November: 7 hard dance releases you need to hear this month

J-Trax 'Get Mad' (DJ-U)

J-Trax is part of a new breed of UK hardstyle artists who are grabbing attention by kicking ass both in the studio and their club sets. ‘Get Mad’ isn’t insanely hard or particularly groundbreaking, but the production quality, use of sounds and massive energy it contains make it a must-have for your sets. The drop lead is dark and driving, with lots of question-and-answer stabs bouncing across your dancefloor. It’s a taste of the new generation of UK artists, and we can’t wait to hear what’s next.

9/10

Alf Graham 'Everybody' (Solid State Digital)

Alf Graham is working his ass off right now, running his SSD label and brand to perfection as it mounts up plenty of impressive releases. His new cut, ‘Everybody’, is rough, tough and smothered in diva vocals with a jittery lead that sits over a big off-beat bassline. A frantic hoover lead comes in for the second time around to ensure the energy levels continue to surge – keep your eye on this label, it’s making waves.

8/10

Adam Taylor & Charlie Goddard 'Gravity' (Premonition Digital)

Two of the new breed of hard trance artists step up to delive a top-notch summer anthem for peak-time floors. There’s an amazing hook-led vocal over an uplifting lead with a big kick-laced build, while the drop features all the qualities you’d expect from these two. After a big rolling bassline and lead combo, the vocal then comes back in for the second time round to finish things off nicely.

8/10

Marc Lewis 'Vixen' (Fireball)

Marc Lews’ latest release does a fine job in mixing up ideas and styles to keep the listener interested. A big, low rolling bassline thunders around with a trance loop dancing away on top. The breakdown is stripped-down upon entry but then builds with a downright disgusting hoover riff which, when mixed with the bass in the drop, grabs you by the balls and drags you kicking and screaming across the dancefloor.

8/10

Klubfiller 'Funky Beatz' (Klubbed Up)

Klubfiller delivered a superb big bounce banger in the form of ‘Smile’ last month, and now he’s back to his hardcore side with ‘Funky Beatz’. It’s a fun track, but nowhere near the levels of previous outings. If you like melody-led hardcore then this is for you – it’s a very simple and well-produced combination of riff, kick and bass – but it feels less like an anthem and more like filler instead.

7/10

D-Block & S-te-Fan 'Everything Changed' (Scantraxx)

This is a lead-heavy smasher from a duo who are massive in both hardstyle and in EDM as DBSTF. With a gorgeous pitched vocal over a beautiful breakdown, the riff and pitched-kick drop gel so well that it’s easy to hear influences from their slower productions throughout.

7/10

Lee Haslam & Peter Berry 'State of Mind' (Tidy Two)

The return of Tidy Two has been a massive success, as it’s constantly released high-quality trance and hard trance music by a series of exciting artists. Peter Berry is certainly one to watch for the future, and his collab with Lee Haslam of ‘Music Is The Drug’ fame ticks all the boxes, with a giant hands-up breakdown dropping down to a beautiful plucky lead for the build. When it all comes back in, the energy is outstanding.

8/10