What are the top 5 tracks of 2016? The AAN team weighs in!
A year filled with an endless stream of incredible tunes, 2016 has been monumental for Hard Dance’s evolution, as the movement has taken many twists and turns over the past twelve months. What have been the most influential releases of the year? What were the tracks that defined our movement this year? But most importantly, what were the tracks that constituted your OWN personal soundtrack?
We take it to the lovely Alive At Night team, who weigh in and speak about which five tracks defined their year!
Cassi
Obviously my #1 track of the year is Peacock & Mr Ivex’s “Vive La Frenchcore.” Why? Well, it was actually the first Frenchcore track I’d ever heard and it totally drew me into the genre. I can vividly remember filming at Defqon.1 for the Day Reports and during our mini-Frenchcore segment I got to jump on stage with Dr. Peacock whilst he was playing this track. VIVE LA FRENCHCORE!!!
This monstrous remix has undoubtedly been one of the most influential ‘raw’ tracks of 2016; taking on more of a balanced approach, D-Sturb incorporates a heart-melting, driving melody with crazy fucking kickrolls. Every time I hear this track at a party, I can’t help but get all dramatic and serenade the poor person standing next to me in the crowd. I really hope to hear more tunes like this in 2017.
I’m a huge fan of Scott Brown’s work, but this collab with Re-Style takes the cake! A truly under-rated piece of music, “I Go Crazy” was one of the tracks that defined my wild summer in The Netherlands. I’m also a sucker for those beautiful vocals – for me, this is the ultimate love song!
If I must get a little personal here, this track represents a really sentimental time for me. During the summer, I discovered this stunning Hardcore track just as I’d met somebody really special and everything was unfolding beautifully into a zesty love affair ;). Every time I listen to “The New Age” now, I can’t help but feel a mixture of warmth and nostalgia.
One of the producers I have the most respect for in our scene is the Techno-loving, cheeky Gemini Geck-o. “Tripper” seriously broke some boundaries and for me, is one of the most interesting Hard Dance releases to date. The only way to describe this track (and its video clip) is that it’s comparable to one hell of a 2CB trip!
Sara
This one went under the radar for many. Nikkita’s recognisable voice paired with an E-Force sound in a beautiful, melodic and through-and-through Hardstyle track. My favourite of 2016.
No words for this one. Euphoric Hardstyle at its very finest, this late release proved how the A-Team keeps its magic release after release. More of this in 2017, please!
The spacey melody is what makes this track such a unique and outstanding one. I’ve literally played this almost every day since it came out. Many memories with this one!
This is something like my unofficial Intents Festival anthem. Standing next to my brother, both of us drunkenly yelling “NO FUCKING MERCY!” on the VIP deck during the absolutely breathtaking live-act has burned this track into my soul. Stompin’!
“This is a dedication to a machine!” – and what a fuckin’ dedication! This absolutely brutal track about the Roland TR-909 Drum Machine is my favourite Hardcore release of 2016. Melodic, high-energy Hardcore that reminds me of the Hardcore I fell in love with!
Dennis
The Frequencerz hosting at Rebirth day 2 was awesome and since that day this track is on repeat.
These lyrics are great, do I need to say more?
First time I heard this track was at Decibel and I had instant goosebumps, the build-up of this track is perfect!
The title says it all for me, this track is a great way to start a party.
I can listen the whole day to this track cause there are no vocals or other unusual elements used in this track, just pure Hardstyle. Nothing more and nothing less than Hardstyle – that’s what I really like about this track.
Stijn
Personally, I am left in the dark about why this track flew under the radar. This remix made by The Machine is in my eyes the ultimate party track. At first, the track may not appear so exceptional, but just play it a couple times on repeat and slowly an addictive bulb of vitality will suck itself in your veins. The drop is one of the best ever made – surely for everyone who loves to kick-roll. As an aurora of energy is surrounding the body when hearing this track, I can only pray it will still get the glory it deserves cause… THIS IS THE NEW SHIT!!!!!
When these front runners of our scene played for the first time their track ‘Gods’ this left me in a permanent state of awe. As a huge fan of ‘Transformers’ I could not be more touched how the folks of Frequencerz and E-Force remade the track ‘The Score – Bumblebee Captured’ into one hell of a banger. I think I speak for a wide mass when I say this track cuts right to skin and bone and is one of the most touching tracks ever made.
I could not make a list without including my all-time favourite producer B-Front. From the first moment on, when I heard this track at Unlocked 2015, I was sold. For me, this track embodies everything I love about Hardstyle: feeling, energy and mightiness.
I believe that Phuture Noize is the embodiment of everything Hardstyle is going to offer in the future. There is simply more to his tracks than just sound, as he often travels to deeper spheres to unravel the inner layers of our music. In adding art and meaning, I hope this pioneer will influence many other artists to walk the same paths he does. Therefore, his massive track ‘The Worlds Beyond’ cannot be missing in my top 5.
This track will probably not be on the list of many. However, every time this track has been played live I had goosebumps all over my skin, and insanely pleasant thrills running down my back. I have loved this track of Armin van Buuren since I was young and the youngsters of Sub Zero Project turned it into merely perfectness. The unique kick of these guys pushed the track to an Eden-like level and therefore it had to make it to my list.
Myron
I feel that this song doesn’t need an introduction, because everyone I know has such great things to say about it. The first time I heard “Gravity” it literally blew me away; it captures you from the very beginning until the end. You don’t really notice that this is a song, that’s how immersive and magical it is. It just gets you every time you listen to it.
Frequencerz were, for me, one of the most recognisable artists when I started listening to Hardstyle. One and a half years later and I’m still so glad that I got to know their music. To be honest, this year has been great for them and I had a hard time picking the perfect song. I picked ‘A Muse’ because every time I’ve played their album, this is the first song that comes up and it signifies the beginning of the listener’s journey. It’s a great kick off for the rest of the album and I really like the orchestral and Dubstep parts. Keep it up guys, I can’t wait to see what 2017 will bring you!
This track really tells a story. There is so much going on in terms of sound, emotion and energy. It has various styles throughout the song and I think that it captures the theme of Qlimax very well. The spelling part also starts out nice and makes you wanna chant along with it. As for Coone, I rediscovered his style this year. Being a fan of other genres such as trap and future bass, I like it that he is breaking out of the regular harder styles and broadening the current scene.
Okay, so this may be one of my guilty pleasures, but you can’t deny that it hasn’t been yours either. Whether you like it or not, this song is one of the tracks that defined the summer of 2016. When you’re walking to a stage and you hear people hee-hooing, there is a high chance that this track is playing.
I like it when tracks are a mix of melodic and raw and this collaboration is a great example of that balance. Although the sound of Digital Punk and Radical Redemption are mainly raw, this track is really upbeat and instantly puts me in a good mood. I can’t help but jumping around whenever I hear this track!
Lastly, I want to give a shout-out to Audiofreq for his Audiology album. I couldn’t pick one track, because I loved the whole album. It makes me happy hearing him experiment with various styles that still fit in the hard dance scene. It’s something I will be listening a lot in the near future. 🙂
Nicki
When this track drops you’ll find me belting out the lyrics at the top of my voice with my hands in the air and the biggest smile on my face. If you ever catch me in this moment, I’m really sorry about my terrible singing!
Wasted Penguinz’ music always conveys so much emotion; the soaring melodies crash over you in waves of euphoria. The lyrics to “Make It One Day” touch on feelings many of us have at one time or another but the spirit of the track is of hope, strength and having faith in yourself.
It’s always so exciting to hear brand new hard trance and this thumping, acidy track brings the hard trance sound bang up to date. This track is also the official anthem for the Rehab events in Sydney, where I’ve had a number of very fun and maybe slightly turnt nights this year.
I loved this track from the very first moment I heard it and from now on it will always remind me of the Sunday afternoon at Defqon.1 NL this year. I was walking over towards the UV stage when I noticed a small crowd dancing in front of a truck. Upon walking a little closer I could see that Geck-O was DJing on the back of the truck! I immediately joined the dancing crowd and then he dropped this track. After another couple of tracks the truck started moving forward and with a smile and a wave Geck-O was off to surprise more fans elsewhere on the festival site.
I’ve got a Masters Of Hardcore podcast mixed by Crossfiyah saved on my phone and it’s my go-to mix for angry days when only a good solid blast of Hardcore will do to make me fist pump my rage away!
You’ve heard which tracks tickled the fancy of our AAN team, so let’s now take it to our readers! What were the five tracks that defined your 2016? Let us know in the comments below! Before we wrap things up, we’d like to wish all of our readers all the best in the New Year and we hope to meet many of you at a party somewhere!
1 Comment
Menace rmx
World’s Beyond
Protest of Indignation
My exact top 3. Good taste team