Hardcore Life: 10 Things We Learnt at HTID In The Sun 2017!

Our UK Hardcore summer holiday is over for another year, here’s a few important things we’ve learnt from this year’s experience!

 

1 – Callum Higby is a name you need to know

Callum Higby, 21 year old UK Hardcore production and mixing genius who loves a glass of prosecco. He’s terribly polite but you can just tell he’s got a naughty streak to him. If you happen to see Callum around, you could ask him why he’s now known as Camel Feather on Twitter.

But seriously, the name Callum Higby quite simply means ‘talent’ – keep a close eye on this young man and check out his amazing HTID In The Sun set online here.

 

2 – Surprise back-to-back sets are always awesome

Especially when that surprise back-to-back is Hixxy and Kutski, on the last night of the party, complete with a bit of an epic scratch battle!

 

3 – Boat parties are a wonderful thing for many people…

This year’s HTID In The Sun boat party sold out in a flash and was a major highlight of the week for the vast majority of those who attended! A perfect sunny day, another all-inclusive bar and even the opportunity to jump off the boat for a dip in the sea.

Seasickness however can get to the best of us, and sometimes at the most inconvenient of times; like for one particular DJ (who I have decided not to name!) who was suffering so badly on the boat that he ended up unable to play his set! Fortunately, a quick DJ swap was undertaken and he then played an awesome set at the club that night instead.

 

4 – Darren Styles is still everyone’s absolute favourite

No matter how many times you’ve seen Darren Styles play, the ‘Styles factor’ still wows every single person who comes into contact with him. Behind the decks, constantly dancing around as he mixes, he still looks like the happiest man alive; on the dancefloor, ravers flock to see him every single time.

DJ Ravine summed this up perfectly when he caught a cheeky photo opportunity with Styles, captioning his photo, “Hugging Darren Styles is one of the best feelings on Earth.”

 

5 – In another lifetime, or another country, Da Tweekaz would probably have been UK Hardcore artists

At the time of catching up with Da Tweekaz at HTID, they had plans well underway for their Tweekacore set at Defqon.1, complete with a brand new Darren Styles collaboration which you may or may not have spotted in Darren’s set on Thursday night at HTID!

As the boys talked about the momentous occasion of Darren Styles performing alongside them at Defqon.1 and where this might lead for UK Hardcore in the Netherlands, Marcus gave a confident prediction that “a movement is coming”. Now that we’ve actually witnessed that amazing Tweekacore ft. Darren Styles set, I think it’s safe to say that tens of thousands of fans are in agreement!

 

6 – Sometimes, DJs can surprise you in the very best ways

On Thursday night, DBSTF were playing at the foam party and I really didn’t know how this was going to work out – I’ve always considered DBSTF to be Very Serious Hardstyle People and I just didn’t know how they would handle a crowd of dedicated UK Hardcore ravers in the midst of peak time foam party madness.

As it turns out, the boys knew exactly what to do and in one of the best surprises of the week it was an hour of ‘happy hardstyle’ all the way.

 

7 – Everyone parties hard, but the show will always go on!

Magaluf is one of the most notorious summer party resorts in the whole of Europe, so many artists take the chance to get a few drinks in! Da Tweekaz even arrived a night early to fully experience the party before their set the next day. In the club I remember seeing Hixxy buying a vodka jelly syringe shot but instead of having it himself, turning round and feeding it straight to Scott Brown! I can’t remember if this was before or after Scott Brown started to wrap Da Tweekaz up with a roll of paper towel, while they were still mixing…

Going back in time a little to an HTID In The Sun of a few years ago, MOB told me that he had a bit of a heavy-handed incident with a new style of mixer at one particular party and when the mixer was replaced, the new mixer had a problem with the headphone connector. Faced with a choice between letting fans down or completing his set without headphones, MOB chose to go ahead without headphones and the resulting set went down a treat!

 

8 – Everyone in the UK has a soft spot for Hardcore

Sitting around my hotel pool during the week I got chatting to some guys from the UK who were amazed and impressed to hear the line up for HTID, while they claimed to have ‘not been to anything like that for years’, by the end of our conversation they were seriously planning to come down to the club that night!

 

9 – Dedicated UK Hardcore ravers can be found all over the world

So many beautiful kandi ravers from the USA visit HTID every year, as do a dedicated crew from Russia who even make gifts for their overseas friends – thank you guys! Ravers from Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Canada and of course those with the longest journey of all, the Australians also make the trip every year.

I met two guys this year who stood out from the crowd thanks to their jackets from Dominator and Pussy Lounge festivals respectively – they told me they were from Austria and they confirmed their dedication to UK Hardcore which was amazing to hear – but, guys, I did forget to ask why you were wearing jackets in a club, in the middle of a hot summer night?

10 – HSU have won the hearts of the UK raver family

It’s easy for me to say that HSU have done a fantastic job with their first HTID event, but what truly matters is what the UK ravers think. The joy of the internet is that honest opinions will always be heard – and the feedback from those who attended has been overwhelmingly positive, with many ravers going out of their way to thank the crew, which is amazing to see!

Where to next for HTID? We can’t wait to find out!