16 hardstyle documentaries you definitely want to see

By Lisa-Marie Müller 27 March 2020

Throughout the years, hardstyle has grown into an international phenomenon that reaches millions of people from all around the world. These are 16 hardstyle documentaries completely filled with insides of our beloved scene, labels and festivals.

1. Scantraxx: 15 Years of Hardstyle

This film shows how the genre, the leading label ‘Scantraxx’ and its artists experienced major topics that concerned the music industry as a whole, such as the impact of digitalization from vinyl to streaming and globalization to over 20 countries. None other than Scantraxx founder DJ The Prophet, Headhunterz, Showtek, D-Block & S-te-Fan & many others share their stories in this must-see documentary.

2. Hardstyle in Retrospect

In the mini documentary by Artic, you’ll be taken on a journey along the different phases within hard dance, among which the commercialization of hardcore (“this was the end“) and the start of the hardstyle genre. Supported by old footage and interviews with artists such as Isaac, Luna, Pavo, Derb, Haze, JTS, Evanti, Fanatics, Desnar & Adaro they look back on performing with vinyl, the evolution of raw hardstyle and the rising popularity of early hardstyle.

3. Coone – Trip To Tomorrow

Back in 2018, none other than hardstyle hero Coone was scheduled to perform at the Tomorrowland Mainstage as the first hardstyle DJ ever. Each month he showed an intimate look in his daily life and took us along on his journey: Trip To Tomorrow. “A journey towards one of the biggest goals in my career, the Tomorrowland 2018 Mainstage! Together, we’ll make this a monumental chapter in hardstyle history.”

4. Qlimax 2011 – The Documentary

Qlimax has been known for being one of the biggest indoor hardstyle events out there for many years now. On the 26th of November 2011, Qlimax took place at the GelreDome in Arnhem, and Q-dance gave us a unique behind the scenes. In this documentary the organisation follows Coone, a visitor, a camera man & editor, and the people responsible for rigging and lasers.

5. Evolution of Style – A journey with Brennan Heart

Back in 2013, Brennan Heart came out with his full documentary Evolution of Style. In this film you learn more about Brennan Heart, his life and dedication for hardstyle music. From his private life, life on the road, studio-time and events all the way to new music, interviews and DJ-colleagues: this documentary is worth a watch for every hardstyle lover.

6. 10 Years Dirty Workz – The Documentary

With its broad sound, by artists such as Coone, Da Tweekaz, Psyko Punkz and Wasted Penguinz, supporting the rising stars in the scene as well as the darker sounds of Raw under the Anarchy imprint to the fresh new combination of sounds which is Wolf Clan – Dirty Workz has it all! This documentary celebrates 10 years of Dirty Workz, including loads of interviews, stories and epic event footage.

7. Warface “Ascension” – The documentary

In Ascension, Warface gives his fans a look behind the scenes of the time between the release of his albums Art of War and The 9 Circles. It follows his journey throughout the year during the creation of his new album as well as his experiences and growth within the scene.

8. End of Line – Strive For Domination

End of Line Recordings was founded back in 2014, and now consists of the core by Artifact, Bloodlust, D-Sturb, Delete, Killshot and Warface. After countless of well-known tracks such as ‘Disco Weapon’, ‘I Need You’ and ‘Imma Boss’ the label has released a brand new group track along with a documentary: Strive For Domination. In this short documentary, you’ll get a look behind the scenes of their writer’s camp, and watch interviews with all of the family members about what End of Line Recordings means to them.

9. 10 Years Noisecontrollers Documentary

Last year, Noisecontrollers completely filled Poppodium 013 in Tilburg with his 200th release party. 5 years ago he already reached another huge milestone in his career: Noisecontrollers’ 10th anniversary. To celebrate these 10 years, Bas came out with a documentary which talks about his journey, experiences in the scene and much more.

10. Underground to Worldwide ft. Hardstyle Singapore

This documentary is all about the hard dance scene in Singapore, and features interviews from party-goers, event organizers and the founders who started it all. This film is a must-see to find out more about the hard dance scene in Singapore.

11. Digital Punk – The Short Documentary

This short documentary is all about Digital Punk and his life, and his pure dedication for hardstyle music. It features how he became a famous raw hardstyle producer/DJ, his thoughts on the scene, the Unleashed Podcast & much more. The short documentary is definitely worth a watch if you want to get to know more about Digital Punk.

12. Sound Rush Presents: The Road To Qlimax

In this short documentary, duo Sound Rush takes you on their journey to “what is becoming our most memorable booking to date”. In their ‘Road to Qlimax’ film you’ll see interviews with Headhunterz, studio footage, behind the scenes and much more.

13. Hard Driver: All or Nothing

2020 will be a big year for Hard Driver: All Or Nothing. With this brand new concept he will release at least one track each month, starting with his 4-track All Or Nothing EP. Furthermore, the DJ/producer introduces an upgraded live experience of his live act and provides his fans with unique behind the scenes in a four-part YouTube-series, of which you can already watch the first two!

14. On The Road to Redemption

From ‘Trip Around The World’ to ‘Command & Conquer World Tour’, ‘Bringing Hard Dance To Asia’ and ‘Kicking-Off The Festival Season’; in Radical Redemption’s YouTube series On The Road to Redemption you’ll be joining Joey in his massively busy schedule. Radical shows unique behind the scenes, studio time and much more in this first season of the series.

15. The Return of Project One

“Who would have thought. After 8 years of radio silence.” Back in 2016, Project One made its legendary return during one of the biggest indoor hardstyle events in the world: Qlimax. In this video you can follow both Willem and Joram preparing for this grand milestone, including studio time, emotional talks and behind the Qlimax scenes.

16. 10 Years of Gearbox Documentary

In 2019 the well-known Gearbox Digital label celebrated its 10th anniversary. Especially for these 10 years celebration they presented a documentary completely filled with stories about the label and interviews with artists such as Rooler, Luminite, Thyron, Rebelion & many others. So, definitely a must-see for raw hardstyle lovers!

Of course there are many more documentaries out there, among which hardcore films like Thunderdome Never Dies – The Full Story, Uniform – The Dress Code Of Dutch Hardcore Culture, This Is Hardcore & many others! All in all the harder styles scene truly has a grand history and countless of stories to share.