Statement of Intent

Rawstyle is a darker, more aggressive offshoot of hardstyle characterized by heavily distorted "raw" kicks, abrasive screeches, tense atmospheres, and high-energy drops around 150 BPM. Compared to euphoric hardstyle, it favors harsher sound design, minor tonalities, and cinematic, ominous breakdowns over big melodic climaxes. Tracks typically feature punchy, multistage distorted kick-tails that are pitched to the key, frenetic kickrolls, and screech leads built from resonant filtering or FM synthesis with wide pitch bends. The overall aesthetic is gritty, intense, and built for large festival sound systems, emphasizing impact and dancefloor aggression.

Nustyle (often written as Nu-Style Hardstyle) is the melodic, euphoric branch of hardstyle that emerged in the late 2000s. It is characterized by pitched, tonal hardstyle kicks, supersaw lead melodies, anthemic chord progressions, and large, cinematic breakdowns that resolve into singable climaxes. Compared with the earlier, rougher hardstyle sound, Nustyle emphasizes emotional writing, pop-leaning structures, and polished sound design. Typical tempos sit around 150 BPM, with offbeat hi‑hats, claps on 2 and 4, and signature “screech” effects used as rhythmic and textural fills.

Hardstyle is a high-energy form of electronic dance music built around a hard, four‑on‑the‑floor kick, tempos around 150 BPM, and a signature "reverse bass" that drives the groove. Sound design centers on heavily distorted, layered kicks that are pitched melodically, alongside harsh screeches and bright supersaw leads. Emerging at the turn of the millennium from the Netherlands with parallel scenes in Belgium and Italy, hardstyle fuses elements of techno, new beat, and hardcore/gabber with the euphoric breakdowns of trance. Over time it split into distinct currents, from euphoric, melody‑forward anthems to raw, industrial‑edged variations that emphasize aggression and texture.