headhunterz album

Headhunterz played some good old Hardstyle again

Laurens van Beers
By Laurens van Beers

The fact that Headhunterz has moved away from the Hardstyle scene is not a secret anymore. But it has already been over two years ago since he made that decision. Many fans still hope for a comeback, but in a recent interview he revealed that it is probably not going to happen. “I decided to leave Hardstyle, because I had been doing that for eight years and I just didn’t feel that spark anymore.”

Every event with Headhunterz on the line-up has visitors who desperately wait for a Hardstyle kick to start pounding through the speakers. This weekend he had a gig in Chile and started out with, as expected, his latest non-Hardstyle tracks. But after playing a few of them Headhunterz decided to surprise the visitors with almost an hour filled with nothing but Hardstyle. While the set didn’t have a very surprising tracklist, the emotions ran high amongst the crowd. They were very aware that a set like this is extremely rare. Below this video you’ll find an overview of the tracks that he played that night.

Tracklist

01:50 Hardwell & Headhunterz feat. Haris – Nothing Can Hold Us
05:05 Headhunterz & Skytech – Kundalini
07:11 Headhunterz – Dragonborn (Psychedelic Intro Edit)
10:00 Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us (Frontliner “Never Come Down” Bootleg)
12:09 Headhunterz ft. Malukah – Reignite
13:57 Headhunterz – From Within
16:07 Headhunterz, Noisecontrollers & Wildstylez – World of Madness (Defqon.1 2012 Anthem)
20:19 Headhunterz – The Power of Music
23:59 Headhunterz – Scrap Attack (Lessons In Love Vocal Edit)
26:39 The Prophet & Brennan Heart – Wake Up
28:46 Proppy & Heady – Summer Of Hardstyle
30:31 Headhunterz ft Tatu – Colors
34:29 Technoboy, Tuneboy & Isaac – Digital Nation
36:37 Max Enforcer – Lost in Paradise
38:54 Hardwell – Spaceman (Headhunterz Remix)

Because many fans still can’t get used to the fact that Willem (Headhunterz) has left the Hardstyle scene, he decided last Christmas to speak to them one last time.

“I am not talented or specially gifted. I’m good at learning. I am fascinated by the learning process and I love it. I’m persistent when I want something, I’m passionate and curious. Learning and discovering is what I love doing. And when I stop feeling like that, that is when I know I have to move on. Last year I decided to make that change and before we end 2015 and make a fresh start, I want to have this said.

Dear hardstyle community, I want to say that I don’t want to interpret my change as a goodbye even though I understand it must have felt like that for people that had gotten used to me making a very specific sound for a long time. For me music is not about bpm’s, it’s really about expression of emotions and sharing it with people who resonate with it, and I have never stopped doing that.

headhunterz music old new
I hope you will stick around while I keep walking my path, while I fall and get up and learn how to live my life, and translate that into music. And if not then I wish you all the best in your life. Sorry if you have ever felt like I left you in the dark. I am forever thankful for the memories we have, and those are timeless.”

Everything about this post shows that Headhunterz is still having trouble with fans not respecting his choice, but he hopes that this helps them to finally let go and accept it. It’s a big deal to build up something for years, both in fans and music, and suddenly decide to do something completely different. Fans only see the final decision, but all the doubt and uncertainty is not visible.

Comments

  • kenny 22 May 2016 - 22:42

    Didn’t he play hardstyle at Exchange LA in April too?

    Quote
  • XYZ 23 May 2016 - 20:08

    Didn’t he play hardstyle at Exchange LA in April too?

    He did, but not as much as he played in Chile.

    Quote

Add a comment