Qlimax is an annual

hardstyle Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre that emerged in the late 1990s, with origins in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Hardstyle mixes influences from techno, new beat and hardcore. Early hardstyle was typically written at 140 BPM (''beat ...

and hard dance event in the Netherlands. It is a major attraction held by

Q-dance Q-dance is a Dutch company that organizes events and festivals that focuses on the harder styles of dance music – mainly Hardstyle, Hardcore, and Hard Trance. Popular events and festivals organized by Q-dance are Defqon.1 Festival, Qlimax, Qapi ...

, and considered to be one of the leading hardstyle events, attracting nearly 30,000 people annually. It contains some of the most sophisticated production and setup, as well as sound system for any Q-dance event.

History

During the first few years following Qlimax's debut, the event used to have several editions each year. Since 2004, it was changed to the third or fourth week of November. At first it was held at the Beursgebouw (

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Zoetermeer Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 2013 this had grown to 123,328 ...

) and

Heineken Music Hall AFAS Live (formerly known as the Heineken Music Hall) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands, near the Johan Cruyff Arena. The big hall, named "Black Box" has a capacity of 6,000 and is 3000 m2; a smaller hall for after parties (Beat Box) ha ...

(

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

), but has now settled at the

GelreDome The GelreDome () is a football stadium in the city of Arnhem, Netherlands. It is one of the largest and most modern stadiums in the country, built from 1996 to 1998 at a cost equivalent to €75 million, that opened on 25 March 1998. The stadium ...

(

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

Artists and event

Many artists consider being chosen to play at Qlimax as a highlight since the event is used to showcase the most successful artists in their respective genre. The beginning saw the lineup featuring genres ranging from

Hardhouse UK hard house or simply hard house is a style of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1990s and is synonymous with its association to the Trade club and the associated DJs there that created the style. It often features a speedy te ...

Techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

. This was changed to traditionally begin with one Hardtrance act, numerous

Hardstyle Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre that emerged in the late 1990s, with origins in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Hardstyle mixes influences from techno, new beat and hardcore. Early hardstyle was typically written at 140 BPM (''beat ...

acts and then finish off with one Hardcore/Gabber act. This was changed in 2008 with the removal of the

Jumpstyle Jumpstyle is an electronic dance style and music genre popular in Western Europe, originally in Belgium. Jumpstyling is often referred to as "Jumpen": a combination of the English word 'Jump' and the Dutch and German suffix '-en' (meaning "to j ...

act and in 2009 with the replacement of the Hardtrance act to one playing early Hardstyle. in 2021 the event would have taken place during the day for the first time, to adhere to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

precautions and guidelines at that time in the Netherlands. A week before the event was due, the event was cancelled and adapted to an online event. The sound, light, pyrotechnic and stage setup at Qlimax is substantial. Around 350 L'Acoustics speaker boxes are deployed in the arena, with a majority being suspended from the ceiling. The conventional part of the lighting setup is controlled from 3 light desks, and the laser show is done by a certified laser show operator. FOH is placed out in the crowd, giving the technicians the overview they need, as well as the sound coverage needed to ensure everyone is having the most ideal possible sound at all times.

Anthems

Like most of the Q-dance events, an anthem is made every year by the headlining DJ (with the exception of 2001 and 2002) to represent that edition. Below is a list of the anthems for each edition: Dutch Anthems * 2003: The Prophet – Follow the Leader * 2003: Deepack – The Prophecy * 2004: Future Tribes – Deadlock (Unofficial) * 2005:

DJ Zany Raoul van Grinsven (known more commonly as DJ Zany or Zany; born 11 May 1974) is a disc jockey and former member of ''Shadowlands Terrorists'', now specialising in hardstyle. He is currently the owner of Fusion Records. Zany's 2002 song ''Be On Y ...

– Science & Religion * 2006: Alpha² – The Dark Side (Co-produced by JDX) * 2007:

Headhunterz Willem Rebergen (born 12 September 1985), better known by his stage name ''Headhunterz'', is a Dutch DJ and music producer. Rebergen is also a voice actor. He has done dubbing for several movies and TV series. He started his career in 2005 work ...

– The Power of the Mind * 2008:

Technoboy Cristiano Giusberti (born December 19, 1970), known by his primary stage name Technoboy, is an Italian hardstyle DJ and producer from Bologna. Technoboy is a DJ and producer, who started out by playing vinyl in 1992. The genre he primarily pl ...

– Next Dimensional World * 2009: D-Block & S-te-Fan – The Nature Of Our Mind * 2010:

Brennan Heart Fabian Bohn (born 2 March 1982), better known by his stage name Brennan Heart, is a Dutch DJ and a hardstyle producer. Career Blademasterz In 2002, Fabian Bohn co-founded with Pieter Heijnen (known as DJ Thera) a duo named Blademasterz concent ...

– Alternate Reality * 2011:

Zatox Scantraxx is a Dutch record label founded by Dov Elkabas in 2002, specializing in Hardstyle music. S.W.A.T Between November 2007 and April 2008, the label organized a number of shows under the name of ''S.W.A.T'' (Scantraxx World Artist Tour) ...

– No Way Back * 2012: Psyko Punkz – Fate or Fortune * 2013: Gunz For Hire ft. Ruffian – Immortal Essence * 2014:

Noisecontrollers Bas Oskam, better known by his stage name Noisecontrollers, is a Dutch DJ and hardstyle music producer based in Veenendaal, Netherlands. Noisecontrollers was formerly a duo before Arjan Terpstra left the project in 2013, prompting Oskam to cont ...

– The Source Code of Creation * 2015:

Atmozfears Tim van de Stadt, known his stage name Atmozfears, is a Dutch hardstyle artist. Atmozfears was previously a trio, consisting of Tim, Kevin Keiser and Michael Jessen, formed in 2009. By the end of 2012, Jessen had left the group. In February 201 ...

– Equilibrium * 2016:

Coone Koen Bauweraerts (born 30 May 1983), better known by his stage name Coone, is a Belgian hardstyle producer and DJ. Career Coone first started producing in 1998 at age 15. He released his first EP in 2002, "Protect The Innocent". Under the ...

– Rise of the Celestials * 2017:

Wildstylez Joram Metekohy (born 7 January 1983), better known by his stage name Wildstylez, is a Dutch hardstyle DJ and record producer. Having previously released hardstyle records under the alias 'Seizure', Joram Metekohy had his first solo release as Wi ...

– Temple of Light * 2018:

Sub Zero Project Sub Zero Project is a Dutch hardstyle producer duo, consisting of Thomas Velderman (born 19 April 1996) and Nigel Coppen (born 9 March 1997), most known for making the Qlimax 2018 anthem "The Game Changer". They are the youngest Qlimax anthem ma ...

– The Game Changer * 2019: B-Front – Symphony of Shadows * 2020: ''None (each artist made an anthem for the source movie)'' * 2021:

Ran-D Randy "Ran-D" Wieland (18 May 1981 in ZeelandNbr) is a Dutch DJ and music producer. Ran-D has been active in hardstyle music since 2006, when he released his first track "D-Pression" on Special Records. After his debut release, Ran-D moved on to ...

History

Artists and event

Anthems

Editions

Most significant artists

See also

References

External links