What started as a solution to enjoy listening to hardstyle with friends while pre-drinking grew into a project that has been going strong for over ten years. Behind ‘World Of Hardstyle’ stands the Dutch Dennis Marijnissen, alias Deenis. Since 2012, Dennis has created more than 200 mixes, resulting in millions of views on YouTube and performances at festivals. After 14 years in the scene, Dennis looks back on everything he has achieved during that time.
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From pre-drinking with friends to millions of views on YouTube
The first ‘World Of Hardstyle’ mix appeared on YouTube in October 2012. The idea originated in an unexpected way.
“It actually started out in a very funny way,” Dennis explains. “I would always go somewhere with friends to have a beer before a festival, and we would want to listen to hardstyle. But individual tracks sometimes lasted as long as 5 minutes. I thought: there must be a better way.” He downloaded a program and started shortening tracks and stringing them together. “That way, a track would only last 2 to 3 minutes, and we would have a mix of 30 to 60 minutes.”
Dennis only started uploading the mixes later. “My friends said I should start uploading the mixes, so I started looking into how I wanted to shape that. Then I came across a number of video mixes and put my own spin on them.” However, making the mixes took a lot of time. “The audio side of the mix alone took several hours a day for several days in a row. With video added, an entire mix easily takes a week.”
From mixtapes to original music
After several years of making mixes, Dennis took a new step in 2019: he released his first own track. “I had wanted to do that for a while, but I didn’t have any experience producing yet. I sat down with another producer, and that’s how ‘Free’ came about.” In 2021, Deenis released his last track. “During the lockdown, there were no parties, but everyone kept releasing music non-stop. I noticed I was getting stuck then, so we decided to put a stop to it for the time being.”
As a DJ, Deenis has also played at many festivals. For instance, he has performed at Decibel Outdoor and Vroeger Was Alles Beter, among others. “I think my sickest gig was definitely at VWAB. I got to play all the records that started it all for me there. That was amazing.”
Yet one festival takes the crown: “Intents Festival really feels like coming home. I have played here almost every year since 2016. The Brabant atmosphere makes this a real standout.”
“For me, music is really an outlet”
In recent years, the project became more difficult to combine with his private life. After all, Dennis became the father of two children. “It is a bit harder to combine now, because the mixes take up a lot of time, but I try my best to stay active.”
Dennis is not one to talk about quitting; after 14 years, he is still motivated. “For me, music is a real outlet; even when I’m having a bit of an off day, I can really draw a lot of energy from it!” Since 2012, he has seen the scene undergo major changes up close. Yet, he considers this a natural change: “If you look at hardstyle from 2005 to 2012, there is a huge difference. It would also be boring if the same music was played for ten years straight. I think it is important as an artist to stay true to yourself and not get too caught up in the hype.”
“I am very grateful”
Dennis looks back on the past 14 years with great satisfaction, but a comeback as a producer is not in the cards for the time being. “I am very grateful and happy for the songs I have been able to release. But now the focus is really on the classics that started it all for me. I do still have a record lying around that has never been released; maybe I will do something with it someday.”
For now, the focus is on the classics, where ‘World Of Hardstyle’ all started. Dennis still releases mixes almost monthly under the ‘World Of Hardstyle’ name on his YouTube channel.
Footage by: Deenis / World Of Hardstyle
