Oriental, authentic & multi-climactic – This was Masters of Hardcore!

Time: 11:00AM

Location: Bathroom floor – Cassi’s residence in Zaandam

Feeling: a mixture of sheer confusion, a hammering headache and primarily, the imminent hangover from hell

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Flinging both legs over the edge of the bath, I felt my back caress the plane surface of the cool tiles as I stared up at the ceiling, attempting to regain some sense of sanity. There’s just something so comforting about lying on the bathroom floor; maybe it’s the general feeling that cool tiles and water provide, but I often find myself seeking sanctuary in this obscure place after a heavy night… Moments later, I pulled myself together, stood up slowly and stood in the shower until my hands shrivelled up like dehydrated grapes…

Jumping into bed at 11:15 felt strange to say the least, but not as strange as the train ride home, which I shared with normal, productive people travelling to Amsterdam for a pleasant day out. I could feel their judgemental stares burn holes into my soul – but I didn’t care, simply because I had the best fucking birthday ever.

I turned 23 on Friday the 24th of March. As soon as I woke up, my mother rang me on FaceTime; mind you, she was drinking straight Ouzo (strong, Greek liquor) on my behalf and getting all sentimental about the hours after she gave birth to me, as well as my majestic years as a chubby infant. My mum regaled me with tales about the doctors having to induce my birth because I didn’t want to leave the womb; to be honest I can see why – the womb is, at times, a lot more pleasant than the real world.

Anyway, she then asked me how I felt and I said “I feel nothing but pure excitement for Masters of Hardcore.” Her face turned to sheer worry as she gave me a very stern warning to behave myself and drink responsibly…

Sorry mum – I went to Masters of Hardcore and I partied like any birthday girl would.

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Despite being quite a devoted Hardcore fan, this was the first time I’d ever step foot into the world of Masters of Hardcore. This strong movement, represented by the vicious horned skull, was something so intriguing to me and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to comprehend the concept from second-hand tales alone.

Upon arriving at the colossal Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, I took a moment to soak in the excitement radiating from each and every visitor. I saw some ravers lining up for tokens, some were rapidly shoving their belongings into lockers before heading to their chosen stage and I even spotted some cheeky visitors trying to slyly drop a pill without the security guard noticing. That classic ‘room-scan’ the drug-takers do before eating a pill in public is simply so mesmerising…

After a minor wristband dilemma, myself and my lovely friend Myron made our way to the relations deck at the mainstage so I could say a quick hello to people. After drinking a glass of white wine that literally tasted like somebody had ejaculated in the grapes (haha) I was more than ready to take on the world – so where did I go? Oh, I went straight to the ‘French Connection’ stage, aka, the place where I’d bizarrely twerk out at half time to 200BPM Frenchcore. As I’d been in Australia for the past six months (aka, a country with absolutely no Frenchcore) I was especially excited to experience the overall ambience in the Frenchcore area, and of course, sets from the brilliant artists programmed on this stage.

Shortly after making a quick appearance at this stage, Myron and I made our way to the mainstage to meet up with the rest of his crew. By this stage, Korsakoff and Tha Playah were tearing apart the colossal area and I knew that from here on, things were only going to escalate…

Known for throwing one hell of a production, event heavyweights Art of Dance really go above and beyond to ensure that each and every visitor is left in complete awe. From merely walking through the different stages, I was already impressed by the stunning stage designs, which were all in line with ‘The Skull Dynasty’ theme. The mainstage was decorated with large Japanese signs, the iconic MOH figure and little oriental-styled houses. All of these components erupted in perfect unison when the mind-blowing production kicked into full-force. I won’t bore you with miniscule details about every single decoration, but what I will say is that Art of Dance really hit the nail on the head when it came to providing their visitors with an exotic, parallel world. They created a sanctuary where ravers could leave their troubles behind in the mundane, ‘real’ world…

By the time 1:30 rolled around, I grabbed Myron and we relocated from the mainstage to the ‘Samuraw’ stage. Making my way to the bar where I’d meet my friends, I tried my best to avoid the numerous rapidly swinging arms that were kickrolling to the savage beats of raw Hardstyle. Ecstatic to be reunited with my friends, we immediately jumped into the crowd and enjoyed the fast-paced, exciting live-set by the awesome foursome Minus Militia. New recruit MC Nolz was all dressed up in the Militant uniform, however I just couldn’t stop staring at his beard – it was epic.

After Minus Militia, we headed back to the mainstage for one of the night’s biggest highlights – Outblast’s final set. After seventeen successful years in the game, it was an emotional experience for the thousands of Hardcore-heads who were fare welling this game-changing legend. There are simply no words to describe how special this farewell was; it was a humble, beautiful goodbye for those lucky enough to witness it.

Prior to the night, I didn’t particularly create a tight schedule filled with acts that I wanted to see – as I typically get drunk and just end up floating around with my friends. However, if there was one solid, non-negotiable block in my night, it was between 5:00 and 5:30 where I’d witness Fant4stik’s magic for the very first time. Since August 2016, I’ve been utterly infatuated with Hard Tek. This bizarre genre has taken up quite some surface area in my heart and I feel such a strong bond with every aspect of it. Friends of mine have even gone as far as saying that this spicy genre is literally my entire personality translated into sound. And I totally agree. Hard Tek is chaotic, entertaining, light-hearted, fast and effective.

I dragged along all of my friends to watch the last fifteen minutes of The Sickest Squad, followed by Fant4stik. Knowing my strange taste in Uptempo music, they were sceptical to say the least, but as soon as the first Hard Tek beats dropped, they too seemed to be enjoying this breath of fresh air. Unlike Uptempo Hardcore, or even Frenchcore, Hard Tek has a lighter and bouncier sound – thus making it the perfect music to have a cheeky half-time twerk to. This was my fucking moment and for those thirty glorious minutes I danced wilder than Miley Cyrus on LSD and eagerly sung along to all of my favourite tracks. Dear Fant4stik, you guys KICKED ASS and I hope to see you performing again at a Hardcore event!

Another must-watch performance for me was Sefa. This lil’ beb is only sixteen years old and he is absolutely killing it! By this stage of the early morning, I was in my prime state of turntness, so sadly I couldn’t remember exactly what he played – all I know is that it was fucking good and I enjoyed his set to the absolute max!

I even managed to go on a little solo walk-about, where I found myself back at the mainstage catching a bit of Furyan’s album showcase. By this stage, the production had certainly reached its summit, as fireworks, lasers and everything in between mesmerised the visitors of the area. I was speechless; it had been a long time since I’d experienced an event of such intensity and not to mention, this was possibly the wildest birthday ever.

As the night continued, I, shamelessly, got more turnt and celebrated the final hours of this astounding event. I knew that Masters of Hardcore was going to be amazing, but I don’t think I’d grasped just how amazing it would be. Regardless of where I am or who I’m with, I can always have a great time when there’s Hardcore around, however I truly felt as though MOH wasn’t just any party – it was an enthralling, multi-sensory experience…

Let me just wrap this little recount up with a huge shout-out to Art of Dance for this incredible edition of Masters of Hardcore! This event definitely exceeded my expectations and was the perfect closing to the indoor season. And of course, props to all of the performing artists and devoted party-people who created an exceptionally cohesive vibe.

Oh, and finally, next year’s MOH date has been announced and it’s on no less than the greatest day of the year – the 24th of March, aka my birthday! BRING IT ON.