I grew into the scene in 2007/2008’ish, so basically into a new movement of Hardstyle, which would pave the way for everything we call Hardstyle today. Y’know “Rock Civilzation”, “Pure”,… – That was my jam. Now all those tracks have somewhat of a nostalgic feeling to them. Remembering hour-long car drives to clubs way out from where I lived, sometimes with people I barely knew – just for the sake of Hardstyle. What a great time we had, and how much has changed since then! Time to “Remember”!

I was hyped for this party. Really hyped. Just the thought of hearing all my favorites from back then in a bigger venue got me excited and I could already feel the sentimentality and nostalgia days and days before the actual event. I knew Tilburg, but I’ve never been in the 013 so far, so I was up for a surprise. Today, I was gonna be there with my best friend. As we got ready for the party we were already listening to these old tracks, exchanging stories. “Do you remember when that guy played that track and this and this happened..?” Do you people remember when Defqon.1 was still in Almere? When Decibel didn’t sell out that fast? When InQontrol still existed? I felt a bit old, it felt like last week to me. So let’s take a trip down the memory lane and experience “Remember”…!

We arrived at the beginning of Luna’s set. The venue was perfect for a pop concert in my opinion, but not so much for a dance event. The small dance floor in the front was packed and dancing on the stairs was a certain risk when you had the one or other beer already. The stage was small, but really nice! The light show was really cool, even though there were no lasers, but the strobes were a bit much for me. You could buy tokens at machines, which was absolutely awesome & the drinks were well priced too! Also the lockers were just 2€ which was amazingly cheap, considering the prices you’d usually see at events! We grabbed some beers and first enjoyed the view at the top of the event hall.

Playing tracks like “Angel” and “Subsonic” Luna delivered a set worth remembering. The crowd (not just now but throughout the entire night) was just breathtaking, so many sing-a-long moments, so many memories, so much emotion! I really felt like I was “back in the days” again! Finishing off with “Infinity” Luna’s set was one banger after another and just a tastemaker of what was still expecting us this night.

I switched from beer to red wine (which was good for the price, not too sweet) and we took the stairs down to the dance floor to check out Davide Sonar. Davide’s playlist was a bit more of a Hardstyle connoisseur’s and his mixing was hands-down amazing. I absolutely lost it when he played “Natural” but then I was a bit disappointed that he didn’t play “Y.R.M.L”, but all the nostalgia I felt, all the fun I had and all the dancing I did truly made up for it.

D-Block and S-Te-Fan tore the fucking roof off. There is no other way to describe it. If you open a set with “Music Made Addict”, the expectations are high, but kicking out one well-known classic after another, the guys just nailed it. Their set was my personal highlight of the evening, it was perfect. From “Keep It Coming” to “Kingdom Come” and so, so many other good tracks the boys just delivered nostalgia in perfection.

“Remember”? Josh & Wesz are a no-brainer when you’re organizing an event like this. From “Autumn Green” to other classics like “A Complex Situation”, “Venom” or “Sutra” and “Rock Civilization” (OMG YAAAAASSSSS!!!!1!11!) their set was filled with tracks that would just take you back. Those Kickrolls, ‘Hardkick10’ & ReFx Vanguard Presets – man, how did we forget about these tracks so quickly? The guys just kicked ass and were even so nice to give us an interview, which will be online soon!

After interviewing the guys backstage we left shortly a bit before Tatanka stopped playing. Next to old tracks (that reverse bass!) the Italian master also played some of his recent repertoire including “Africa”. Italian awesomeness at it’s fucking finest, it was pure bliss. We decided to call it a night and headed home.

Conclusion: I absolutely adore nowadays Hardstyle, but hearing the tracks again which brought me into the scene, all these songs that got me hooked was just amazing. I will definitely spend some time at “Oldschool” stages on the next festivals, as there should be quite some. ‘b2s presents Remeber” was just off the hook and definitely one to remember and be remembered.

Picture Credit: b2s