August: 6 hard dance releases you need to hear this month

Spojaz 'Find Me' (Broken Records UK)

Broken Records is a great imprint famed for pushing fresh and forward-thinking styles of hardcore out to the masses. ‘Find Me’ fits in with that ethos nicely: there are so many elements to wrap your ears around, from the gorgeous piano and chopped ‘n’ pitched vocal trickery to the out-of-nowhere drop which sounds like reverse bass hardstyle smacked up to 170bpm. Half-speed trap influences pop up throughout, making this a huge bundle of unique flavours. If you want to hear something outside the box today, look this up and make it loud.

8/10

Wildstylez, Noisecontrollers & Bass Modulators 'Bad Habits' (Lose Control Music)

Goodness me, when you bring together this many top-tier artists, the results are never going to be short of magical. And ‘Bad Habits’ is everything you would expect from hardstyle’s elite and much more. So, where to start? Perhaps the absolutely superb vocal that forms the backbone of the entire song – it’s gorgeous, hooky and works so well with the perfect progression of pads and the scatty feel-good riff. The drop is powerful and melodic, too, with something for fans of all the names involved. A true masterpiece.

9/10

Paul Elstak & Neophyte feat Alee 'Icon' (Foolish)

Once master and apprentice and now the two leading names of European hardcore, Paul Elstak and Neophyte have come together for a track overflowing with creativity and originality. Based on a half-speed breakdown and smothered in a huge rap vocal your crowd will love, the riff is simple yet huge and the drop is what you’d expect from these two: relentlessly hard, angry, aggressive and brilliant.

8/10

Alan Skipper 'Flying Home' (Cheeky Tracks)

A Cheeky Tracks debut by new artist Alan Skipper, and it’s quite the delight for those flagging floors which need a little wake-up juice. A bouncy off-beat bassline drives everything along wonderfully, backed by a teasing, sweeping riff and ricocheting question-and-answer sounds. The breakdown is a collection of spoken lines laid over a bed of uplifting pads, all produced solidly with great clarity and depth.

8/10