The Hidden Gems In Hardstyle (2012-2015)

A tribute to those deserving tracks that never hit it big.

“Within a vast goldmine, you will find the same rubble and stone over and over again. After rummaging through piles of nothingness, you will gaze across something extremely valuable. A hidden gem…”

As a genre, hardstyle has been exploding with popularity and dedication to all corners of the globe. From the motherland of The Netherlands to the shores of Australia and the exotic countries of South America, spreading the love has undoubtedly been a positive step. However with this booming growth of hardstyle, it comes with furthering the victory of already hugely popular tracks and artists. It’s certainly fine to celebrate what’s hot at this moment, but why don’t we explore a little further?

What about those tiny speckles of gold? What about those hidden gems?

It’s time to dig them up, we say!

Today we are here to give ya’ll the rundown on some amazing creativity that unfortunately never hit a ‘commercial success’ in the public eye as we explore some hidden gems from 2012 to 2015 and give some insight on why the tracks never made it to the mainstage.

As well as our extensive knowledge of hardstyle, to help compile this list, we took a look at the Hardstyle 2000 list which contains publically voted tracks from the very conception of hardstyle up until the end of 2014. We also utilised Hardstyle.com which gives us the tracks from the end of 2014 right to this current day! In this article, we will give some scoop on our favourite gems in alphabetical order from A-L, then in our next article, we will go from M-Z.

So, sit back and immerse yourselves in the hidden gems that hardstyle has to offer…

1. Abandoned – Dillytek
Such a heartwarming track which had quite it’s playing time in Australia, however never really made its way overseas…

2. Aevus – Arkaine
Where did Arkaine even go?…

3. AHA – Geck-o
If we could put Geck-o’s entire discography on here then oh, oh, oh, we would! He makes music that nobody dares to make and we think that our token hipster deserves some appreciation!

4. A New Today –  Outbreak
One of Outbreak’s most musical.

5. Back To Basics – The Pitcher

6. Battlescarz – The Anarchist
This one’s got charm and quirk – we still love it!

7. Beyond Belief (Reverze 2012 Anthem) – Psyko Punkz
“REEEVERSEEEE” Has a real ‘overnight rave’ feeling to it.

8. Big In Japan – Jim Noizer
I had never heard this track before until somebody suggested it. I’d like to see artists from smaller labels getting more support!

9. Bring Me Down – Raxtor
Suitable for the dancefloor and private listening… It boggles me why this smasher never hit it big.

10. BVRN! – Crystal Lake

11. Came To This – Hard Driver
Back when the helmet was in fashion…

12. Can’t Help It – Festuca
We can’t help but love Festuca! This kid is surely one to watch out for.

13. Chasing Stars – Kodex & Amazed

14. Code Red – Waverider feat. Pyke
Waverider – an underrated artist in general.

15. Condemned – Radical Redemption
Maybe because it actually has… a melody?

16. Creation Of Air – Sephyx
Another young mastermind that we have on lay-by.

17. Creative Community – Frontliner

18. Dat Tape – Wavolizer & Geck-o
Hard trancey, touchy feely, mmm Geck-o…

19. Daybreak – Rebourne
I cry everytime.

20. Destrukto – Atmozfears feat. Phuture Noize
We never even knew that this track existed. Now we do.

21. Devotion – Outlander
Outlander – another underrated artist. Token ‘tripper’.

22. Digital Revolution – Omegatypez
This crazy German has a knack for making good shit.

23. Dream Or Reality – Alphaverb
Alphaverb, please come back.

24. Drowning – Coone & Substance One
A highly emotive piece of art from “Global Dedication.”

25. Enjoy – The Machine & Alphaverb

26. Exist – Vazard & Delete
Something a little more industrial but nothing stops this super pair of Aussies.

27. External Life (The Strangerz Remix) – Frontliner
These guys nailed the art of remixing Frontliner, yet I have never heard this at a party…

28. Fight For Survival – Frequencerz & In-Phase
Majestic and dark.

29. Forest Interlude – Adrenalize
This melody though… Adrenalize deserves some credit!

30. For You – Betavoice
Another young kid with barely any exposure. If you like old school flavour with a modern twist then you should check Betavoice out!

31. Fundamental Notes – Festuca

32. Galactica – The R3belz
A real spacey feel.

33. Game Over – Kronos & Drone
One of my all-time favourites. Kronos is such a consistently great producer and once again I am not sure why this never made it to mainstages.

34. Go Insane – (Coone remix) – DJ Isaac
Sadly, nobody plays this anymore.

35. Groovin To The Beat – DJ Stephanie
A huge track with great vocals and a fun atmosphere.

36. Have You – Waverider & Noisecontrollers
I want to take a moment to thank both Waverider and Noisecontrollers for existing.

37. History – Adaro
One of his best.

38. Hope – Phuture Noize
Bold, daring and musically mind-blowing, this track that will stir up a heartful of emotions.

39. House Music – Phrantic
Phrantic – another artist who’s whole discography belongs on this list.

40. I Just Wanna Know – Pavelow
I can imagine all of the people whinging when they heard the “wub wub wub wub wub.” Get over it, this is musical magic.

41. In Motion – Cyber
Swiss chocolate.. mmm…

42. Insanity – Radical Redemption & Frequencerz
“dnt fuk wiv da Radicool”

43. In The Mix – Phrantic
This song is majorly crunchy. Besides Phuture Noize and Phrantic, there’s not much crunchy hardstyle around.

44. Klubbsound – Alphaverb
AMAZING. Why doesn’t anybody play this?

45. L.O.V.E. – F8trix

46. Last Night – Toneshifterz
“Woaaahoooaaahhh”

47. LDMF 2013 – Wildstylez
Again, WHY DOESN’T ANYBODY PLAY THIS?!

48. Leap Of Faith – Toneshifterz
Toneshifterz – nailing reverse bass and feel-good melodies since ages ago. We love you.

49. Let’s Go! – Pavo
One to be appreciated.

50. Lose Control 2.0 – Audiofreq
Audiofreq brings a huge intelligence and impeccable sound design to every track, unfortunately the general consensus doesn’t really care.

51. Lose Control – Max Enforcer & Wildstylez
Super groovy track.

52. Lost In The Mist –  Crypsis
You’ll be lost in the mist too when you hear this banger.

So there you have it, the A-L of underrated hidden gems from 2012-2015. Stay tuned as we will bring you the rest of the alphabet tomorrow!