Hardstyle

First appearing independently in Italy and in the Netherlands, hardstyle is a form of Hard Dance that emerged from Hard Trance in the early 2000s, with strong Hardcore [EDM] influences, particularly in the Dutch scene. By the early-to-mid 2000s, Early Hardstyle had become a distinct sound, characterized by its persistent, compressed, repetitive, and hard kick drums, its fast tempo (typically around 150 BPM), and its unique use of the so-called reverse bass (a particular bassline that is reversed in a way that its tail is longer than its front), which is always inserted on the offbeat. Another early development of hardstyle was the introduction of the screech, a distorted, high-pitched synthesizer sound that would become widespread and prominent in later forms of hardstyle. Hardstyle also consisted of further influences from the previously popular Dutch Gabber genre, with Nu Style Gabber in particular influencing and crossing over with the genre during its early years.