Unpopular opinions

[Emre]

Hardstyle has never been as diverse as today, the mix of all kind of stuff, all different genres, so broad and a lot to choose from, the experimentation is beyond limits, like literally there is no limit to what you can do with this genre, its amazing

Facts

Nearing 20 parties this year so far and every cent was worth it.

[ThePrincipal]

the diversity is still good but it was a better balance between 17-21

I'm thinking i'm about to give up following modern hardstyle in the next 6 months...... just over it - very sad and crushing

[John Cove]

the diversity is still good but it was a better balance between 17-21

I'm thinking i'm about to give up following modern hardstyle in the next 6 months...... just over it - very sad and crushing

I've grown out of the scene itself for a few years now. All this "WE ARE A FAMILY" stuff feels childish and most importantly not honest for me.
I'm 35 now and can no longer identify with most of todays hardstyle listeners. There are also far too few artists with their own sound. Everyone is always chasing the latest trend.

There are still like 5-6 artists I like which I follow but that's it for me.

[DjVero]

Current raw brought back the "hard" in hardstyle, but dropped the "style"

[Shadow Interaction]

the diversity is still good but it was a better balance between 17-21

I'm thinking i'm about to give up following modern hardstyle in the next 6 months...... just over it - very sad and crushing

I've grown out of the scene itself for a few years now. All this "WE ARE A FAMILY" stuff feels childish and most importantly not honest for me.
I'm 35 now and can no longer identify with most of todays hardstyle listeners. There are also far too few artists with their own sound. Everyone is always chasing the latest trend.

There are still like 5-6 artists I like which I follow but that's it for me.

I feel that. One of the reasons i'm a little hesitant on fully coming back is that I don't like the feeling of being boxed into whatever form hardstyle currently has taken.
I think it's the right time for hardstyle mature up where not just 1 type of hardstyle exist but many. How amazing would it be if the new style and rawstyle, co-exist with oldschool and nu-style ?
There would be plenty of styles to pick from for people. I'd totally be down for the earlier nu- styles (2005 up to 2013)

Every other genre out there has this diversity, why not hardstyle?

[Gommes_]

It is crazy to see that even labels see that shift going on and perceive it as something negative. And yes, it is weird that Hardstyle is so odd about its own subgenres.

[Shadow Interaction]

I think a lot has to do with ego as well. So many people within the genre think highly of themselves, both producers and audience and no one seems to admit that. I've seen other genres like dnb and hardcore and it's far less prominent there, I met much friendlier people there. Which is a shame, I love hardstyle as a music genre.

Well, i'm not sure if that is still the case today, but it was back in the days

[Qre8ive]

I think a lot has to do with ego as well. So many people within the genre think highly of themselves, both producers and audience and no one seems to admit that. I've seen other genres like dnb and hardcore and it's far less prominent there, I met much friendlier people there. Which is a shame, I love hardstyle as a music genre.

Well, i'm not sure if that is still the case today, but it was back in the days

I've worked with many artists/labels/promoters in the scene since 2006 and never really experienced real ego by artists. It's just a shift in the scene where you were relying on a label for getting your music out on vinyl to nowadays where it's all about your own social profiles etc. Personality-wise most artists are just chill imo.

Politics in the scene is a whole other thing though, that has never really disappeared but I feel its less these days

[Shadow Interaction]

I think a lot has to do with ego as well. So many people within the genre think highly of themselves, both producers and audience and no one seems to admit that. I've seen other genres like dnb and hardcore and it's far less prominent there, I met much friendlier people there. Which is a shame, I love hardstyle as a music genre.

Well, i'm not sure if that is still the case today, but it was back in the days

I've worked with many artists/labels/promoters in the scene since 2006 and never really experienced real ego by artists. It's just a shift in the scene where you were relying on a label for getting your music out on vinyl to nowadays where it's all about your own social profiles etc. Personality-wise most artists are just chill imo.

Politics in the scene is a whole other thing though, that has never really disappeared but I feel its less these days

Maybe it wasn't as widespread as I believed, then.
We all have a different experience, that just happened to be mine.
Thanks for that comment, it's a good sign. I did notice a big increase in tutorials from producers which is a lot more helpful than comments like "figure it out yourself" "they just carefully select their sounds" and "they do X!" (but not explain how it works). That's just rubbish, it teaches nothing.

What do you mean by politics in the scene? That's new to me

[Tomix]

Spoiler

Current raw brought back the "hard" in hardstyle, but dropped the "style"

This. Songwriting is dead. Tracks are so easily forgettable it's not even funny. You also need like 30+ tracks to fill a 60min set, because the average length has plummeted down the toilet.

2023 is the year what i listen less hardstyle in all of my 16 years in the genre, super energetic but generic, mediocre, repetitive with ugly kicks most of the time. It's my opinion obviously.

Same here. Defqon was it for me. I tried to listen to all the new stuff, but I got burned out real bad. Majority is the same shit and I just can't find joy in that.

the diversity is still good but it was a better balance between 17-21

I'm thinking i'm about to give up following modern hardstyle in the next 6 months...... just over it - very sad and crushing

I'v already gone through the process. It has not been fun, but I'm much happier with older stuff & other music at the moment. That's also why I mostly mix tributes nowadays.

Also special thx to @Gommes_ for that nice post you made on the other platform. Couldn't have said it any better.

+1 on all of this.

Spoiler

the diversity is still good but it was a better balance between 17-21

I'm thinking i'm about to give up following modern hardstyle in the next 6 months...... just over it - very sad and crushing

I've grown out of the scene itself for a few years now. All this "WE ARE A FAMILY" stuff feels childish and most importantly not honest for me.
I'm 35 now and can no longer identify with most of todays hardstyle listeners. There are also far too few artists with their own sound. Everyone is always chasing the latest trend.

There are still like 5-6 artists I like which I follow but that's it for me.

I also very much dislike the "omg we are such RAVERS" mentality both from the audience and organizations. Bitch, most of these people dress and act like an actual clown and more engaged to capture the best IG, TikTok story rather than enjoying the music. Venues feel more like a circus show than a music event.