Hardstyle: Defqon.1

Almost to the day four years ago I was on the bus driving home to my parents house. As we were about to enter the small town of Biddinghuizen I started to notice several traffic signs indicating the way to Defqon.1 At this time I had never heard of Defqon, I only knew of DEFCON (defence readiness condition of the US) thanks to several action-movies, but I figured this event had nothing to do with military strategy. That night however I was about to find out what Defqon.1 was all about. Bass... lots of bass.

Defqon.1 is one of the largest music festivals known for the harder electronic styles like: Hardcore, Rave, Frenchcore and Hardstyle, and attracts 55,000 visitors from all over the world.

Since my bedroom window is less than 4 km from the event an (un)favourable wind sends all the bass sounds right in.

Even though that night I got a bit less sleep than I was hoping for I became very interested in what lured all these people to our small village. By the time I ended watching the 25 minute Endshow video on YouTube I knew. The nice melodies, dreamy vocals and hard kicks created an atmosphere unlike any I'd heard before. I became hooked instantly. Especially the anthem of that edition World Of Madness is to date still one of my favourite hardstyle songs.

Other favourites:

               Brennan Heart & JonathanMendelsohn - Imaginary

               Da Tweekaz ft. Ghost Wars - RanAway

               Noisecontrollers & BassModulators - Solar

Visual Kei: Versailles

If you look at the picture above you might think that these people are impersonating their favourite Final Fantasy characters. This is however the normal getup of Visual Kei band Versailles. Visual Kei (ヴィジュアル系) is a Japanese genre that is characterized by its looks: fancy costumes, crazy hair styles and lots of make-up resulting sometimes in rather androgynous characters. The genre first started to appear in the early 1980s and can be compared to the western Glam Rock. Although many Visual Kei bands like Versailles play metal music, some bands focus more on an electronic sound.

The first song of Versailles I ever heard was perhaps one of their most famous songs, called The Revenant Choir. I was hooked instantly, the elaborate drum parts, Kamijo's almost opera sounding voice and of course Hizaki's awesome guitar solos. That guy really knows how to play the guitar. Yes, you read that right the person with the long blond hair and nice dress is actually a dude. It took some time for me to find out as well. After releasing four albums Versailles decided to disband in 2012. Kamijo started as a solo artist while the remaining four members went on to form the band Jupiter. And although both released some nice songs, none were at the same level as that awesome first song.

Other songs:

               Versailles:           Philia, Truth

               Kamijo:               Lion of the Dark Night

               Jupiter :               Arcadia, Topaz

Jazz: Tony Bennet and ???

On a warm summer evening one of my favourite ways to relax is by pouring myself a nice cold drink (alcohol is optional) and put on some sweet jazz music. Bear in mind though that I'm not talking about some experimental form of jazz, which can be interesting in its own way, but can hardly be called relaxing. No I am talking about the real jazz standards, the ones composed in the 1930s and popularized in the '40s, '50s and '60s by stars like Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and many others. The swing jazz from this era was the most popular style during these decades and therefore also known as 'traditional pop music'. The rise in popularity of rock music however meant that jazz would disappear more to the background. To this day many of the jazz standards are still covered, by singers like Michael Bublé. There are nevertheless some artist who simply cannot quit singing. Recently Tony Bennett, contemporary of Sinatra and currently 89 years old, recorded a new album collaborating with a female singer. You might wonder who this legend picked as his musical partner in crime. Whoever you had in mind, I am pretty sure you weren't imagining Lady Gaga. Apparently Gaga once sang a few jazz standards at a gala Bennett was attending. Bennett liked this so much that he asked Gaga to sing a duet with him. She agreed and they ended up making a full album together. They might seem like an odd couple but their sound turned out great. Some of my favourite songs on the album include: But Beautiful, Anything Goes and It Don'tMean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing). 

Country Rap: Yelawolf

When people think of hip hop they usually think of East Coast hip hop (Nas, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z) or West Coast hip hop (Tupac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg) but tend to forget about Southern hip hop. As the name implies, this genre of hip hop is made in the southern part of the United States with Atlanta being at its centre, producing artists like Ludacris, T.I. and 2 Chainz. The artist I want to talk about however comes from the more suburban Gadsden (Alabama): Yelawolf. Yelawolf's country roots are clearly noticeable in many of his songs, both musically and lyrically. I particularly like Till It's Gone, a song that perfectly captures the muggy atmosphere of the southern swamps. Yelawolf's Alabama origin also becomes apparent in the more upbeat party song Let's Roll, in which the chorus is performed by Kid Rock. In the more country-pop sounding American You Yelawolf sings the chorus himself, something that not many rappers attempt. Last but not least I'd like to mention Best Friend which features Eminem. I'm a big fan of Eminem and this collaboration, which is kind off obvious since Yelawolf is signed to Shady Records, is pure gold.
For more songs check out Yelawolf's VEVO channel on YouTube.