Call It Hardstyle!

So, what is tecktonik exactly? Alternately known as Tck, Milky Way and Vertigo, it is defined by the music and by the dance. Tecktonik is a registered trademark selling shirts, energy drinks and creating a lot of problems for anyone trying to use the name to publicize an event (Wikipedia). Tecktonik began with Cyril Blanc, a young Parisian and a friend of his, who were sick of the same old music found in all the clubs; they started something new and fresh. Tecktonik stems from a mix between jump (out of Belgium), hard (from the Netherlands), electro (out of Italy) and tech house (out of Spain) (Marquand). Essentially, it was a mix of everything. What amazes me is that the club scene took to such a different mesh of music. I can't imagine techno being played in the same room, on the same night as rap and then rock, and everyone adapting their dancing to it. I can't imagine different “groups” of people not getting into fights- techno “geeks” (as they are in this country, unappreciated) versus rappers versus the hardcore rocker kids. None of those groups can ever stop for a second and appreciate each others music; everyone is too critical. This critical attitude leads to a younger generation that can barely get along just because of their music tastes. In France, however, people embraced the different music from the different areas of Europe and came together and essentially made a dance style by incorporating different moves. Blanc emphasizes the true mesh of character by saying “people had different dress, but we didn't judge clothes...it was a kind of milkshake effect. Everything was mixed and out of this environment came a new dance, almost as a by product of everything else,” (Marquand). The key to the start of this movement was people not judging and criticizing each other. It's no wonder that we haven't seen a movement of this caliber in the United States; people here are too quick to judge based on appearance and never give anything a chance (like music).

Side note: All entry titles are tecktonik/ hardstyle songs. To give proper credit to the DJ's, their names will appear at the end of each entry. "Victims of Hardstyle" by Zenith DJ vs Dana. "Call It Hardstyle!" by DJ Dana.

Works Cited

Marquand, Robert. "Tecktonik Founder Had No Intention of Starting a Craze." The Christian Science Monitor 29 Jan 2008 15 Feb 2008 .