What is Hardstyle and Hard Dance? Dive into the scene with Mattmoth
If you like pounding basslines, euphoric melodies and high-energy drops you'll love the world of Hardstyle. It's not for the faint hearted! Fans of hardstyle music are passionate for the genre's heavy, punchy kicks, distorted basslines, and emotional, often cinematic melodies. The scene is friendly, open-minded and embraces the constant evolution of the hard dance sound.
So what is Hardstyle, really?
Hardstyle is a fast and high-energy sub-genre of EDM known for its high-tempo intensity. It emerged in the early 2000s from the earlier Hardcore scene in the Netherlands. Hardstyle is characterised by it's pounding kicks, heavy basslines, progressive melodies, euphoric breakdowns and huge 'bass-face' inducing drops, running at a fast tempo of 140-150 BPM.
Within the same musical family, you'll find sister genres, Hardcore and Rawstyle, which are often mixed interchangeably by DJs who perform at the faster end of the tempo spectrum. Rawstyle, along with Hardcore, can push higher into the 160-170 BPM range.
Hardcore offers distorted kicks, aggressive synths and a wall-of-sound mentality. Rawstyle strips away the euphoria for a darker industrial sound. Together, these three genres satisfy fans attuned to a higher, faster, louder lifestyle.
Furthermore, Hardcore itself can be split into many sub-genres including Happy Hardcore, Gabba, Frenchcore, Uptempo, Terrorcore Speedcore, and more. Lastly, Industrial and Crossbreed add dark or DnB vibes.
The UK's Love For Hard Dance
The UK has always embraced new forms of electronic dance music. From the Acid House explosion of the 90s and the arrival of rave culture to the hard house and trance movements on the late 90s and early 2000s, hard music has always been embraced in the UK.
Hardstyle emerged in the UK in the early 2000s when Dutch DJs imported the sound. Acts such as Headhunterz, Wildstylez, Brennan Heart kicked off the scene in the UK, later followed by Showtek, Technoboy (TNT) and Zatox who appeared at The Gallery at Ministry of Sound in London.
Venues in the UK that supported Hardstyle DJs in the 2000s include: Hard Dance Academy (Birmingham), The End (London) Ministry of Sound (London), Club Kinetic (Stoke-on-Trent) and Passion (Leicester).
UK Hardstyle Scene (2010-2025)
Events like Q-Dance tours, Hard Island UK takeovers, KTRA (Keeping The Rave Alive) led by Kutski, and local promoters like HDUK, Next Generation, and SickFest have all laid down the foundations for something much bigger. Hardstyle is now popular in many of the UK's urban areas with a growing scene, making the UK a Hardstyle hotspot.
Global Hardstyle Evolution (2010-2025)
Since 2010, hardstyle exploaded from a Dutch-dominated genre into a worldwide movement. The 2010s saw Hardstyle events and festival tent take-overs become common. Hardstyle event brands Defqon.1, Qlimax and Reverze went global while iconic festivals such as Tomorrowland embraced Hardstyle stages. TikTok is accelerating the trend and allowing the genre to reach wider audiences worldwide.
Hardstyle Events in the UK:
Here's our breakdown of the best Hardstyle events in the UK for you to indulge your love of harder EDM!
Harder Timez – Liverpool
Rawstyle, Hardstyle, and Hard Techno in Liverpool.
Hostile – London
Hard Techno in London.
HTID (Hardcore Til I Die)
Hardcore and Happy Hardcore in the UK.
Kiddstock / Kiddfectious (Alex Kidd Events)
Hard Trance, Hardstyle, and UK Hard Dance.
Frantic – London
Hard House and Trance.
HDUK (Hard Dance UK)
Hard Trance, Hardstyle, Hard Dance.
Hard Trance Europe (HTE)
Euphoric Hard Trance and classic European-style Hard Dance.
Slammin’ Vinyl
Hardcore, DnB, and Hardstyle.
Lost Minds / One Tribe Festival – Newcastle
Hardstyle, Hardcore, and EDM.
Tidy (Tidy Boys / Tidy Trax)
Hard House and Trance.
Storm / Bionic
Hard Dance, Hard Trance and early Hardstyle.
Shokk Events
Hardstyle.
Ministry of Sound – London
Certain events covering Hardstyle, Hardcore, and Hard Dance.
Goodgreef
Hardstyle, Hardcore, and Trance.
Dancing Dead
Hardstyle and Rawstyle.
Did we miss your hardstyle event, club or festival? Feel free to contact us so we can update this article.
Interested in learning how to DJ or produce Hardstyle or any other genre of EDM? Check out our DJ courses and music production courses here.
