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

Wednesday: Nu Skool Rulez – School Uniform Dress Up

Tonight we are back at Bananas, which will turn out to be my favourite venue for the week, and I make sure to arrive at the club bang on opening time at 11:00PM to catch the first set, Greg Peaks and Rik Arkitech who play a brilliant freeform hardcore set to kick off the night. Following hot on their heels are Jekyll and Clarkey, two UK artists most definitely standing up as part of the nu-skool hardcore revolution currently sweeping the UK and who were so enthusiastic about HTID ITMS that they wrote a new track “Mallorca” in honour of the event. Jekyll and Clarkey have the dancefloor well and truly packed and jumping.

I look around and notice that not many ravers have actually got into the school uniform dress up theme for the night, which I think is a bit of a shame (and not just because I’m looking for justification for the fact that I’m wearing a shirt and tie in a nightclub). It’s really only the Aussies, the USA crew and a handful of others who have got into the idea – it’s really quite an easy dress up theme, I would’ve liked to see all the DJs and MCs in costume too!

At 1.00AM Gammer steps up to the decks; having played on the extra boat party today, this is now his third set of the week so he pulls out a surprise for us – after just one track Gammer is joined by his long-time collaborator Dougal and suddenly tonight’s set is a fantastic Dougal and Gammer set.

Next up is Ajay, who brings a set of big nu skool tunes including “Be Alone” by Mark Breeze and “Speak English” by Mob and Enemy. The refrain line “Do you speak English?” in that tune is really quite relevant to this holiday. You see, us Brits are shamefully bad at learning other languages; we honestly do learn languages at school, however every word seems to float right out of our brains the minute we leave the exam room. As a result, there’s an established method of communication for Brits visiting popular Spanish tourist destinations such as Magaluf, it goes like this: Big smile – “Hola!” – continue big smile – complete request/transaction in English – big smile – “Gracias!” – and one last big smile. Dear Spanish people, I’m really sorry, we really do love your country very very much and we probably should try harder.

The big news tonight, of course, is that Darren Styles is here! Having arrived in the club an hour or so before his set Styles has been absolutely charming as pretty much every raver in the place has popped by to get a photo taken with him. As Styles takes to the decks it’s clear that everyone in this scene from seasoned ravers to wide eyed first timers absolutely worships this guy. Last time I saw Styles play was at a huge stadium at Midnight Mafia in Sydney, so it’s amazing now to be standing right next to the DJ booth as he kicks off his set. Styles’ set tonight is packed full of fan-favourites from his extensive back catalogue, including “Pretty Green Eyes”, “24/7” and “Flashlight.”

After Styles blows everybody away I do need to take some time to sit down and compose myself, so I head outside for some fresh air and drunk conversations. I wander back in just after 4.00AM not being sure quite who would be playing and – woah! – it’s gabber time! Now we can see who’s truly hardcore on this dancefloor he he! The DJ is Big Worm, from the north of England, and he’s smashing out a mad set, the only gabber set on the line up this week.

Of course, this being a UKHC event, the gabber isn’t to everyone’s taste but the dancefloor soon fills up again for the next DJ, Alex Prospect. An absolute professional, Prospect has made his indelible mark on the scene with his debut album “Dedicated” and this week in Magaluf has launched his own “Dedicated” clothing range. The “Dedicated” snapbacks are the must-have accessory for party people to be wearing in Magaluf this week. I should also add, the “Dedicated” clothing range is now available for worldwide purchase at www.primateclothing.co.uk. Prospect’s set is packed with tunes from the album but he finishes with a brand new track, “My House”, a collaboration with Hartshorn (USA) and MC Riddle (AU) who are both in the club to catch the amazing reaction the track received from the dancefloor.

Last but most definitely not least tonight is Outforce, who will end up being one of my favourite DJs of the week. Performing with Outforce is the legendary MC Storm, who definitely has his own huge fan base – the second he jumps on the mic the population of the dancefloor seems to double. Storm’s stage presence is almost too much for the narrow stage area here in Banana’s nightclub; Storm and Outforce between them are generating so much energy it’s impossible to believe this can be the last hour of the night.

Unbelievably, to everyone’s shock and horror, a power cord gets pulled somewhere at 5.53AM! Everyone and everything stops… We assume the power is going to start up again, but no, the venue’s management are signalling that it’s the end of the night… We’ve only lost seven minutes, but we’ll never know what could have happened in that time!

Thursday – HTID Kontrast – UV Paint Party

Good grief, another first-time experience for me tonight, my first UV paint party! I’ve no idea what sort of mess to expect so I’ll be wearing an old pair of trainers that I’m willing to sacrifice, an old white top and a delightful pair of bought-just-to-ruin black shorts with “Magaluf” written on the backside in bright pink fluro letters.

This afternoon there’s a pre-party down at Coco Bongos, with the England vs Wales football game on big screens and then some music courtesy of some of the HTID Bootcamp winners. I take a passing interest in football during big tournaments and I drag my Australian friend Anna down to watch the game with me. I’m pretty sure she’ll be bored to pieces but she’s actually really getting into it; maybe that’s just the help of the overly strong cocktails we’re drinking. Unbelievably enough, England end up winning and the place erupts into celebrations! I think there may have been a few Welsh fans in the venue too, but I’m guessing they left quickly and quietly. (Yes, I know England later dropped out of Euro 2016 in shameful fashion but on that one day in Magaluf, we were celebrating).

I really want to stay at the pre-party to check out the HTID Bootcamp winner DJs but I had another short sleep this morning, this time getting woken up by a mosquito biting me, so I’m reluctantly heading back to my room for a nap.

I could’ve slept another couple of hours but having already missed the pre-party DJs there’s no way I want to miss anything else. USA DJs Hartshorn and Waffle are opening the club tonight and have hinted online that they have a big surprise for everyone. I’m super intrigued and I’m in the club soon as the doors open to see what they have in store. There’s a familiar voice on the mic but there’s not much light on the MC, the focus is firmly on the DJs. Hartshorn and Waffle smash out an energetic opening set and I realise what the surprise is – the MC for their set is none other than the godfather of hardcore MCs, MC Whizzkid! What an honour for the USA boys.

We’re back at Carwash tonight, same venue as Tuesday’s foam party and obviously the go-to venue for any kind of messy party. I take a moment to stand at the bar and read the big ass disclaimer/warning poster about the UV paint. Now I’m really scared!

Tonight is HTID Kontrast, an event concept incorporating all harder styles. I’m back on the dancefloor in time for the first slight variation of the night, DJ Thumpa, the undisputed leader of the freeform hardcore movement in the UK. Thumpa’s brand of freeform is heavily influenced by uplifting trance melodies and seriously, I could dance to this stuff all night.

After Thumpa’s freeform set it’s back to upfront UKHC from Jakka B and Macks Wolf, who keep the dancefloor jumping with a top quality set almost entirely made up of their own productions.

It’s around this time that I realise it’s Thursday night and really my last night to go hard, I can’t on Friday night because I’ve got a flight on Saturday morning. This is my last chance to be running round Magaluf completely turnt/lord/wankered/cunted (or whatever your local word for “drunk” is), I’m gonna hit that all-inclusive bar for all it’s worth!

The next set I’m back on the dancefloor for is Juice and Frisky who are laying down some pumping hard dance anthems. By this time there’s bucket loads of UV paint being tipped over the ravers, but although there are UV lights in the ceiling which are making white clothes and hats glow, the light just doesn’t seem to be having much effect on the paint. Everyone on the dancefloor is now covered in wet paint and, just like the foam on Tuesday, they are absolutely loving it!

Juice and Frisky move things a touch harder, from hard trance into hardstyle. The paint guns are out now and there’s paint flying everywhere! Alex Kidd takes over mixing duties and launches straight into hardstyle. I stay up on the raised up area near the bar and dance madly; I love hardstyle every bit as much as I love UKHC so tonight’s range of music styles suits me perfectly. Alex Kidd moves into gabber for his last few tracks and by the time he’s finished those brave enough to still be on the dancefloor are hot, sweaty and slipping all over the very wet floor, head to toe covered in paint.

The DJ booth at Carwash is stuck right up in a corner high above the dancefloor; this is necessary given that foam and paint get sprayed around in the club pretty much every night, but it’s a shame because the size and location of the booth stifles the usual stage presence of artists like Alex Kidd and the next DJ, Mark EG.

Mark EG is really struggling to deal with the size of the DJ booth, he’s like a caged animal in there trying to get out. He’s climbing all over the edge of the booth, I’d almost say hanging precariously off the side of it, posing for photos. Having not seen Mark EG play for a number of years I’m not sure what to expect from his set but I soon find out – he’s playing dark, dirty, acidy hard trance and it’s fucking amazing.

After Mark EG it’s time for some fresh air and another few drinks before the final set of the night, Breeze and MC Storm. Storm has every bit as much energy as he did for closing set last night, he literally summons the crowd to him and ravers suddenly appear from every corner of the club. Breeze plays a mix of upfront Together We Rise (TWR) releases interweaved with some updated versions of UKHC classics and finishing with “Feelin’ Fine”.

Not sure if my head will be feeling fine in the morning as I definitely succeeded in my drinking mission tonight and I’m feeling a tad fragile by the time Anna and I stumble out of the club only to find ourselves face to face with the biggest damn seagulls we have ever seen, hacking away at a burger and chips they’ve stolen from some raver who was probably scared shitless. Seriously, these creatures have been genetically modified or something, I’ve never seen a seagull that big, ever.  Also, my left arm is covered in orange paint, which suddenly looks very bright in the morning sunshine.

Thursday night really did seem to be the night that everyone finally lost the plot. Imagine Jakka B’s surprise when he returned to his hotel room and found Thumpa fast asleep in his bed. Apparently, Thumpa had completely forgotten he had a room of his own and had convinced hotel reception that he was in fact Jakka and had obtained a key to Jakka’s room! I should probably point out that the artists involved in this story are friends, if you try a stunt like this on someone who is not your actual in-real-life friend, criminal charges may follow shortly after.

Friday – Day Of The Dead (yep, we all feel a bit like that by now..)

After a half decent amount of sleep and a bit of time lazing around the hotel pool, I’m determined to catch some of the HTID Bootcamp DJs at the second official pre-party at Coco Bongos. I walk down to the party and arrive about 7.15PM. None of my friends are there yet but that doesn’t deter me, I feel like it’s my duty as a journalist to check out as much music as I can on this holiday.

There’s a football game on the big screen in the courtyard so the doors to the bar inside are closed. I’m disappointed to see only a handful of ravers inside while Instigate is playing an awesome set; a mix of his own tunes, including the wonderful “Under The Sun”, and some great edits of some UKHC classics. I can even hear a bit of freeform sneaking in there. I sit down on a bar stool, beer in hand. Another couple of minutes and I might jump up and dance.

Suddenly, I sense a bloke standing next to me, even without making eye contact his mere presence has got my weirdo-meter ringing off the scale. He’s definitely not a raver. I firmly look away and hope he disappears but instead he leans in closer and says “Excuse me, do you work here?” and I know very well that he’s asking to buy more than another drink!

OMFG!! So this is what I get for sitting at a bar on my own! I’d like to point out, dear reader, that I’m wearing a skirt of respectable length, a Defqon.1 t-shirt and Air Max trainers; I’m not sure which part of this outfit screams “prostitute” because by Magaluf standards I’m basically wearing a nun’s habit. Needless to say I reply with a very loud “No!” and a look of pure evil, slam my beer down on the bar and get out of there at the speed of lightening.

Moving swiftly onwards then to the Friday night main event and for the last night we’re at Boomerangs nightclub. Lots of people have got into tonight’s theme, Day of the Dead, and Vibrant Agency boss lady April Taylor is on face painting duties in the club lobby.

My highlight for the night, in fact one of my highlights for the week, is Mizel & Wilson’s set. Since signing to TWR earlier this year, this talented duo have been hard at work in the studio and their first TWR release, “The Blackout EP”, is out at the beginning of July. Mizel & Wilson clearly have a lot of fans on the dancefloor because their own tracks, which are fairly new to me, are treated as old favourites by the crowd.

Next up, and a little earlier than scheduled, is familiar favourite Scott Brown, who keeps the dancefloor full with a set of new and classic music from his ever-growing Evolution Records catalogue. After his set, as always, Scott Brown hangs out chatting to ravers and I think he’s asking for just as many selfies as his fans are.

I’m off outside taking a last chance to catch up with UK and USA friends for the next hour or so and I’m back inside in time for Mob, Kurt and MC Enemy. I have to say, this set is really a Mob and Enemy show as they give us a live taste of the energy from their Album Sessions mix CD series, with familiar tracks like “Iron Heart” rocking the dancefloor. A surprising crowd pleaser during the set is Mob’s unofficial remix of Adele’s “Hello” – whether you love that vocal or hate it, you can’t deny that it’s popular!

As Mob and Kurt play their last track I can see someone standing at the end of the stage, back turned to the crowd, downing a Red Bull and trying really hard to stand still. It’s MC Storm, I saw him do this the other night so this must be his set piece; he appears on stage but won’t turn around to face the crowd until the previous MC’s set has come to an end.

Who is MC Storm performing with? There’s no mistaking that chant from the crowd – “Joey, Joey, Joey fucking Riot!”. It’s time to get our powerstomp on. My friend Anna has been dancing up on a podium to the side of the dancefloor most of the night, now I’m leaping up there to join her. I must be officially drunk now – what was that about catching a flight tomorrow morning? From up on this podium we’ve got the best view of MC Storm as he keeps the crowd captivated.

Roll on another hour and I’m dancing next to my friend Elizabeth at the end of Dougal’s set. Almost straight after his set Dougal walks over to congratulate us on our podium dancing. Ah fuck, apparently I’m still on this podium. Elizabeth’s definitely dancing but I might just be staggering around a bit awkwardly trying to Snapchat stuff. Hmm.

Outforce is up next and the dancefloor is going crazier than ever. The MC announces that Outforce is getting his nipples out, right okay then. A while later I’m on the packed dancefloor and find that Outforce isn’t even wearing a shirt now at all it’s just wrapped round his neck.

Outforce stays on for the closing set, playing back-to-back with HTID boss Ajay. Just as I thought the music tonight couldn’t get any better, they drop one of my long-time favourite tunes, N-Trance “Set You Free”. This tune has been around for as long as I’ve been raving and it almost gets me quite emotional. A rave anthem for every generation indeed.

All too soon MC Whizzkid says it’s time for the last track, and before we know it, it’s all over. Whizzkid is making his closing speech, thanking ravers for travelling from all around the world to the event and reminding us to look after each other and get home safe.

Thank you HTID – this has been one crazy, wonderful week that I will never ever forget.

I hope everyone enjoyed their HTID ITMS “holirave” as much as I did! Tell us about your favourite moments in the comments section below!