It’s that time of the year again, where families hide chocolate eggs in the garden for their children, saying it was the Easter Bunny. But for those, who are part of the movement and already survived two insane editions. Yes, for those it’s the time to unleash their inner being, to take down all motherf*ckers and literally destroy the Ziggodome in Amsterdam. We Are QAPITAL!

2013 Q-Dance announced the first edition of a new area, a new festival. They wanted to have the biggest, loudest, roughest and most insane raw event of all time. Q-Dance created a whole new experience, with a fresh concept, the best DJs, a dark atmosphere and a hell of a sound system. Are you able to stand your ground? We visited this year’s edition of Qapital and we surely won’t forget this night!

It’s already 9 p.m. when we arrived with the bus from Germany near the Ziggodome. Only a few meters left to reach the holy doors and we were more than ready for this event. Teaming up with our friends, and straight to the entrance … where we needed to wait until 10 p.m.. It felt like the longest hour I’ve ever had to stand in the cold, but thinking of an upcoming awesome edition of Qapital made me go insane inward. And finally, the doors are open, the people flocked in.

Stage, show & sound

There it was, the stage, everyone talked about in the bus and the stage I’ve always wanted to see. This is one of the things, that Qapital makes so special. Of course, Q-Dance set up a center stage, which means it’s in the middle of the dance floor and people can gather around it. No one has to stand in the back and everyone has a perfect view at the beautifully designed stage, no matter where he or she is standing.

To describe it, I need to go back to the topic of this year’s Qapital, referring to the anthem, the trailer and flyer design. The anthem is called “Blood Written” and is made by no one else than E-Force! I was pretty hyped when I first heard it. A melody you can sing along, a brutal kick and a nice second anti climax. If you watched the trailer and visited the website, you see that the theme was about a futuristic vision of our society, with people living in the underground, waiting to attack someone.

It’s about a resistance and the people fight against someone or something, hiding under the shadows of destroyed buildings. Soon they will break through the walls, to bring down all those motherf*ckers. Exactly this feeling, this mood and this specific topic was delivered. In the center, on the ground the DJ booth, above it a huge disco ball, reflecting all the light that comes from the tribunes. The booth was surrounded by columns. They looked like old Greek arches.

Four massive, ancient looking “walls”, split up from the center and protrude into the corners of the dome. In between the arches of each wall, they set up three disco balls and the Qapital logo. It just looked massive, especially the big speakers hanging around the centre. I expected a strong bass, but actually the sound system was pretty well balanced. But also very hard, delivering the pumping bass lines through the speakers.

The show was spectacular, as always. Q-Dance did an awesome job! Especially the intro show was one of its kind. On the tribunes around the whole dancefloor the movement raised and showed up with flares. In addition, Q-Dance fired up everything they had: lasers, fire and firework. Through the night they kept always a dark atmosphere around, created by spotlights and green lasers, distributed in the whole arena. I loved to see the lasers reflecting at the disco balls between the arches of the wall. The whole arena was illuminated in green!

Line-Up

Starting with Outbreak’s set, which was a mix of old classics and his new tunes. He played his new track called “Brain Smacker” and of course “Bassface”. The floor was not packed now, but the people went crazy to it. Awesome!

Next up: Phuture Noize with a special Phuture Propaganda showcase. And yes, they rocked the stage! A lot of new tunes and a slightly different style made this set special. The combination of heavy screeches, strong bass lines and drum’n’bass elements are uplifting and fresh. We definitely can’t wait for the album! After their set, the intro show started and Dark Pact claimed the stage. It was the first time I saw him and I wasn’t disappointed. He played some new tracks but also bangers, everyone knows “Hollow”, “Bolivia” and “Octavius Augustus”.

It was time to turn up the volume and welcome the first live act: Crypsis! Seriously, I never heard him playing live and I was pretty curious. But, although I’m not a huge Crypsis fan, this set was one of the best! So many great tracks, mash-upped and edited. The mood was insane and the people went crazy. I just missed a few of his old tracks, but whatever.

So, who’s up next? He’s one of my favourite artists and the creator of this year’s Defqon.1 anthem, Ran-D. Guess what the first track was he played? Defqon.1 anthem premiere at Qapital! This year’s anthem is just massive, the melody, the kick and the vocals are awesome, underlined by an intense show! A very diverse set, with a few edits and mashups and of course all his new bangers like “Wolfchild”, “FCK EDM” and “I AM Legion”.

Unfortunately, Exit Mind was not able to play the next live set, due to personal circumstances. But Q-Dance found a worthy successor. She was meant to play in the second area, but now she performed at the mainstage. She brought the riot and broke through the the walls of Qapital. Give it up for Deetox! An amazing artist, signed at Theracords. She played one massive hit after the other and made the crowd go wild. My favorite track of her set? Definitely “Bring The Riot”. The kick is just outstanding and sounded massive through the speakers.

It was now time for the anthem creator himself. I expected a special set. Rough, brutal, showing no mercy. It’s hard to find the right words for this massive set, just take a look at the tracklist. Only the best raw tunes were smashing through the speakers. After 30min, he played the anthem with a stunning show! You really couldn’t stop dancing and in the end he also dropped some hardcore beats.

Resident at Loudness and a huge player in the scene. His specific style make people dance during all of his sets. Now signed at a new label, called Roughstate, he was ready to unleash his power to bring us a massive live set! B-Front was about to destroy the Ziggodome! He did a great job, his live sets are always worth to hear and really enjoyable!

Time to discover something different and walk around the Ziggodome! It’s just a huge arena and to go to the second and third area you need to take the elevator or the stairs. Thankfully it was not overcrowded, but the third area was actually pretty hard to find and it was pretty small and super hot! I only talked to a guy next to me and already started sweating!

You want it f*cking raw? Discover a Jason Payne set! He’s a beast on stage, signed at Theracords and played the set of the night. It’s a massive tracklist, filled with edits, mashups and he went rougher and rougher with every track. It’s always nice to watch him, I guess he enjoys his set more than anyone else.

Time to relax, get yourself a fresh drink and something to eat. The facilities were diverse. A fresh beer and some fruits are just perfect to gain some energy for the last hours, because we would definitely need it! Radical Redemption and Warface & Luna were left and I was extremely excited! In the end, I was bit disappointed by Radical’s set, because it was pretty similar to his Reverze set, although he played all his new tracks and ended up with hardcore. “Die Bitch” and “Suicide Bassline” are worth to mention, but also “Don’t fuck with the Radical” or “Spell of sin”.

When Radical finished my thoughts were just: “Okay let’s pull this together for this act!”

Warface and Luna claimed the stage and showed no mercy. Straight forward, harder and harder, they wrecked the place and although it was 6 a.m. the people went crazy. This is a closing act like I want to see it! 100% pure destruction with tracks like “H8ME”, “Vengeance” or “The Revival” they delivered a f*cking massive and raw set! I really have no words for it. They ended Qapital like kings.

The third edition of Qapital was just an amazing experience. Q-Dance offered a huge line-up and a spectacular show. The Ziggodome is the perfect location to gather raw fans from all over the world. It was a nearly perfect night and we are definitely back next year! Destruction was our domain and we survived. Our story will be written with blood and continues next year! See ya!