Okay, so Technoboy’s We Need Protection didn’t exactly take the right path when it comes to sampling older, more popular songs, but it’s only one track right? I mean, every artist has to release something bad at some point, they can’t just be a dream machine of amazing tracks, it’s just not possible. So let’s just hope this was a misstep by Cristiano and not something that will infect his other tracks.

Hot on the heels of his pitiful nostalgia trip, Technoboy decided to take things in a more modern direction with Catfight. It ends in the same way as We Need Protection, except this time it’s not sad but absolutely hilarious.

If you couldn’t gather it from the above paragraphs, Catfight is bad. Awful. Horrid. Atrocious. Wretched. Offensive. Heinous. I can safely say that I have not heard a professionally produced track worse than this in 2010. The melody and kick are among the worst in hardstyle; there is a goddamn CDJ spin sound (yes, the same one you’ll hear at the end of a large number of sets) at the end of the first climax, and there’s a horrendously incongruous piano during the second climax. But it’s not even those elements that make it so bad. It’s the lyrics. They are easily the most cringe-worthy lyrics that have ever existed in a track throughout musical history – and I’m only being slightly hyperbolic. Take a look at this excerpt (taken from lololyrics.com):

‘Cause I’m out working all day from 9 till 6
Stressed out by my bosses, arrogant pricks
When I get through the door I just wanna chill out
Roll up a joint, yeah that’s what it’s about
But the bitch upstairs has the music full blast
My blood pressure’s raising really fast
Every fucking night with the same fucking tune
All I fucking hear is her “boom boom boom”
[...]
Hey I’m the girl from the second floor
- Holy shit, what the fuck is going on?!
- Cool it lady, what the hell is wrong?
You’re driving me crazy with that fucking CD
- Hey bitch, don’t raise your voice at me
This constant noise has got to stop now
- Oh yeah? Says who? You stuck up cow
Who’re you calling a cow? You psycho bitch
- Just get off my case you hysterical witch
Show some fucking respect, I just wanna chill
- Well, get yourself some earmuffs and take a pill

Imagine this with some godawful Lento Violento (or Undersound as Mr. Giusberti likes to call it) in the background, and an atrocious female vocalist doing a forced accent that I can’t even pinpoint to a particular region in the world. Is she British, trying to do a bad American accent, or vice versa? Or am I completely wrong and is it Shayla in disguise? Who knows.

As mentioned earlier, Catfight has one of the cheesiest, hands-up melodies I’ve heard this year. Contained in some amazingly high pitch with some reverb that does it no justice, the melody doesn’t really fit the ‘aggressive’ vocals. It overpowers the bass and highlights some dreadful pitched kicks, while they’re not abhorrent, they transform this track into a complete farce.

For all the slagging off that I’m doing about Catfight, it’s actually one of the funniest ‘hardstyle’ tracks that I’ve heard. All the elements of this track form something I just can’t take seriously. From the obnoxious ‘hardcore’ that you can hear before the vocals kick, which sounds like a mixture of what the mainstream media thinks video games and EDM sound like, to the ill-fitting piano that plays along with the climax; everything is too funny to the point where I’ll just listen to it for a laugh every now and then.

This track just doesn’t make sense; why was it produced? What was Cristiano thinking when he thought of the concept for this track? Heck, why hasn’t this woman just talked to her landlord and complained about the noise? There’s probably an easier way to solve the problem rather than bitching about it in a song. Why Cristiano thought that this would be acceptable for release, I don’t know. I don’t want to know. All I fucking hear is that “boom boom boom”, and it’s not a pleasant feeling.

Score: 14/100, purely because of the comedic value it can bring.

Discuss Technoboy – Catfight on the forums.

Out now on Titanic Records (TTC063), purchase at junodownload.

A1 Technoboy – Catfight (Original Mix)
B1 Technoboy – Catfight (Radio Edit)

This was a guest post by Orbi. If you’d like to review a release, let us know!

With Titanic 061 done and dusted, the prestigious SAIFAM group seem to be covering all their bases, delivering quality tracks that appeal to a very broad range to people. With three releases left to review, let’s hope that the main man of the label can continue to carry the torch through his next two single-track releases.

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about Cristiano Giusberti from reading his various forms of communication with the pubic, it’s that he loves his 80s music. From the one hit wonder of Katrina and the Waves’ Walking on Sunshine to the absolute insanity of glam rock band Sigue Sigue Sputnik, this Italian man can draw his fair share of influences from the memory banks.  Enough so, that he’d make a track that samples a very large portion of Picnic at the Whitehouse – We Need Protection.

As you could probably assume, Technoboy’s We Need Protection borrows a large amount from the 1986 pop song. With approximately a third of the six minute fifty length directly ripped from the source material, We Need Protection relies heavily on some basic sing-a-long vocals with a very slow tempo beat. Once the track stops moonlighting as a pop song, it finds its way into an uninspired melody and climax with weak kicks and bass, before falling into the realm of bad hairstyles and hilarious music videos. It then escapes back into the modern era, melody completely unchanged for a second climax and then concludes with one of the most basic outros I have ever heard, with nothing of note at all to be found there.

We Need Protection is just not a good hardstyle track. When I have an urge to just stand and ironically sing along with painful dramatics (a la Bleeding For The Harder Styles), you know you’ve taken a misstep somewhere. It’s out of place anywhere you put it, except maybe possibly the start of a set, as it just kills any momentum. Maybe Giusberti just got too attached to being faithful to the 80s with this track that he forgot that dance music is meant to – you know – make you dance.

Of course, it wouldn’t be SAIFAM without some extra mixes on top, right? The Cut mix just simply removes approximately 30 seconds from first two minute break and changes the outro to be pretty much the same as the intro. While the track is also 30 seconds shorter than the original mix, the difference is so negligible I never noticed a difference between the two versions until I listened to it a number of times looking for a difference for this review. The radio version is much shorter, clocking in at under three minutes. It contains just the first break and climax, so it’s really not worth listening to.

However, Technoboy has been kind enough to include We Need A Dub. Sadly, the name of this track is too close to the truth; this track is in dire need of a dub, removing the godawful vocals in favour of another element. This was used to great effect in Technoboy – Into Deep’s dub, making it a great track that helped pave the way for more melodic hardstyle, eventually leading up to the controversial nustyle sub-genre.

We Need A Dub improves upon the original We Need Protection slightly, but nowhere enough to make it a decent track. Removing the lengthy samples, they’re replaced with a sound that sounds like it was ripped straight out of his Qlimax 2008 anthem, Next Dimensional World. The saw can get pretty grating though, and really isn’t a suitable replacement for Picnic at the Whitehouse’s We Need Protection vocals (as much as it pains me to say so). The result is something that’s just totally uninteresting and bland, and doesn’t contain anything unique inside.

One small thing I do like about this track, is that the intro (and outro in the Cut mix) is very similar to the DJ Gius (who happened to be Cristiano before the Technoboy alias) remix of Zombie Nation’s Kernkraft 400, right down to the cowbell and drum pattern. It’s a cool little reference to the Italian’s past works, and while many may not notice it, it adds some sort of minor auditory pleasure to the otherwise dull track.

We Need Protection is a train wreck through time that just cannot be salvaged, no matter how hard Technoboy tries with the various cuts, edits and dubs that he throws at it. It’s a real shame that such a nostalgia trip ends up falling flat on its face, alas this is the business of hardstyle. If you try something far out from left-field, you really need to put your all into it (or nothing and see if it catches if you’re that type of person) or else you’re going to get burned. And that’s exactly what happened to one of the great godfathers of hardstyle.

Score: 39/100

Discuss Technoboy – We Need Protection on the forums.

Out now on Titanic Records (TTC062), purchase at junodownload.

A1 Technoboy – We Need Protection (Original Mix)
A2 Technoboy – We Need A Dub
B1 Technoboy – We Need Protection (Cut Mix)
B2 Technoboy – We Need Protection (Radio Edit)

This was a guest post by Orbi. If you’d like to review a release, let us know!

Titanic Records are one of the most revered and respected labels in the hardstyle genre, known for being the home of a great number of classic tracks from the talented minds at the SAIFAM group. Now, they’ve churned out four releases in October after staying silent for a number of months, and it’s time to see whether this latest batch of productions can live up to the huge weight of expectations placed upon them.

These four releases encompass SAIFAM’s three biggest names: Technoboy, Tuneboy and TNT (which is just simply Technoboy and Tuneboy collaborating). These are two personalities that have been around the block in regards to production, and what they bring to the table in these tracks can vary from truly disappointing to surprisingly superb. Some may say that the SAIFAM group, owners of Titanic, are back to their old glory, while others will be doomsayers for their failure in the light of ‘commercialisation’. What view you take depends on which tracks you look at.

All that aside, let’s start with Titanic’s 61st release:

TNT – Yeah! and Pulsation really don’t feel like TNT tracks. Instead, they just simply sound like Tuneboy solo productions. Although Giusberti will have participated in the creation of these tracks as he does for almost every SAIFAM production, the use of elements from a previous Tuneboy release (Tunebeat / Ombrello Maledetto) in Yeah! give the impression that Giusberti didn’t have as much input as he probably should have for a collaboration.

Of course, that’s not a bad thing. Yeah! is a very decent track that uses reverb-laden lead and drum patterns, reminiscent of Tunebeat and Ombrello Maledetto respectively, to great effect. It’s very melodic but TNT’s crunchy kick and bass soon springs into action, keeping the track in check. The vocals are absurd, talking about how people are born with special gifts or powers and how some have the ability to make music from a single sound. It works well coming into the climax though, with the titular “Oh yeah, like this!” serving to get the crowd pumped up. Speaking of the climax, the Italian duo add a “second sound” to the mix during the break. This unique melody could be considered cheesy, but like the rest of the track, a healthy dose of distortion on the bass really helps rein it in to make a track that is simply fascinating to listen to all the way through.

Yeah! / Pulsation also comes with an Old School mix of Yeah! where the change is the addition of reverse bass to the kick instead of the usual crunch, with parts of the track changing to fit it. It’s not a bad choice by any means and will be welcomed by the older SAIFAM fans, but the implementation isn’t as good as it could have been. When the bass comes in during the mid-intro, it cuts very suddenly to the reverse bass without any other sounds supporting it, so it sounds very sparse. While that does emphasize the bass, it just feels lazy. The climax hasn’t been changed as well, and you can barely hear the reverse bass during it, which doesn’t sound nearly as good as the original mix.

Now, I may be misinterpreting the intentions of the producers, but this Old School mix seems like a way to say “Hey! We still make stuff that you like, come and listen to this!” to those who’ve moved away from hardstyle over the past few years but it’s hard to tell whether it’s an honest plea or not. I honestly don’t know. The pessimist in me wants to say that they’re just doing it to recapture an older, more active demographic, while the optimist is just rejoicing the fact that they’re acknowledging that there are now multiple types of hardstyle and accommodating for both.

Pulsation, the second track of two on this release, continues on with the style of bass found in Yeah!, but sharp synths and a female vocalist talking about the “ultimate seduction” give it a different feel. It’s not dark, but definitely heavier than the ‘A-Side’. There’s no melody per se, but it doesn’t need one, with the sounds keeping the listener’s attention through the length of the track. There’s nothing that really manages to make Pulsation memorable, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s just a plain decent track.

Yeah! / Pulsation is just one of those releases that offers something for everyone, from those jaded ex-hardstyle followers to those that enjoy their melodic, trance-esque, cheesy ‘nustyle’. That’s a good thing to see SAIFAM attempting, as hardstyle is a genre that seems to be going in only one direction, with only a limited amount of producers trying to swim against the tide. Neither track will become a classic, but for the time being they’re a great change of pace.

Score: 84/100

Discuss TNT – Yeah! / Pulsation on the forums.

Out now on Titanic Records (TTC061), purchase at junodownload.

A1 TNT – Yeah! (Original Mix)
A2 TNT – Yeah! (Old School Mix)
B1 TNT – Pulsation (Original Mix)

This was a guest post by Orbi. If you’d like to review a release, let us know!

Unfortunately, due to whatever reason, Headhunterz’ set was not recorded.

These livesets are courtesy of our friends at Hardtraxx.nl.

Dr. Willis

01. Deadmau5 – Brasil 2nd Edit
02. David Forbes – Moniter
03. Parallel Fusion – Neverend (Valentino Kanzyani Remix)
04. Dr Willis – Spice (DJ Wag Remix)
05. Gordon Cuts – Offbeat
06. JOC – Marshmellow
07. Southsoniks – Transformer (Reaky Remix)
08. Gleave – Late Night Thing (Dr. Willis Remix)
09. Mark Sherry & James Allan vs Dr. Willis – Sectioned
10. Fred Baker & Greg Nash – Black Ninja
11. Mr Sam vs T99 – Anastashia
12. Joe-e – ReVamp

Download Dr. Willis liveset from X-Qlusive Technoboy

Stephanie

01. Mauro Picotto – Komodo
02. Mauro Picotto – Lizard
03. Mauro Picotto – Iguana
04. DJ Tiësto – Lethal Industry (Svenson & Gielen Remix Remix)
05. ID
06. Mauro Picotto – Proximus
07. DJ Isaac – Nobody Likes The Records That You Play
08. ID
09. DJ Scot Project – O (Overdrive)
10. DJ Scot Project – F (Future Is Now!)
11. Cosmic Gate – Fire Wire (DJ Scot Project Remix)
12. Hennes & Cold – The Second Trip (DJ Scot Project Remix)
13. Derb – Derb

Download Stephanie liveset from X-Qlusive Technoboy

Technoboy – Part 1

01. TNT – Double Dutch Darkies
02. Citizen – If I Say Stop (Original Mix)
03. Max Enforcer & Hardstyle Masterz – Rambo is a Pussy
04. KGBs – Channel KGBs
05. Bass Modulators – NRGizer
06. TBY – Put some Grace
07. Star Creatorz – Killzone (Hunter Remix)
08. Phil Ty – A Kay A
09. Ivan Carsten – Amazing Combination (Technoboy Remix)
10. Technoboy feat Shayla – Oh my God
11. Prophet & Wildstylez – Cold Rokking (Gostosa Remix)
12. Technoboy & Ruffian – The Undersound

Download Technoboy Part 1 liveset from X-Qlusive Technoboy

TnT

01. Tuneboy – Sexbusters (Scope DJ Remix)
02. A-lusion – Drummer Beat
03. Speedwave – Mescal
04. The Raiders – Miss Kidman On A Cruise
05. Tatanka Project – Floor Massacre
06. Technoboy – Warmachine
07. Dark Oscillators – Ethereal Sound Machine (TnT remix)
08. Tuneboy – Housensation
09. The KGB’s – Infinity
10. Tatanka – Let’s rock
11. Tuneboy – I Will Grow

Download TnT liveset from X-Qlusive Technoboy

Hardstyle Masterz Live

01. Hardstyle Masterz – Junior (Edit)
02. Dark Oscillators – Trapped (Scantinato Mix)
03. Zappaman – Sexual Healing (Back In The Days Edit)
04. Max Enforcer – Loudness (Hardstyle Masterz Remix)
05. Hardstyle Masterz feat. Max Enforcer – Light Of The Dark
06. Tuneboy – Just A Detail (2009 Mix)
07. Hardstyle Masterz feat. Max Enforcer – The Stage Is Our Home (Original Mix)
08. The Hose – My Little Stalker (Hardstyle Masterz 2009 Remix)
09. Hardstyle Masterz – Age Of Reverse Bass (Edit)
10. Hardstyle Masterz feat. Max Enforcer – Respect

Download Hardstyle Masterz Live from X-Qlusive Technoboy

Technoboy vs. Isaac

01. TBY – Next Dimensional World
02. DJ Isaac – Backstage
03. Klone – Dragons Liar (Builder RMX)
04. Zany – Thugz (Noisecontrollers RMX)
05. Phil Ty – Miami Belch
06. D-Block & S-Te-Fan – Together
07. Tatanka & J. Hiroshy – Showtime (Tatanka RMX)
08. DJ Isaac – Impressed
09. DBSTF vs. Isaac – Music is why
10. Zany – Maximum Force
11. Endymion & Viper – How Long (Isaac RMX)

Download Technoboy vs. Isaac from X-Qlusive Technoboy

Technoboy vs. Stephanie

01. DJ Stephanie – Black High Heels
02. Ezteq – Fuck you up!
03. Crypsis feat Sasha F. – Get Hit
04. Ivan Carsten – You tryin to play me?
05. Headhunterz – Subsonic
06. DJ Stephanie – Underneath
07. Showtek – World is mine
08. Technoboy – Rage
09. Dark Ocillators – Superstar DJ
10. Project One – Life beyond Earth
11. Technoboy – Ti Sento
12. Builder – Her Voice

Download Technoboy vs. Stephanie from X-Qlusive Technoboy

Technoboy – Part 2

01. Showtek – Electronic-Stereophonic
02. Tuneboy – Re-Generate-it
03. D-Block & S-Te-Fan – Letz Dance
04. Gostosa – Sutra

Download Technoboy Part 2 from X-Qlusive Technoboy

There aren’t really any surprises here, except Isaac vs. Technoboy that is a lot later than you’d imagine, but all that means is that it’ll be harder music with scratching and perfect mixing!

9 – 10:30: Dr. Willis
10:30 – 12: Stephanie
12 – 1: Technoboy
1 – 2: Technoboy vs Tuneboy (TNT)
2 – 3: Technoboy v.s. Headhunterz
3- 3:30: Hardstyle Masterz (LIVE)
3:30 – 4: Technoboy
4 – 5: Technoboy v.s Isaac
5 – 6: Technoboy

See you on Saturday, look out for me in the orange hat!

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.

It goes through the thought process of Technbooy’s artist selection for his edition of X-Qlusive, his opinion of internet critics and what we can expect from him in Australia. He’s actually quite honest in his responses, which is great to see from one of the top names in the scene.

Looking at your new website I must say you are even busier than I already expected! Is this just an ordinary year in the life of Technoboy or is everything coming together after 10 years in the business?

Well… the past 10 years have been hectic all the time. That is one of the concerns I had before we started with the 10 Years of Technoboy project; can a summary of so many experiences do any justice to what I have actually done? For example: the ‘best-off’ album was just 34 tracks; I produced over 500 so it was very hard to pick the right ones. But with my X-Qlusive show in Holland earlier this year, I learned that sometimes one big climax is the best way to remember it all and leave people longing for what is yet to come. It was a perfect blend of past, present and future in just nine hours and had one clear message; the first 10 years were fantastic and the next decade will be too.

What do you think will be different with the Australian edition of X-Qlusive Technoboy?

Frankly I do not think there will be a big difference, especially music wise. I have always been one of the most internationally oriented artists in the harder styles and my music fits Australia as much as any other continent. I have just slightly different track lists when I perform there, mainly playing some hits that have been requested a lot. The show will of course be awesome again and the rest of the line-up will feature artists that I truly believe in and that will be able to represent my music from every angle. But I do not feel the need to do a different performance; Australia has always been ready for me.

Can you explain the line-up you chose for the event?

Headhunterz: apart from leading a new revolution of producers I admire this guy for his guts. And that’s serious; he has G.U.T.S. doing everything he feels he should be doing. He doesn’t care about the risks and just does what he wants to do. His style is energetic and powerful; gutsy move in an age where everybody just makes harder music to please the Internet critics. And the way he makes music is also the way he performs on stage. I hate it when an artist doesn’t move and that’s something you wouldn’t need to be afraid of with Headhunterz.

Stephanie: lot’s of female dj’s are just acts created by a team of producers while Stephanie is probably a better dj than all of us together. The chick has some serious skills; chooses records like they are nail polish and moves like nothing you have seen before. The girl is on top of the dj booth before you can say her name (which gives her some sort of a head start) and damn she is beautiful! But be careful; she does live p to her motto ‘Pink hard’, those black high heels are made for killing!

Tuneboy: what’s there to explain?

Isaac: we have a lot in common. Both of us have been trying to break new grounds and contributed a lot to the birth and revolution of hardstyle. And we travel the world like we are Jules Verne. The guy will be on an US tour just prior to landing in Oz and I can’t even guess where he will be flying next. We could play poker with our frequent flyer cards.

Hardstyle Masterz: when Antonio decided he wanted to perform a live act he went to prepare in the studio for months. And that’s exactly what makes my studio homey so special; if you ever hear a sound or kick from him that is not perfect I would certainly recommend a hearing aid.

Ruffian: my music speaks a language, and there is just one man who can translate that into a feeling everyone can understand. We have been on the biggest stages together and it wouldn’t be the same without him.  And apart from being professional he is funny as hell; better let him do all the other interviews, as you would be laughing your ass off! No but seriously; this scene starts and ends with him.

Do you listen a lot to requests and the opinion of people on Internet?

For me there is one opinion that counts; the reaction of the crowd. After every event, performance or release there are a lot of people that make comments, but in comparison this is always a minority of people. When a stadium filled with people is completely going to the roof on a record I don’t care what a few people say afterwards, let’s not forget how we do this for eventually. For me it is really important to perform everywhere in the world to see this reaction with my own eyes; you have to be a DJ in order to produce the right records.

German superstars Scooter just stole your complete album to make theirs; are you angry?

Who me? I gave a short statement on my website, I believe that ‘covers’ this issue. I get mad when people say I stole the ideas from my tracks from other artists! There is a really big difference between just sampling another track and rewriting a fantastic verse or idea to fit your specific style. I have used any form of music with respect to the original artist and I had every vocal sample rerecorded to be as I would like to have it. Don’t know a lot of artists who have been to that kind of trouble and that wanted that level of perfection. And sure; you will recognize some music, well that music took me three times as long as it needed to make the original, believe me on that!

What is your honest opinion about the Australian people? Are we cool?

Australian people have their own style, which is why you invented the laidback beach culture for instance. Same goes for the people that live in the Outback; they are copied everywhere! Any country that is such a huge export of lifestyles has cool people. And you know what you want to have from other countries; that is why it is great to get so many requests from you guys.

What do you think about Defqon.1 Festival in Australia?

I have to admit, I respect Q-dance’s choice a lot; instead of just exporting all their events to Australia they are really picky about what to do and where. I know they have been searching a lot for the best venues to make sure the whole picture was right. It is the same in Holland and Europe; I have never been to a Q-dance event that didn’t feel completely right in every detail.

Are you happy?

Good question. The life of an artist can be lonely; I certainly had my share of that. But yes, I am a happy man and not just because I have the best job in the world. I have had the chance to tell the world what I thought about music while I encounter so many people who did not have the same opportunity. I live from one height to another and it is important to enjoy the moments in between as well.

What will you not be doing in Australia?

Cultural things … I would like to but I am an Italian; as soon as I see shops I am done, can’t help it! Anyway, every time I ask people, they say I have to hug a koala, jump from a plane, eat sushi or climb the Harbor Bridge. Believe me; as soon as I jump from the plane I will probably discover I have brought a koala instead of a parachute, choke on my sushi and hit that bridge headfirst.

You have the name to be arrogant and it is rumoured you are a great cook. Is there anything else we need to know about you?

No, being arrogant in the kitchen is everything there is to know about me. You say one word about my pasta and you can be assured you end up in one of my coming tracks. I had an argument two months ago with Brad Pitt and George Clooney about the right type of blender and they are still apologizing and hoping I will never release Channel KGB’s. I did however but let’s keep them thinking they are save.

But yes, I love to cook and there are a lot of similarities with producing music; the right track can be made with just a few ingredients and these have to be of the highest quality. I have always spent a lot of attention to every sample, bassline or melody and I hope people can taste that. It is hard work and fortunately there are a lot of people that take the time to listen to it closely. And about me being arrogant; I hear this so often that it might be true, yes. Just imagine flying every weekend and giving everything you have on stage. When I wouldn’t be exhausted it wouldn’t feel right. So when I am done with a performance and there is not a lot of time for signatures just remember you and everybody else already got the best of me, every single second of the ride.

• Technoboy
• Headhunterz
• Isaac
• TNT
• Hardstyle Masterz
• Stephanie

MC Ruffian

Sourced from: http://www.q-dance.com.au/xqlusive_technoboy/

I was lucky enough to experience my first taste of Defqon.1 last saturday, in our glorious brown land that an increasing number of hard dance enthusiasts call home, Australia. At first the idea of a large scale hard dance festival, something almost unheard of in Australia, worried me. However, after Q-Dance’s efforts on Saturday, I can safely affirm that it’s execution was nothing short of flawless.

The effort put into the production was mind-blowing, from the immense – albeit reused – stages, loud, crystal clear sound, vast array of lasers, strobes and lights, to the huge pyrotechnics display in the final minutes of the day, were pulled off with absolute perfection. Coupled with an efficient bar system, a large – yet friendly – police presence, friendly and enthusiastic crowd, perfect weather and perfectly timed transport to and from the amazing venue meant that it was almost impossible to complain about anything other than the music. But even then, Defqon.1 had you covered, with the choice of five musically differing stages, each of which featuring world-class DJs from various locations around the world.

If you’re interested in reading a more in-depth review, take a look at loopi’s Defqon.1 impressions on inthemix.com.au.
For some great quality photos, mosey on over to Q-Dance’s photo gallery of the day.
Also, our mates at Fusion have uploaded a few videos of them doing their thing at Defqon, from Zany crowd surfing on an inflatable boat during Donkey Rollers, to the climactic, firework filled finale, which was truly a monumental moment for the entire crowd.

Walking out from Defqon, we were graced by a large projector confirming what we’d already been expecting for some time, X-Qlusive Technoboy.

Lineup is entirely speculation at this point, but from what we’ve been told by ‘someone in-the-know’, it’s not going to be the most obvious suspects. One would assume that joining Technoboy would be his technically-skilled production partner, Antonio Dona, aka Tuneboy. Doing this would enable the third act, Hardstyle Masterz, which seems a logical move. However, Antonio apparently has some apprehension towards flying, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

The event is being held toward the end of December, so there’s plenty of time for guessing, but on the 19th of October, the lineup will be announced and ticket sales will begin.