Opinion
15. The Nasty Boyz – Angel (Hardstyle Masterz Cut)(Recut)
16. The Pitcher – I Just Can’t Stop
17. Beat Providers – Intensive Care
18. Beat Providers – Bleeding For The Decibel Fusion (mashup)

Download Dailucia & Beat Providers from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
01. TNT – Double Dutch Darkies
02. Technoboy – Rage (A Hardstyle Song)
03. Builder – Her Voice (Headhunterz Remix)
04. Noisecontollers – Crtl Alt Delete (In Qontrol Anthem 2009)
05. Headhunterz – Scrap Attack (Defqon.1 Festival Anthem 2009)
06. Wildstylez. K.Y.H.U. (Noisecontrollers Remix)
07. Mike NRG – Lost In Dreams (Tat & Zat Remix)
08. Zany – Maximum Force (Defqon.1 Festival Australia Anthem 2009)
09. Hardstyle Masterz meets Max Enforcer – Rambo Is A Pussy
10. D-Block & S-te-Fan – The Nature Of Our Mind (Qlimax 2009 Anthem)
11. JDX Ft. Sarah Maria – Live The Moment

Download Qountdown Newyearshow from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
01. Dutch Master – Pride
02. Dutch Master – Floorspin
03. Dutch Master – Taste Me (Slim Shore edit)
04. Slim Shore – King Of Stage
05. Slim Shore – Scars
06. Slim Shore – Siren
07. Dutch Master – Motion

Download Slim Shore from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
01. Ran-D – Better On The Otherside
02. Alpha Twins vs. Wildstylez – Atrocious
03. Ran-D – Fanatics
04. Psyko Punkz – After MF
05. Ran-D – Feel My Fire
06. Ran-D vs. Adaro – Under Attack

Download Ran-D from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
1. Zany & Showtek – 2 Devine 
2. Zany – Frequency 
3. Da Bootleggerz – Fresh Beats 
4. The Builder – Her Voice (Dub Mix)
5. Showtek ft. DV8 – Electronic Stereophonic 
6. Zany – Mr. Monster 
7. Brennan Heart – Face The Enemy 
8. Zany & The Beholder – Annihalating 
9. Noisecontrollers & Zany – Paranoid 
10. Zany – Angel of The Sun (Break –Set van Isaac) 
11. Showtek – Party Lover (Zany Edit) 
12.Titan – Nightmare 
13.Frontliner & B-Front – Godzz Powerr!!! 
14.Donkey Rollers – Innocent 
15. Zatox & Tatanka – Oxygen(Intro) 
16. Southstylers – Pounding Senses (Zany & Noisecontrollers Remix) 
17. Zany meets the Beholder – Do You Want Heavy?

Download Zany from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
01. Toneshifterz – Get Loaded
02. Brennan Heart – Van Halen Is A Rockstar (Qlimax DJ Tool)
03. Brennan Heart – One Blade (Noisecontrollers Remix)
04. Repesteeltje – Set U Free (DJ Tool)
05. Headhunterz – Subsonic (Late Night Edit)
06. Brennan Heart – Just As Easy (Wildstylez vs. SMD Remix)
07. Headhunterz & Wildstylez vs. Noisecontrollers – Tonight (Break Edit)
08. Noisecontrollers – Marlboro Man (Intro Cut)
09. Noisecontrolers – Attack Again (Intro Cut)
10. Showtek – We Live For The Music (Noisecontrollers Remix)
11. Noisecontrollers & Zany – Diavoli
12. Noisecontrollers – CTRL-ALT-DELETE (In Qontrol 2009 Anthem)
13. Noisecontrollers – Macabre 2010
14. Noisecontrollers – Surge Of Power
15. Wildstylez – K.Y.H.U (Noisecontrollers Remix)
16. Donkey Rollers – Innocent

Download Noisecontrollers from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
01. Donkey Rollers – Motherfuck (Zany Remix)
02. Frontliner vs. B-Front – Godz Powerrr!
03. Zatox – Creation
04. Frontliner – The First Cut
05. Dozer – Robin’s Revenge
06. B-Front & Frontliner – Become The Sky
07. Pavo – Communicate
08. Josh & Wesz Ft. Low-E – I’ve Lost You
09. Zatox – Ear Fucking
10. Alphaverb & Intractable One – Destination Nowhere
11. B-Front – ID
12. Ran D – Feel My Fire
13. Tat & Zat – Gangsta
14. Frontliner vs. B-Front – 1.000.000 Stars
15. Zany – Animated Audio
16. B-Front & Frontliner – Magic

Download B-Front from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
01. D-Block & S-te-fan ft MC Villain – Sound of Thunder
02. Tatanka pres J. Hiroshy – Showtime
03. D-Block & S-Te-Fan – Together
04. Frontliner – Warphole
05. The Killers – Human (Deepack Hardstyle Bootleg)
06. D-Block & S-te-Fan ft Deepack – In Other Wordz
07. Brennan Heart & Wildstylez – Reputation Game
08. Bad Elements – DJ Revolution (Kayem Remix)
09. Alphaverb & Intractable One – Low Frequenced Bass
10. D-Block & S-te-Fan – Alone
11. VA – Tat’s Mashup
12. D-Block & S-te-Fan – Supernova
13. D-Block & S-te-Fan ft. High Voltage – Shiverz
14. D-Block & S-te-Fan – Ride With Uz (Max Enforcer Remix)

Download D-Block & S-te-Fan from Qountdown 2009

Tracklist:
1. Chain Reaction – Lellebel
2. Dana vs. Crypsis – Transmission
3. Kevin Kaos – TBA
4. Ran-D – Innerchild
5. Showtek – Electronic Stereophonic
6. Crypsis – Tuatara
7. Luna vs. Crypsis – Torture
8. Crypsis – Jealousy
9. DJ Isaac – Tear The Club Up
10. ID
11. Chain Reaction – Out With A Bang! (Crypsis Remix)
12. DJ Thera – The Test 2.0 (Crypsis Remix)
13. Outblast – Masters Symphony (Evil Activities Refix)
14. Angerfist ft Crucifier – Broken Chain (Mad Dog Remix)
15. Diss Reaction – Jiiieeehaaaa (Angerfist Refix)

Download Luna & Crypsis from Qountdown 2009

Recently signed to Fusion, we have two newcomers, Slim Shore, who you may recognise as the old Dutch Master, and Titan, who has played at Q-Base as DJ Pinas.

Slim Shore is slated to have a 3-tracker debut EP, featuring King of the Stage, Scars and Siren. Of the three tracks, only two have previews which are below, however all three sound quite dissonant and contain weird harmonics. A new musical direction for Henry? I hope so, because it sounds awesome.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Titan, basing purely on sound, sounds to me like a darker Zany alias. Having no prior productions, yet listening to the quality of his music – not to mention the fact it’s Fusion – leads me to believe he may have had quite a helping hand from head honcho, Zany and possibly the label’s musical magician, The Pitcher. Either way, Strength and Fury and Nightmare are both melodic and rough, a perfect combination.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Then we have two tried and tested artists, some of the biggest in the scene coming together to give us two – possibly three – predictably hard tracks. If you’ve listened to either a Zany or Noisecontrollers set in the past few months you’ve probably heard either Diffusion or Paranoid, and though they might not have been quite so memorable, they are quite so awesome.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We haven’t heard a whole lot from B-Front since Fusion signed him quite some time ago. Apparently working on a solo 4-tracker, he’s been busy at work with someone who has had quite a lot of attention since he arrived on the scene, Frontliner. Together they’ve come out with four pretty hard tracks to be split and released on both Fusion and Scantraxx.

The Fusion two contain Magic and Become The Sky, Magic being the rough standout and perfect combination of styles.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More and more previews keep coming, yet barely anything is released. Not only is there the above in the queue to be released, there’s also Zany & Dozer with Fruxaq and Huwex, Noisecontrollers & Toneshifterz with Empire of the Sun and Jaydee, Zany’s solo with Angel of the Sun & Purify Your Senses, Dozer’s solo with Robin’s Revenge and Elixer, some unofficially announced forthcoming Pitcher and no doubt some Donkey Rollers.

C’mon Fusion, pick up the pace, everyone wants your stuff!