X-Qlusive

After Qlimax, X-Qlusive is the longest running Q-dance concept. Every X-Qlusive is different, but one thing they have in common is that it's all about honouring the biggest artists of that moment. The line-up and theme are always composed by zooming in on a specific artist, country, or record label.

The Foundation
The first edition of X-Qlusive, X-Qlusive Italy, took place on 26 October 2002 at the Heineken Music Hall (now AFAS Live) in Amsterdam. This venue became the home base of X-Qlusive. Dana was the first artist to become an X-Qlusive Legend. Dana already had a long track record in DJing. She started out as a hardcore DJ by the name of Lady Dana, but later on she became the queen of hardstyle. She was one of the founders of the hardstyle sound and the only female hardstyle DJ at that time, so it made sense to celebrate her career with an event exclusively for her and her fans. From that moment on, a new tradition had started.

After Dana, other hardstyle veterans followed: Luna (2004), Pavo (2005), The Prophet (2006), Zany (2007), Showtek (2008) and Technoboy (2009). In 2010, a new hardstyle era dawned and it was time to honour the leading artists of this period with X-Qlusive Headhunterz, after that, D-Block & S-te-Fan (2011), Noisecontrollers (2012), Wildstylez (2013), Brennan Heart (2014) and Frontliner (2015) took the spot. B-Front was the first RAW hardstyle artist to get an X-Qlusive in 2016, Ran-D and Frequencerz followed in the years after. In 2019 the reins were handed over to Da Tweekaz. This year, on May 20th, the AFAS Live in Amsterdam will set the stage for an unprecendented Q-dance × Phuture Noize experience.

The Theme
X-Qlusive doesn't have just one theme, every edition is unique in its own way. The artists are leading in determining the line-up, which always leads to a rare mix of DJs that you wouldn't get to see anywhere else in that order. The shows and decor are also focused on that specific artist, everything is in line with his or her style. Preferably we take about a year to work up to an X-Qlusive together with the artist in question, so in most cases the artists already know they're in the running for the next edition of X-Qlusive way before the actual event.

Unlike the artist editions, the other editions of X-Qlusive are curated by Q-dance, with X-Qlusive Holland as our crown jewel. The idea for these editions started because of remarkable developments in the hard dance scene. During the X-Qlusive Italy editions for example, a lot of Italian artists were at the top of the league at that time, so celebrating these momentums in the hard dance scene was the only logical thing to do.

The Experience
X-Qlusive is all about experiencing the energy of a specific artist, country or label. Especially with the artist editions, you can really feel the vibe, emotional release, gratitude and honour of the artist that is in the spotlight, but maybe even more of the fans. At X-Qlusive B-Front for example, we've never seen that many people singing along to tracks that don't even have lyrics, goosebumps guaranteed. Almost every single person there is a big fan and they are just as proud as their favourite artist. The line-up almost always consists of fellow artists that are also friends with each other, which can lead to spontaneous back to back sets and guest appearances.

The Show
Even though every X-Qlusive is different, you can always expect a show spectacle. The shows are meticulously composed for that specific person, country or label. For the artist editions, their entrance is always the highlight of the evening. Pavo entered the Heineken Music Hall in a limousine, Frequencerz came in through the crowd in a rubber jacuzzi, Dana was lowered down on stage from the ceiling and at Headhunterz' edition, Evil Activities played a piano version of 'Sacrifice'.

The Message
There are no specific rules for when artist is eligible to get an X-Qlusive, this is different for every artist. We look at legacy but also at current status. What roll has someone played in hardstyle? Wat is the added value to the scene? The goal of this event is not to please everyone, but to honour that specific artist and his/her fans. It's also the first event of the year, where we can forget about our after-holiday dip and where we set the bar for the rest of the year.