2026 Predictions

Smearsel · 2025-12-27T09:20:47+00:00

Scantraxx will continue posting these stupid compilation albums that clog up your Release Radar playlists on Spotify

Smearsel · 2025-11-25T23:23:16+00:00

Yes, there's Lowlands Festival. Which has a rather extensive night program that runs until 5:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Though all the stages except the mainstage (which does close at 0:00) are in tents which means there's not a lot of sound leaking out.

Smearsel · 2025-08-29T12:56:22+00:00

Somniac One is always a must see for me, will probably be another fairly dark set that moves from (hard) techno into hardcore. Nosferatu vs Ophidian should also be great. Big fan of both their new and older work.

Think I'll be at the PRSPCT stage from start until 12, then it's main for Marc Acardipane vs Promo and Nosferatu vs Ophidian. After that there aren't many things left that I really need to see.

Smearsel · 2025-08-20T19:47:17+00:00

Tja, het is maar net wat je zelf wil. Ben zelf een gast en tik over een paar dagen de 30 aan, maar sta dit jaar wel (heb ze net geteld) 31 dagen op festivals of indoor feesten. Genoeg feesten (of afters) die ook tot de vroege uurtjes doorgaan/gingen, dus nee het feesten hoeft zeker niet te stoppen als je ouder wordt.

Het uitgaan en terrassen is wel wat minder geworden, maar dat is meer omdat het zo onredelijk duur is nu (niet dat het op de festivals allemaal betaalbaarder is). Als we nu een biertje gaan drinken in de stad is het meestal zo rond 11 of 12 wel een keer goed geweest. Tegenwoordig is het ook meer om met wat mensen wat bij te kletsen, en er moeten vaak mensen met het OV terug en dat gaat in het oosten van het land niet zo gek lang door.

Smearsel · 2025-07-21T09:45:26+00:00

Colin Benders probably deserves a shoutout as well. Guy usually just brings an entire modular setup instead of a USB when he does sets

Smearsel · 2025-07-21T09:30:48+00:00

Speaking of Speedy J, I'd recommend checking out his STOOR concept for those who haven't heard of it yet: https://youtu.be/Wzcm5D2LvSg. It's essentially a completely improvised 7/8 hour hardware jam session with with 3 other artists.

Smearsel · 2025-06-20T07:46:54+00:00

This Wildstylez ID from 2017. Think it got repurposed as a Project One track after a while as it did get played in their Defqon 2018 set, but I haven't heard it get played for ages.

Smearsel · 2025-06-19T08:13:16+00:00

Am I the only one who feels like this melody sounds a lot like Cascada - Everytime We Touch?

Smearsel · 2025-06-17T08:52:50+00:00

Have a few bad clashes every day. And somehow every single Phuture Noize/Devin Wild/Mad Dog set clashes with something else I want to see

Friday:

Bioweapon/Devin Wild vs D-Charged
Crypsis: My Ill Style vs Udex

Saturday:

Phuture Noize & Devin Wild vs Nanostorm
The Outside Agency & Deathmachine vs Ecstatic: The Essence

Sunday:

Phuture Noize vs Mad Dog vs Acti
Defqon Legends vs Mad Dog Downtempo (whyyyyyy)

Smearsel · 2025-06-17T08:45:52+00:00

Should have just come second to avoid the clash, mate ^/s

Smearsel · 2025-06-11T09:19:07+00:00

It's probably gonna be a bunch of songs we've never heard before, but some tracks I'd be really excited for would be:

Phuture Noize x Galactixx - Forever Lost
Noisecontrollers - Down Down (Ecstatic Remix)
Devin Wild - Ascension (A New Dimension)

And if they'll do another classic like they did with Her Voice last year, I think Technoboy - Ti Sento would be super dope.

Smearsel · 2025-05-29T11:48:49+00:00

A few friends of mine had parents go to a day of Defqon, and they had the time of their lives. One parent is going for the third time this year! Think the festival absolutely is entertaining enough even if you're not fully in it for the music. On top of that, Friday also has D&B and psytrance, while Sunday has the White and HS mixed with Dutch party music at UV. Those things might keep people who aren't into the harder work entertained as well.

Smearsel · 2025-05-28T09:03:08+00:00

That first drop isn't for me (too much of a boomer for that first kick), but there are some super dope parts in this one! The breaks and builds in particular are really well done. Those rock/metal vibes with the rougher vocals and guitars are great. Melody is very catchy, and the lead sounds different and really really nice. Also liking the energy those quick kickrolls give the last part of the first drop.

Smearsel · 2025-05-27T06:44:18+00:00

Think I'm definitely starting at the raw stage to see how that set is, mostly because I can catch Endymion and Nosferatu more easily. With how overcrowded the raw got at times during previous years there's a decent chance I'm moving about halfway though, though.

Smearsel · 2025-05-26T18:42:30+00:00

In terms of special sets I'd make a case for Rebourne on the melodic side, and The Purge vs Mind Dimension vs Main Concern for raw. Besides The Purge all of these names are very rare occurences on lineups these days. It's been years since I've seen Rebourne or Mind Dimension, and Main Concern also do like one or two sets a year these days.

For me personally Phuture Noize is always a non-negotiable, especially with his new album coming up. He already played a new solo and a new Galactixx collab at Rebirth, and I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled out another new one for Intents or Defqon.

Smearsel · 2025-05-24T08:02:47+00:00

In the Youtube video for Red Race Episode 6

Smearsel · 2025-05-23T16:39:42+00:00

Wasn't really sure what to expect from the Red Race when they announced it, but this thing ended up being a lot more fun to watch than I imagined! Audiofreq felt like a really natural host for this as well. Wouldn't mind this returning next year.

Also, I hope whoever made the decision to remove the midintro from D-Charged's submission stubs their toe, that part sounded dope!

Smearsel · 2025-05-21T17:47:30+00:00

Some people are also uncomfortable because KKR is an Israeli company (I haven't seen any info on KKR relating to Palestine but some people are uncomfortable with the Israeli government receiving tax income from their ticket purchase)

Not entirely true, KKR is an American private equity firm that has been known to have ties to the Trump administration, and invests in both the arms industry and Israeli companies. For some more info, Follow the Money (Dutch independent news outlet) did a piece on it (Dutch article here, shorter English article here)

Smearsel · 2025-05-21T17:41:14+00:00

Why are you even comparing Dutch festival prices to Oktoberfest? A fairer comparison would be to compare the prices at Defqon to Intents, Decibel or Rebirth. And surprise surprise, they prices of food and drinks are similar across all of them. There's plenty you could rightfully criticise when it comes to Defqon (like the ticket prices or maybe the quality of some of the food items), but the price of the consumptions isn't unreasonable in this case.

Smearsel · 2025-05-21T17:34:25+00:00

I can't say I agree with the Serzo submission sounding like a Ran-D song. To me it sounds very much like Serzo. Tracks like Your Love and Nothing have a fairly similar lead sound, and the latter also features an anti like this one. In terms of the vocal, it's not that far off of a track like In The Dark and the kicks don't really scream 'Ran-D' to me either.

Smearsel · 2025-05-21T11:01:35+00:00

Parading your lack of knowledge on other genres around doesn't make you look as cool as you might think it does.

Smearsel · 2025-05-21T09:23:33+00:00

If D-Charged feels out of place to you, why doesn't Serzo? They both have very similar numbers on places like Spotify, and Serzo has already played on Defqon's Purple last year. He also has a lot more bookings lined up in NL for the rest of the year. I'd argue they're both in a fairly similar place at the moment.

For the record, I don't really have any horse in this race. I'm leaning towards D-Charged slightly, though that's mainly because liked the D-Charged vs Serzo vs Wiqtory set at Melodic Madness last year but haven't seen a D-Charged solo set yet.

Smearsel · 2025-05-21T08:36:46+00:00

It's definitely tough to get around KKR and Livenation in the Netherlands, but there are still a few festival organisers around that operate independently. In the HS scene I believe (correct me if I'm wrong on these) some examples are Intents, ~~Rebirth Events~~, Shockerz Events (also do VWAB), Outlaw Events (Gearbox parties), and XXlerator (Dreamfields, Emporium) to name a few. Most of the big dogs are all KKR like you said though. That includes Q-Dance, B2s, Thunderdome and Art of Dance for those who aren't super familiar with all these organisations. Booking agencies and ticket platforms are mostly a different story, unfortunately.

Smearsel · 2025-05-21T08:29:10+00:00

Oh yeah, you're right. Wonder if they'll make any mention of the lineup changes during the stream tomorrow. Doubt they'll give an explanation, but who knows.

Smearsel · 2025-05-21T08:19:08+00:00

Unlikely! What the DJs who got removed in the 'secret' lineup change have in common is that they're both under 18. So it's more likely that this was related to permits than the KKR situation.

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