Many Australian hardstyle fans enviously admire the groundbreaking events that occur in The Netherlands, as the parties the scene gets to enjoy in Melbourne are few and far between. Our last big event was back in September, and since then we’ve waited patiently for the next adventure to land on our shores in December. The Dutch Q-Dance crew’s X-Qlusive brand launched itself in 2002 and since then, has been showcasing the world’s leading hardstyle producers in Holland. So when it was announced that one of the most talented and popular acts would be headlining the party in our city, the excitement and anticipation stirred within us and it was certainly justified, as it turned out to be a party that we’d never forget.

Showtek have been producing hardstyle for years with a clear, defined sound that appeals to fans around the world. Several of their tracks are official anthems for events like Defqon 1, Sensation Black and their own X-Qlusive party in Holland. On the 20th of December they brought their show to Sydney and Melbourne with their team of friends for a night of hard, banging music. For the first time in Melbourne, a hardstyle event was given a lighting and stage setup equivalent to a Dutch event. A huge, circular rig of colourful lights flashed beams around the room, and behind the barricaded stage were tall panels of light-walls that displayed text and animated visual designs. A silver X-Qlusive logo hung from the centre of the stage, and beneath it were the DJs and their gear. Festival Hall is the perfect venue for raves; it provides a huge, even floor for dancers, has ample seating around the floor, easy access to bars and restrooms and has acoustics that provide beautiful clear sound throughout the area.

Upon our arrival, Jowan and Dr Willis were playing some slow tech sounds that had its bass vibrating through the floor. It was a good introduction to the night, and it exposed the capability of the massive sound system. As Jowan and Dr Willis’s set wrapped up, the Organ Donors edged their way onto the decks. They played some nice tunes amongst a few cheesy remixes and bootlegs, however their transitions were noticeably untidy.

When the clock struck 7pm, the dancefloor filled instantly as we waited impatiently for Showtek to make their first appearance. The Organ Donors were playing overtime which annoyed several of the diehard fans at the front, but then finally, the room fell black and the infamous Q-dance narrator introduced the two men we’d been waiting for. Multicoloured lasers streamed bright lights through the arena, while the narrator introduced the party’s stars. A rock riff looped in the background and then suddenly, the charming MC DV8 leapt from the rear with an electric guitar to play the melody of Colours of the Harder Styles. By this point the crowd had grown riotous, as Showtek finally jumped up from beneath the decks as jets of blue and orange fire spat out from the front of the stage, and fireworks shot into the air as they opened with their track Brain Cracking. From that moment on, they kicked out ‘crowd-friendly’ tracks such as Lowriders’ Dont Get Back, Blademasterz’s One Blade, Technoboy’s Rage as well as Oh My God, and their own two bombs No Harder and Early Sounds. The duo of Walt and Duro showed off some tight mixing skills, and it was a promising start to their sets.

One of Showtek’s closest friends DJ Zany was up next to completely blow us away. Recently Zany released an album called The Fusion of Sound, and he featured several of its tracks within his exciting, tightly-woven set. Zany is a true entertainer behind the decks, and he delivered an hour of energetic hardstyle amongst a little bit of nu-style too. He cuts and layers the incoming tracks when he mixes, and does it with ease and awesome talent. He opened with his own tune Evolution which sounded delightfully hard over the speakers, and other highlights were the Noisecontrollers’ remix of Zany’s track Thugz, Zany & DV8’s Distorted which MC DV8 sung along to live, Jack Overdose’s Octavius Augustus and of course, the huge anthem Nothing Else Matters by Zany & DV8. The whole room sang along to the Metallica lyrics, and rocked out hard at the climax.

Due to play next was Walt with a quick solo set to exhibit his older style of high-quality hard trance, loved and appreciated by the thousands. Although his DJing style was quite reserved, it allowed him to mix his tracks seamlessly. He treated us to his own productions such as Silver Machine, Walt Street, Let the Music Play and he closed with his collaborative tracks with Pascal Feliz named Endless and Expansion. It was refreshing to hear hard trance again, and it was evident that my sentiments were shared by the majority of the crowd. After about half an hour, Duro came back on stage with Walt and increased the BPM by launching into their well-known track FTS. A sea of raised hands and fists pointed into the air as we screamed the lyrics to a brightly lit room. The punters within the venue shared a memorable moment of unity as they sung along to the song, only to rock out even harder than before when the bass roared again.

After Showtek was Dutch Master, who is a relatively new name in the hardstyle scene with a few popular tracks released on Dutch Master Works. Although we didn’t know much about him, after seeing him play at X-Qlusive we definitely left us wanting more. His set was impressive and fluidly mixed, and he mainly played his own tracks to an excellent crowd response. He opened with his collaborative track with Luna The Scene, which grabbed our attention immediately and from then on, we heard fantastic tracks like Showtek’s Black 08, Dutch Master’s own Get Up and Flashback, and the ‘love it or hate it’ track by Showtek Apologize (the One Republic song).

Next up, for the first time ever for Melbourne fans, they were going to be enjoying one of the best hardstyle acts in the world performing live. Walt and DJ Zany’s collaborative alias is the Southstylers, and since the beginning, their tracks have been close to hardstyle perfection with highly innovative, unique sounds combined with tough, nasty basslines and kicks. It was evident that the boys were extremely excited to play together for us, as they slammed out their track Crystal to open. Following this was E-town, one of their most recognised tunes, and after that we were spoilt with Nok doe douwn, Pwoap (Live Mix edit), Tripp, Decibel Anthem 06 and a super hard mix of Pounding Senses. At this point, the crowd looked utterly exhausted from dancing viciously to the intensely hard music, and the fact that the venue was very hot didn’t help either. The memorable performance was imprinted upon the fan’s minds and I personally, would’ve been quite content to leave the event then and there. Duro came back onstage to party with the boys as he and Walt played their specially made anthem for their Aussie tour, named Down Under.

MC DV8 grabbed the mic to announce the next big act to play, which was the DonkeyTek show. After the radiant excellence of the Southstylers, it would be hard to match however, we were quickly proven wrong with Jowan, Zany, Walt, Duro and DV8 all on stage having the times of their lives whilst mixing and mashing all of their tunes together in a blend of aural flawlessness. Initially they smashed out their own productions such as No One Can Stop Us (Showtek Remix), the Donkey Rollers’ Silver Bullet and the Fusion of Sound to name a few. We’ve heard many mashups in the past and often they don’t blend well with each other, failing because the chords don’t match or the vocals don’t suit. But the DonkeyTek boys really hit the nail on the head with the best selection of tracks, resulting in some of the most remarkable edits I’ve ever heard. First of all was the Zany triple-treat mash which was done with Pure, Cocaine and Pullover, and another was Showtek’s Colours of the Harder styles mashed with Hardstyle Rockers by the Donkey Rollers. Between this was the Donkey Rollers’ track Voice of Conscience which floored us all with devastatingly hard kicks. Another mash was Showtek’s Puta Madre layered with the Donkey Rollers’ Kick that Beast, which was good for a laugh. After this was a journey into even harder music thanks to tracks like Seid Ihr Bereid, Immeasurably, LPMSJNK and a ridiculously tough edit of Wilde Guille Bas. The drenched crowd reeled from what had just occurred when suddenly, they busted out their cheesy, fun edit of Shout Out named It’s The Santa.

The room blackened again as we were informed that the night was over, and the people begged and screamed for an encore. Hope was almost lost when they cheekily appeared back onto the stage before bowing out for the final time. How would Showtek conclude this epic night of harder music? Only with a megamix, of course! Walt and Duro smiled gleefully as they played for one last time with an audio-montage of their other tunes, finally bowing out just before 1am.

X-Qlusive’s debut in Melbourne was a blazing success, which I believe exceeded any other that we’ve experienced before. Everything was conducted with the utmost professionalism, whether it was the stage rig, to the sets, to the friendly security and the venue facilities. There would be nothing more we could ask for in a hardstyle event, as we were given the opportunity to enjoy a party that was of the Dutch standards. Congratulations to the organisers for putting on such a perfect show, we all anticipate the next event that is yet to come!