Hidden gems in the Hardstyle scene

By Feije Tinnevelt 12 November 2015

Because last time there were a lot of suggestions, unfortunately you have probably not been able to read the last one, as it was in Dutch. But we are just going to do another one. Let’s get right to it, and reveal some of the scene’s hidden gems.

Caine
One of the most requested artists to get a place in the revelation of hidden diamonds was a Scottish lad, signed to TiLLT Records. This beardy ginger doens’t get a lot of publicity, not as much as he should get. When you’re listening to some producers who have not been in the limelight as much as they should, you can hear some form of unprofessionality, like they have just entered the scene.

This is absolutely not the case with Caine. Allthough he isn’t booked a lot, and he only has around 10.000 likes on his facebook page, this man makes tracks that will blow your head right off your body. A nice and dark atmosphere chaperoned by a sturdy kick is what you will get. It’s not your every day raw, it’s different. Caine’s tracks kind of summon the oldschool-Fusion sound, which is pretty awesome if you ask me. For example “Requital”, an untrained ear will confuse this one for a new B-Front track fors sure.

The melodic parts in the track appear important as not one track misses the melodic break or nice lead. This gives a complete feeling, there’s not one part that is missing. Everyone knows songs where they think “wow, that is one phat kick for sure, but that melody sucks ass”, or the opposite “Wow this melody gives me goosebumps up the wazoo, but it misses a kick to give the track some balls”
Caine makes sure his tracks won’t be skipped or muted in dissapointment.

When you are not a “kickguy” or a “melodyguy”, don’t worry, because this man is able to build a screech that makes the hair in your neck stand up for sure. Listen for example to “Caine – Lustrous” and you’ll instantly know what I’m talking about. In the build-up a phat screech that slowly evolves to a melody.

Although TiLLT did not release a lot of tracks of Caine, we can luckily find a lot of him in a guestmix in the Legendary Podcast and on his own youtube channel. If you are still not convinced that this man can spin and make a record or two, and you fear that his sound might be to rough for you, don’t worry! Caine isn’t afraid to make a euphoric track and his remix of “Galantis – Runaway” is proof enough according to me.

Unfortunately this remix is also a black page on Caine’s resumé. In the clip of this track you can see a lot of people partying their butts off and dj’s spinning records. However, Caine is nowhere to be found in this clip. I think we owe it tot his guy to make sure in a year he will have enough filmmaterial to fill up an entire documentary.

Starting on 09/11/15 his album will be for sale via Band Camp, it will only be 5 pounds and the revenue will go to Macmillan Cancer Support. I thought this was worth mentioning because this price is next to nothing for such a talented producer, and it is for a noble cause.

Digital Mindz
Secondly, a man who can do it all: Two times on Unleashed, been on We R Hardstyle, and I’m sure he isn’t done doing crazy stuff. Oskar Hänninen, better known as Digital Mindz, parties hard and is able to make raw aswel as euphoric tracks. As 50% of the Finnish Ran-D & Adaro, together with Riiho he destroys any soundsystem he touches.

Signed to Dirty Workz, Digital Mindz makes both euphoric and raw bombs. Oskar makes a lot of his tracks have a very nice atmosphere, for instance “World of Wonders” together with Madshifta. While listening tot his song, you can feel a festival being constructed around you, the sun on your forehead and a nice cold beer in your hand. When this track was previewed, a lot of people who were not content with the Defqon.1 Anthem were debating wheter “World of Wonders” should have been the Defqon.1 anthem. And I understand, due to the vocals and the summer atmosphere, you really get an anthem feeling.

Digital Mindz is a master in the combination of raw and euphoric. Start off raw and end it with a nice melody, or the other way around. When you turn up “Restoration Of Harmony”, you immediately notice the Digital Mindz kick but when you continue to the climax, a nice melody will appear. A track that will start off like an atomic bomb and changes to a really good euphoric track. “Faxi” is built similarly. “World of Wonders” on the other hand is constructed the other way around, a melodic and euphoric start combined with an anti-climax with his well-known kick (get a trademark Oskar, they are juicy).

Eventhough our Finnish friend seems pretty good in finding a balance between raw and euphoric, he also knows how to tear down a venue. Basically every track together with Riiho is the living proof of that. Not only those, but the Resonant-serie as well.

In Unleashed #16, out of nowhere this Finnish producer messed my ears up with “Resonant”. I’d be lying if I said I did not dance on my own in my bedroom tot his track. This was my first encounter to the beloved Digital Mindz kick. In #31, to my great relieve, “Resonant Part II” showed up in the Unleashed tracklist, and the wait of almost one and a half years, I was satisfied for a while.

Devin Wild
Last but not least, we’re taking a look at a Dutch youngster. Eventhough he’s fairly known for being young, he should be better known for his music. And this music, ladies and gentlemen, is far from bad! When we’re talking about euphoric hardstyle, everyone thinks of Bass Modulators, Atmozfears, D-Block & S-te-Fan, but in while, Devid Wild will be up in this list like he was never absent.

This kid made it happen by getting into Unleashed #16 with his track “Handz Up!” I’m still not sure if it was a sneaky marketing technique to gain popularity through raw and walk over to euphoric, but it sure as hell worked. Dion now releases tracks on Scantraxx Records and has a few very nice collabs on his CV. His collab with Atmozfears does exactly what you would expect: a melody to feast on and a nice and sturdy kick. Also, an official remix of “Stephanie – Sicknite” is part of Devin Wilds discography. This track has a nice feeling to it, a nice summersound. Tracks like these have mainstage potential in the festival season. Not only Atmozfears and Stephanie; this kid is also in the studio with the guys from Audiotricz.

Judging by his track “Into The Night”, we can hear that Dion isn’t gonna let his age and/or his fresh appearance tot he scene stop him. A melody that is goosebumb-material and a great kick that gives the melody some balls and a good amount of energy.

It’s nice to see producers this young being able to build up their brand so well already. Because the producers we’re listening to today and party to tonight won’t be around forever. And they might not be the ones our kids are going to listen to. But with talented guys like Devin Wild (and of course Caine, Digital Mindz and all the others aswell) we know we’re still set for another couple of years!