SING LIKE A BIRD

What on Earth are those beautiful sounds emanating from unexplored corners of Arcadiana, you ask? As it happens, a key skill in our flying city’s world of sound is the ability to recognise any bird by ear. To help you identify and sing along to all those wonderful kinds of song, we help you get started with one style of music everyday. Today we dive into one of the most stratospheric genres out there: hardstyle.

Amelie Lens Andromedik

ATMOSPHERE | 22:00 – 00:00

Hardstyle

Originating from the underground music scenes of the Netherlands in the early 2000s, hardstyle has risen to become one of the most powerful and energetic genres in the electronic dance music landscape. The early pioneers of hardstyle, such as The Prophet and Lady Dana, played a pivotal role in shaping its unique sound.

With dedicated events and festivals focusing on hardstyle soon popping up, the genre spread like wildfire. Its distinctive features include high BPMs, powerful and energetic kicks, and outspoken, epic melodies. Hardstyle events became known for their intense and euphoric atmosphere, fostering a sense of unity among attendees.

As the decade progressed, hardstyle evolved into subgenres like euphoric, rawstyle, and reverse bass. Euphoric hardstyle emphasized uplifting melodies and emotional breakdowns, while rawstyle incorporated rougher and more aggressive sounds. Reverse bass hardstyle brought emphasis to a distinctive bassline pattern irresistible to dancers. Hardstyle’s international popularity surged in the mid-2000s, extending its reach beyond the Netherlands and Belgium. Throughout the 2010s, hardstyle continued to evolve with artists like Headhunterz, Brennan Heart, and Wildstylez pushing its boundaries.

While hardstyle often exudes a powerful and dark atmosphere, there’s also a lighter side to it, and Da Tweekaz exemplify how to have fun and throw an epic party with it. Hardstyle fanatics can enjoy their Tweekamania stagehosting at Youphoria today and jump to the pulsating beats and infectious sounds of Sound Rush, Coone, Hard Driver, and many more. Say it proudly: 1… 2… Stampuuhhhh!

Now one of the biggest names on the global techno scene, Amelie Lens began her professional career as a model for large fashion brands. Whilst away from the catwalk, she started to develop a fine taste for music, triggered by visiting a music festival for the first time at the age of 15. After securing a residency at the Labyrinth Club in the Belgian town of Hasselt in 2013, Amelie gave modelling another year before quitting the fashion industry in favour of a career in music. Having started her label Lenske back in 2018, she is now known around the world for her bass-heavy productions and DJ sets, with a particularly keen eye for detail when it comes to percussion. If you’re into high energy, then don’t miss out on this one!

MAINSTAGE | 15:30 – 16:30

The UK may be the home ground of drum & bass, but Belgium is its most important hub on the European mainland. And here, in the slipstream of the mighty Netsky, we find rising star Andromedik who will be hammering out his addictive breaks on the Mainstage for the first time in the history of Tomorrowland. Classically trained as a jazz artist, the Antwerp-based producer knows music through and through. Stunning tracks like ‘Howling’, ‘Take Me’ and ‘Let Me In’ have already moved millions of dancing feet globally and have received support from the likes of Sub Focus, Delta Heavy, Jauz and of course Netsky. To see Andromedik play these out on the largest of all stages will be nothing short of magical, we’re sure of it!

Mandy

YOUPHORIA | 16:00 – 17:00

Powerful, creative and hands-on are all keywords applicable to 25-year-old hardstyle powerhouse MANDY. The caps say it all, really: there’s no stopping MANDY when she puts her mind to something. She started DJ’ing in Belgian clubs at the age of 16 and really began to gain traction when she first performed at the Gathering back in 2018. Soon after, a star going by the name of Tiësto knocked on her door, wanting to officially release her remix for his track ‘Jackie Chan’. Besides obviously being a massive music head, MANDY is also heavily into cars, football and gaming –anything that indicates POWER, basically. DJs who support MANDY’s music include Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Timmy Trumpet and of course Tiësto. MANDY is a force to be reckoned with!

Paul Kalkbrenner

MAINSTAGE | 21:45 – 22:45

Paul Kalkbrenner was playing live techno sets when that was still an unusual thing to do, and it still defines his approach to performing today. By not taking any DJ bookings, Paul feels he’s able to fully concentrate on what is most important for him as an artist: his own production work. “One of the biggest advantages of not DJ’ing is that I don’t have to keep up to date with the latest music,” is what he told Tomorrowland Today about this before. With all of the music coming straight from Paul’s heart, you can feel the soul and emotion in every single beat and melody – live sets by Paul Kalkbrenner are one of a kind.