Now streaming: documentary about Year of Summer by Wildstylez

It's no secret that 'Year of Summer' by Wildstylez and Niels Geusebroek made a huge impact on the harder styles scene after its release. Now, 12 years later, you can watch a personal documentary about the track on YouTube. 

'Year Of Summer: De Onverwachte Megahit,' which loosely translates to 'the unexpected mega-hit', tells the story of the fast rise of one of the most popular hardstyle tracks to date. The track not only received many remixes (and even a beautiful acoustic version) but also a golden record and a spot in the Top 2000 last year — as the first hardstyle track ever.

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In the documentary, Wildstylez and Niels Geusebroek discuss their track's success and significant impact on the electronic dance music industry. The documentary also features other people involved in the track's rise at the time, such as Willem Rebergen (Headhunterz), Barend van Deelen (radio station 3FM), and Mark Labrand (Radio 538). Mark Labrand talks about how he chose Year of Summer for his radio show and the amazing response from the audience, which marks the start of the track's popularity.

In the documentary, we see not only the positive response to the track but also the discussion around the fear of hardstyle's commercialization that it raised. "Although we released the track ourselves, we were still a bit worried when the track came on the radio," Rogier Werver, Creative Director of Q-dance, explains. "I thought, damn it, what is going to happen to hardstyle now? This could mean the downfall of hardstyle. In the past, we experienced that with happy hardcore. When the media jumped on it."

"Hardstyle was really ours. It was from the people who were the enthusiasts. That was also its strength. Like, we understand this, and the rest of the world doesn't," adds Jonas Schmidt, Creative Director of Q-dance. "And then suddenly it all opened up. That was a bit of a shock, and that was just with the past, especially with hardcore. That still had... apparently, quite a scar with it. Like, it happened so fast and extreme back then."

"Set your mind free, it's the year of summer"

Nowadays, we all know that the Year of Summer didn't mark the downfall of hardstyle. On the contrary, the track may have made it even bigger. The years following 'Year of Summer' were a series of highlights for both Wildstylez and Niels, which they discuss in the documentary.

Wildstyles himself states that he is very proud of this documentary. "It helps me realize how special it is to create a track with such impact for both the hardstyle scene and the Dutch music industry in general. It's still an amazing adventure with both highs and lows. I am proud of what we have achieved together and this documentary feels like a crown on my work and a beautiful gift from my team."

'Year Of Summer: De Onverwachte Megahit' is now available to watch on YouTube. Besides the success story of Year of Summer, Wildstylez and Niels Geusebroek also take you through the creation process of the long-awaited successor, called King For A Day. The documentary is in Dutch, but English subtitles are available throughout the whole 28-minute-long video.

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