**DISCLAIMER – All photos are by photographer Spencer Christopher for Hardcore Til I Die**

Hardcore Til I Die – In The Magaluf Sun (HTID ITMS) is the mecca for UK Hardcore (UKHC) music fans from around the globe. Ravers from as far away as Australia and the USA travel to the beach holiday resort Magaluf on the Spanish island of Mallorca to meet like-minded music lovers for five nights of UKHC parties. This is not a festival, it’s a summer holiday for ravers – it’s a “holirave!”

Although I now live in Australia (yep, lucky me!) I am a UK girl born and bred, so believe me when I say UK people take summer holidays very seriously. This long awaited and well-earned week in the sun had been on everyone’s mind for months now and when the UK ravers finally arrived in Magaluf the excitement was at fever pitch!

Monday: The Kick Off – Kandi Raver Party

I wake up and my eyes spring open – what time is it?! It’s 2.30AM, I’m at an airport hotel on the outskirts of London and I’ve woken up two hours early for my flight to Mallorca because I’m just so god damn excited!!

Fast forward about twelve hours and I’m finally checking into my hotel in Magaluf. HTID ITMS is a holiday, not a festival, so there’s no camping involved, meaning that everyone lives it up in luxurious hotels. My hotel backs right on to the beach and when I get up to my room and look out the window I notice that I’m right across the road from the HTID venues, what an absolute win!

Over the five nights, HTID will use three different club venues; Bananas and Carwash, which are sister clubs located right next door to each other, and Boomerangs which is just down the road. Did I mention that the ticket price includes alcoholic drinks? Yes, you read that correctly, no cash required at the bar, this event is all-inclusive, oh heck!

I stroll out of my hotel into the beautiful hot sunny afternoon and go to the meeting point to pick up my HITD wristband and the all-important lanyard with set times attached. Next stop – the first drinks of the holiday and catching up with friends down at Coco Bongos bar, the established pre-drinks venue for HTID ravers.

At Coco Bongos I am reminded of another wonderful fact about holidaying in this part of the world – the bar staff do not measure shots of alcohol. Free-pouring is the only way to go and those two Woo-Woo cocktails have literally got me feeling quite woozy! Time to go and eat a pizza then before tonight’s festivities.

I arrive at tonight’s venue, Bananas nightclub around midnight and the place is packed! I’m over the moon to find out that the all-inclusive bar even includes vodka and Red Bull, yes that’s real Red Bull not an imitation (I’m fussy about my energy drinks).

The first headliner on the bill tonight is leading UKHC artist Gammer. Gammer really is the mixing king of the UKHC scene and we’re so lucky in this venue tonight because the DJ booth is situated in the middle of the club, raised just above the dancefloor and ravers can stand alongside watching the DJ’s every move. I do spend half the set simply watching in amazement and fascination but I dash on to the dancefloor when he drops one of my current fave tunes, “Stay Young”.

MC’s also form an important part of UKHC event line ups and on the HTID ITMS set times list every DJ is accompanied by a different MC. Gammer’s MC for tonight is MC Enemy and it’s clear that Enemy also has his own fan base out on the dance-floor who all know his signature rhymes and lyrics.

Next up on the decks is Australian DJ Sc@r and it’s Aussie double-trouble tonight because Sc@r is performing with MC Riddle, Australia’s leading UKHC MC. Suddenly there’s Australian flags waving everywhere and Riddle holds the crowd captive with his non-stop rhymes while Sc@r mixes the latest tunes from her label Scarred Digital. Sc@r and Riddle’s brand new collab with Rob IYF, “World Shake,” gets a great reaction on the dance-floor, as does Aussie rave anthem “Rocket Science” by Havoc and Riddle.

I’m glad I’m keeping a close eye on goings-on in the DJ booth because Fracus & Darwin are scheduled to play next, but I can’t see them. Instead it looks like Kutski is getting ready to play – I hope his fans are all in the room! Kutski opens his set with the brilliant Kutski and Darren Styles remix of Sound Rush “Take Me Back.” I’m on the dancefloor for most of the set but back up next to the DJ booth in time to witness some of Kutski’s legendary scratching mid-way through the set before he pushes the music that little bit harder, exactly as you’d expect, building up to finish with The Viper and DJ Panic Hardcore remix of Major Lazer’s “Lean On.”

Turns out Fracus & Darwin have suffered flight delays and arrive in time to play the next set, smashing out a quality set of upfront UKHC tunes. Next up is AB, one of several freeform hardcore artists appearing this week. AB’s been releasing some amazing tunes this year on his Stamina Records label and it’s great to hear freeform out in a club. I’m busy socialising and getting stuck into that all-inclusive bar and next thing I know rising star Fallon is on the decks. Fallon is now fully representing his label Klubbed Up tonight as label head Klubfiller is sadly unable to make it out to Magaluf due to issues with his passport; fans are disappointed but I don’t think anyone is more gutted about this than Klubfiller himself.

I return to the dancefloor in time for Scottish legend Marc Smith’s set.  Always being on the harder side of the UKHC scene, with powerstomp and even gabber tunes to his name, Marc Smith is playing a wicked set but it has clearly been a long day for a lot of ravers, there are fewer bodies on the dancefloor and more sitting down in the corners of the club…I’m sorry to admit it but I’m also sitting down by 5.00AM.

Last set of the night is Andy Whitby, playing back-to-back with HTID boss man Ajay in Klubfiller’s absence. I make it through to 5.30am before I decide it’s time to call it a night; my feet are aching, I’ve been awake for 27 hours now and there’s still another four nights to go.

Tuesday: Old Skool ‘Til I Die – Foam Party

“You have a heart of gold, a precious jewel to which I was sold…” I’ve got the biggest smile on my face as I walk into the club because I can hear one of my all-time favourite hardcore tunes, Force & Styles “Heart Of Gold.” Maybe it’s a little too early in the evening for the big anthems like this to be getting a spin but then again this is an old-skool night so the usual rule book doesn’t really apply. Tonight is all about the memories.

Tonight is also all about the foam party and honestly I’m quite terrified! In all my years of visiting parties I’ve managed to avoid foam parties, however tonight I’ve been left with no choice. The foam party venue, Carwash, already has its own place in rave history after last year’s HTID ITMS when Gammer apparently had an exceptionally good night thanks to a drink served at this club known only to everyone as “the red drink.” Gammer enjoyed his night so much that he wrote a track inspired by the occasion and named the track “Red Drink Foam Party.”

DJ Twista is on the decks hosted by legendary rave MC Charlie B and those old favourite tunes just keep on coming. Someone had asked me earlier “how old do you think the music will actually be?” and I’m so glad I was right when I predicted that there would be lots of ‘90s music getting played.

Around 2:00AM, right in the middle of Billy Daniel Bunter’s set, without any warning, the foam starts! The venue has a sunken dance floor with the DJ booth hidden very high up in a corner looking down on the dancefloor; the bar is in an area enough steps up from the dancefloor that anyone standing in the bar area is safe from the foam but anyone on the dancefloor is definitely not safe. Within about a minute the foam fills the entire dancefloor area and is up to almost head height on some ravers. Another minute and the foam is over their heads and almost up to the ceiling. The ravers on the dancefloor are undeterred, they’re absolutely loving the foam and are jumping around dancing harder than ever.

I take the opportunity to wander outside for some fresh air and catch up with friends who had attended the HTID boat party earlier in the day. Originally HTID had scheduled two boat parties, one for Tuesday and one for Friday, but due to last minute changes by the boat operator ticket holders were advised early on Tuesday that there would now be four parties over four days on a smaller boat. HTID pulled together top-notch line ups for the extra days at very short notice and split ticket holders over the four days; while this did mean that some ravers would miss out on catching a favourite artist playing on the boat HTID did allow ticket swaps and offered refunds for anyone who no longer wanted to attend.

I tend to suffer quite badly from seasickness so I’d never planned to attend a boat party but I’m really pleased to hear that everyone who attended the Tuesday party had a great time – the sea was choppy and drinks were spilt but the tunes were banging, with Kutski and Sy both consistently being named as favourite sets of the afternoon.

Back in the club now and despite my best efforts to hide from it the foam is creeping up nearer to the bar now. Fortunately I’m wearing a sturdy pair of trainers chosen for some up-coming adventures to muddy festivals, so at least I know my shoes will survive! The beautiful classic old, old hardcore tunes continue thanks to Slipmatt and MC Charlie B, Vibes and MC Livelee; the floor is getting slippery everywhere from the foam but I’m still managing to dance. Down on the dancefloor there’s a hell of a lot of happy ravers still enjoying the bubble bath and foam is still flying around.

Final set tonight is Sy with MC Enemy, my UK friends tell me that Sy doesn’t play many gigs these days so his set is an absolute treat for everyone. Around 5.15am I’m thinking it might be safe to be on the dancefloor as the foam seems to be calming down so I’m on the steps leading down to the dancefloor then suddenly – woosh! – there’s a fuck load more foam everywhere and before I know I’m up to my knees in it!

After staying at the club ‘til the very very end, I stay out for a traditional ravers chill out and debrief down at the beach before going to grab some food and get some sleep.

Wednesday: Nu Skool Rulez – School Uniform Dress Up

Did I say I was going to get some sleep? A full morning of sleep only occurs in a hotel room when you remember to put up your “do not disturb” sign. What a terrible rookie mistake on my part. I wake up at 11.00am to the room attendant knocking, then calling out, then entering the room and proceeding to clean the room anyway despite clearly being able to see me hiding underneath the sheets.

I eventually get out of bed and decide to make the most of the day by spending some time on the beach and around the pool. My hotel backs right on to the beach so not much effort required here and by the end of the day I even have some tan marks to prove that I really did spend some time in the sun. I’m really very impressed with how lovely the beach is here and the view out across the sea from my hotel is stunning.

Around 6pm I’m still chillaxing by the pool when I see the next HTID boat party set sail. Another few hours and I’ll be back in the club for round three!

To be continued….