Bossest B*tches In the Harder Styles – Our Leading Ladies
You don’t need testosterone to make music or rock a crowd…

Written By: (Yes, a girl) Cassi Catsaros.

Back during the conception and baby-steps of the harder styles, the music evidently was more reminiscent towards those of the male species. To dumb that down a little, raves in the old days were what some may call a ‘sausage fest.’ Being a naturally rougher sound that may go hand-in-hand with raging levels of testosterone, this direct correspondence can be one possible explanation for nerdy males who spent their teenage years locked away in their bedroom studios working on perfecting their kick. Societies unwritten rules have previously stated that there are many jobs out there in which the criteria is testosterone and being a DJ or producer has traditionally (pre-circa 2010) been one of them.

But wait! What about us ladies out there?

In the booming rise of the harder styles, events were no longer sausage fests and those not-so-fainthearted women began living their passions, attending events and out-partying the boys… (Who said that estrogen is useless?)
In terms of a career in music, from the earlier days there were a small amount of ladies pursuing their musical dreams, but recently there have been more and more female DJ’s and producers who have been grabbing hold of their passion and living their dream, regardless that they have a pair of tits.

With all due respect to the sausages and testosterone in the harder styles of dance music, it’s time to take a minute of reflection and appreciation for the lovely ladies who are successfully making their mark in the scene. Spreading their love for the harder styles, these girls can do it just as good (and hard) as the boys and if not, they can do it better!

So, in no particular order let us introduce to you…

1. DJ Stephanie:

Being a glamorous and notorious lover of all things pink, Stefania Alessi or better known as the talented Italian beauty DJ Stephanie has been representing the XX chromosome in hardstyle since her ripe teenage years. Following in the footsteps of her father who was a DJ and event manager, she discovered and learned the art of mixing. Stefania began her career not only as a techno DJ but also as a vocalist in which she came in contact with hardstyle during her work in Italian clubs and with colleagues.

Her career in hardstyle kicked off in 2006 when she began working in the studio and visiting several gigs in Europe with renowned hardstyle pioneer Activator. Soon after that, she released “Black High Heels” in 2009 on BLQ records and since then, this charming Italian has been unstoppable as she pumped out more killer releases such as “The Power Of Love,” “Groovin To The Beat” and “Karma’s A Bitch.” Stephanie also keeps her fans entertained with her monthly podcast “Stephanie’s Pink Beats.”

As well as her successful release agenda, Stephanie is quite the inspirational lady in terms of her hectic touring schedule that has seen her capturing international crowds in The Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Australia, Germany and Chile. To add to her international status, she has performed at some of the most anticipated parties such as Qlimax, Defqon.1, (Australia and The Netherlands) Decibel Outdoor, Q-Base, Reverze, The Qontinent, The Sound of Q-Dance and Electric Love Festival.

This Italian charmer knows music and mixing like the back of her hand and knows the ropes of fashion better than any of the boys in the scene!

2. Lady Dana:

You may recognise this lovely lady from Thunderdome videos from the ripe old-school years of the 1990’s or you may even recognise this lovely lady from her recent appearance at X-Qlusive legends. Regardless, Lady Dana is the original pioneering lady of hard dance music. Born in the heart of hard dance music, Dana van Dreven, AKA Lady Dana is the Dutch queen of not only hardstyle, but also gabber.

With a huge fan-base of longstanding and die-hard fans of hard dance music, Lady Dana has gained a huge level of respect with all of her achievements within her musical career. However, unfortunately in recent years, Dana has been suffering from various health issues which have seen her taking a break and only performing at very few parties, however all of her achievements are noted and celebrated by her fans.

We can celebrate Dana’s achievements by recapping just a few of the biggest parties that she has performed at in the past such as Masters Of Hardcore, Defqon.1, Thunderdome, Decibel and recently at X-Qlusive Legends where she was greeted by a warm and welcoming crowd.

We wish Lady Dana all the best with her health and recovery and hope to catch her performing in the future!

3. Miss K8:

Kateryna Kremko or better known as Miss K8 is the ultimate dream girl in the world of hard dance music. This stunning Ukranian representative of Masters Of Hardcore has been making waves with her hardcore sound since her first release in 2012 “Divide & Conquer EP” alongside Angerfist.

Growing up with a passion for hard EDM, Kateryna instantly knew what she wanted to for her career when she saw DJ’s performing in nightclubs of her home city, Kiev. As her interest grew towards the more energetic and rough side of hard dance music, so did her interest for performing on stage. Her skill was discovered by local DJ’s in Kiev and soon enough, she began to spread the noise in small underground nightclubs.
As Miss K8 evolved into an artist, she wanted to contribute to the hardcore scene of her home country and organise the first hardcore event in Ukraine which saw Kateryna getting in contact with Masters Of Hardcore and Most Wanted DJ who were blown away by her immense skills on the decks, knowledge of hardcore and of course, her breathtaking beauty. They couldn’t help but take Miss K8 into the MOH family and her wildest dreams soon came reality.

Performing at the most exquisite parties in the hardcore scene such as Masters Of Hardcore, Dominator, Syndicate, Defqon.1 and will be joining Angerfist on his upcoming The Deadfaced Dimension tour that will take this hardcore goddess all around the world!

4. Deetox:

This next female boss is none other than the gorgeous Dutch blonde, Diana Zwerwer or better known as Theracords superstar Deetox. Although she’s quite the looker, don’t be fooled – she goes harder and rougher than the boys and is notorious for her signature tough sound!

Beginning her career in hardstyle in 2010, Deetox has gone from strength to strength in the matter of a few short years! Being applauded for working hard in the studio to create her tracks, the hard work has paid off for Deetox as she has already gained such a huge international fan-base who love not only her, but her music too.

Being the queen of raw hardstyle, Deetox has celebrated some killer releases such as “Here I Come,” “Street Movement,” and “Do Or Die” with Theracords buddy Delete. Performing at large scale events such as Defqon.1, Q-Base, Decibel, Loudness and most recently X-Qlusive Frontliner, it is no doubt that our queen of rawstyle has an absolutely huge year ahead in 2015!

Her impressive productions in combination with energetic persona on the stage, it is no wonder why this rough n’ raw queen is on her way to the top!

5. Korsakoff:

It’s time to get a little harder they said… So what better way to crank it up than with signature hardcore diva Korsakoff!

Other than her male fans wanting to marry her and her female fans (me inclusive) willing to turn for her, there is much more than meets the eye with this beautiful blonde. When first laying eyes on Lindsay van der Eng, AKA Korsakoff, one may think that her music is softer than her male colleagues, but oh how misguided you are – this glamorous lady packs a punch in both her tracks and her performances!

With her first ever release, “Separated World” in 2001, she drew the ears within the music industry and from that day on, there was no turning back for Lindsay as she worked her way up to gain a worldwide fan-base and have an impressive array of releases, including five albums “Audioholic” (2005), “The Sound Of” (2006), “Unrivalled” (2008), “Pink Noise” (2010) and “Stiletto” (2012). Performing at the biggest of the biggest hardcore parties such as Masters Of Hardcore, Dominator, Project Hardcore, Hemkade, Syndicate and Defqon.1 (The Netherlands and Australia), Korsakoff is in high demand with her schedule jam-packed week after week!

Powerful, unique, energetic and bold, it is no wonder that Korsakoff has gained such a high level of recognition from the public and within the music industry for a countless amount of years and guess what? 2015 is holding much more for this hardcore boss b*tch!

6. Lady Faith:

Outside of the European circle of hardstyle lies a khani-loving “queen bitch” who goes by the name of Lady Faith. Beginning her career in 2007, Faith Leedman has worked her way up to be one of the most respected artists within not only the American hard dance scene but from an international perspective too.

Staying true to spreading the hardstyle sound amongst the American scene, Lady Faith has brought her top-notch mixing skills and loyal love for her fans to some of the biggest events within the US. Headlining alongside international pioneers such as Angerfist, Headhunterz, DJ Isaac, Dash Berlin, Noisecontrollers and The Pitcher, it is no doubt that Lady Faith has earned a high status within the hardstyle community.

Coming from a Persian background, she likes to combine Middle-Eastern sounds with powerful kicks within her tracks such as “Donyaye Man,” “Moxie,” “Queen Bitch,” “Carmen” and her collaboration with The Pitcher, “Fame.”
We definitely have a lot of “faith” in this unique diva to give justice to the harder styles within the USA.

7. DaY-Mar:

Dagmar Otto, or better known as notorious tough girl DJ DaY-Mar has mastered the ropes of dark and hard music that has an edgy and industrial edge. After being discovered by an agent from Masters Of Hardcore, DaY-Mar’s career has skyrocketed to a booming success which sees her performing in front of thousands of die-hard fans week after week.

Being the token and tatted up ‘bad-girl’ of all things hardcore, DaY-Mar is the full package. Her tough persona combined with a unique musical vision and driving performances is what has placed this edgy lady up high in everyone’s books. Her underground and abstract hardcore sound has allowed her to break free and place her music in its own category so if you like it different then you will love DaY-Mar!

Already ambitiously releasing two albums throughout her career (Black Widow & United States Of DaY-Mar) which had a huge success, DaY-Mar can additionally celebrate an array of solo releases such as “Unite” with Drokz and “Feel Terror Cloud Your Senses.”

Along with her hardcore alias, Dagmar has also recently launched her brand new ‘rawstyle’ alias DJ Khaleesi which has quite a promising future!

8. AniMe:

Our next boss female is another Italian stunner who hails from the hardcore scene. Barbara Palermo or better known as AniMe is one of the biggest names within the hardcore scene. AniMe is one of the most important forefront artists from Traxtorm Records, representing the red, green and white of hardcore (Italy) with one powerful punch.

Having pursued a musical career from a young age, Barbara kicked things off in 2000 when she became part of D-Boy Black Label in which she produced industrial and darkcore. Her rising popularity in Italy followed by the rest of Europe boomed in 2007 when she became a part of Traxtorm Records and released her first EP on label “Detonate” in 2010.
Coming from a background of producing industrial and darkcore, AniMe folds these and other styles of dance music into her hardcore sound which served as an inspiration for many hardcore producers and DJ’s. Collaborating with some of the most renowned hardcore artists such as DJ Mad Dog and Advanced Dealer.

Her success within the hardcore scene has seen this charismatic beauty sharing her charm with international crowds such as in Australia, The Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Germany, Scotland and Chile.

AniMe just goes to show that female artists can still pack a punch!

Sausages, step aside! These leading ladies within the harder styles are doing their XX chromosomes proud and are a force to be reckoned with! We hope to see more upcoming boss bitches in the future spreading the sweet sounds of the harder styles, so keep at it ladies and fuck society’s rules!