ROOLER HATES ME *NOT CLICKBAIT* (Decibel 2024 Recap)

Long time no blog post. I know everyones’ been dying to know where I’ve been. The fan mail has gotten out of hand, but here I am. I’ve also curated a playlist for you to listen to while reading so you can truly feel the sentiments I’m trying to convey - don’t put it on shuffle as I’ve purposely lined up the tracks in that order! (also open to more emotional hardstyle recommendations).

The weekend of August 16-18 I attended Decibel Outdoor in the Netherlands. It was the best weekend of my life. I couldn't NOT write a blog post about it. I booked Decibel back in November last year as I wanted to try another hardstyle weekend festival that wasn’t Defqon nor run by Q-Dance, and man I was not disappointed.

I had initially planned to camp, but when the stressors of buying the equipment and setting up by my lonesome got all too much for my solo traveller brain, I instead opted to book a hostel in Tilburg.

When I camped at Defqon in 2018, I was good to rawdog it with just a sleeping bag and tent, but at the ripe age of 27 and after experiencing luxuries such as the flex cabin at Defqon the past two years, the idea of camping, especially solo, didn’t appeal as much. 

The hostel was probably the best decision I had made in a while. Getting to Decibel was so simple. The hostel was a 5 minute walk from Tilburg station, where you would catch a 10 minute bus straight to the festival entrance. I swear getting home each night was quicker than walking from the  Defqon main stage back to my cabin. 

Majority of the people staying in the hostel were going to Decibel, besides a few stragglers who I had the odd interaction with. My friend Nat, who I know through Tiktok and met for the first time at Defqon (insane, shout out to you bb), booked the same hostel for the weekend so it was nice to have a friend.

FRIDAY

When we arrived at Decibel the first thing we had to do was secure a bottle of water, as security had made us throw out our empty water bottles. Like most Dutch festivals, the only way to purchase things at Decibel were through tokens. These acid tab looking fuckers would set you back 19.5 euro for a strip of five. In past experiences where five tokens would barely get me through one day of food and drink, I decided to take advantage of the laidback nature of Dutch security (barring that empty water bottle incident) and take my own snacks into the festival. Relaxing in between sets and got the munchies? Nothing a pre-packed chocolate and coconut muesli bar can’t fix.

One thing I instantly fell in love with was the terrain of which the festival was located. It made me realise just how fucking boring the Defqon location is. Decibel takes place at Beekse Bergen, which is actually a zoo! Don’t worry, no animals were harmed in the cooking of my brain cells.

Parts of the festival grounds are reminiscent of that of an Australian bush doof, with trees and greenery surrounding the stages. Various lakes also ran through and around the festival, with one notable bridge leading you from one stage to another.

One part that stood out to me was a hammock area right along the water, where some enthusiastic festival-goers would even pop in for a swim.

Another thing that stood out were the stages, which would change daily which genre of the harder styles would be playing. At first I thought this was a bit annoying, but then I realised it actually gave you the opportunity to explore different areas and stages across the weekend. I never had to worry about getting lost and not knowing which stage is which either, because outside each stage would be a billboard that told you the stage name, the number it's noted as on the map, and which artist/s were currently playing and coming up next!

Friday night was insane because during Phuture Noize I got recognised from my TikTok by a DUTCH guy! He complimented me on my emotional video montage of Defqon, and it was heart-warming to know my content had reached its intended audience. 

It began to rain pretty heavily Friday night so I spent the remainder of the evening taking it easy under covered areas. Remember friends; it’s a marathon not a sprint!

That Friday we also befriended James, a fellow Aussie, and Fiona, a German with the most British-passing accent. That night we formed a group known as the “Hostel Degenerates”. We took the bus back home at the end of the night and enjoyed the first night of what would become a kick on tradition with the Hostel Degenerates (literally just debriefing in the lobby until 4am). 

Favourite sets: Phuture Noize and The Purge

Rating: 8/10

SATURDAY

Saturday morning consisted of waking up at 10am for my pre-paid breakfast of bread, salami, and poorly rationed cereal, and going back to sleep at 11am for a two-hour nap before taking on day two. 

Saturday I was focused on one thing and one thing only; getting a signed Rooler takeaway card. For those playing along at home, Rooler (a DJ btw) designs a monthly themed card, usually in the style of a takeaway menu, to display all the gigs he is playing that month. He signs each individual card and gives them away at his meet and greets, which he trys to organise for each one of his gigs. Here are some of my favourites: 

I sadly missed out on a card for May when I saw him in Melbourne, and the opportunity to get one at Defqon was squashed by the sheer size of the line of people waiting to meet him. Decibel was my final chance to get one, and boy was I determined. I even made my own takeaway card to give to him, a play on Carl’s Jnr, that outlined all the events I had seen him perform at.

In good news; I ended up meeting Rooler at his meet and greet before his set and exchanging takeaway cards, but not without being extremely humbled first. Earlier this year I made a video on TikTok explaining my thoughts on the Defqon line up. I had mentioned that Rooler playing a solo set at the main stage was a bit “much”, and boy did that come back to bite me in the ass. He commented on the video “thanks I guess”, but I didn’t expect to be having an IN-PERSON conversation about the debacle. TELL ME WHY WHEN I APPROACHED THIS MAN HE BEGAN POINTING HIS FINGER AT ME??? A girl I had previously spoken to on WhatsApp and saw waiting in line for the meet and greet so graciously filmed the entire interaction which you can see here for yourself:

Despite the initial embarrassment, the whole interaction left me on such a high. Rooler truly goes above and beyond for his fans. Doing frequent Q&As on his Instagram, hosting meet and greets, and regularly interacting on the Reddit thread, he really is one of my favourite people. Suffice to say his set was amazing. James from the hostel met me at one point during for a boogie, and I exchanged water, vibes, and good energy with a German girl next to me on the barrier who actually happened to find me on TikTok and Instagram a couple of weeks later.

One of the sets I was most excited for were Chapter V. They are two producers part of Spoontech Records, a label co-founded by Delete, the artist that paved the way for rawstyle to become what it is today. At Defqon 2023 I saw Spoontechnicians live and not to be dramatic but it changed my life. I decided I wanted to start supporting the label as much as I can, and at Spoontech’s closing of blue stage at Defqon this year, I found myself crying in the arms of one of their artists, Vyral. (don’t ask why, I was emotional okay?).

So there I was, absolutely bung-eyed at Chapter V. I was with James and Nat absolutely enthralled by the moment, which when I look back on the videos, looks like I’m in the final layer of hell what with the orange lights and smoke surrounding the stage.

My body was dancing with a mind of its own, while simultaneously wondering how so many people can come together to enjoy this kind of music. A crowd full of dedicated “spoonies” as they like to call it, moving together as one to this insane music. There’s a type of connection you can feel in the atmosphere that I haven’t felt back home. It’s magical really.

I was making it my mission to ensure every DJ that’s a part of Spoontech know the impact that their music has had on me, so at the end of their set I thought it was of paramount importance that Chapter V themselves understood how much I appreciated their set that night.

At this point, Nat and I were in a bit of a compromising state. Some might say we embarrassed ourselves, but as my friend Maya told me, we just made ourselves memorable. Although knowing each other for only a few months and the extent of our interactions had been alongside 180 bpm, I feel like Nat and I had created a safe space for each other. There’s something beautiful in knowing that a connection like that can be made through TikTok and the hardstyle scene.

I spent the last hour of Saturday in pure Gabby style - watching the endshow fireworks from the com fort of a hammock. The perfect end to a perfect day.

Favourite sets: Rooler and Chapter V

Rating: 9.5/10

SUNDAY

Sunday was by far my favourite day of Decibel. It started with me losing my glasses and finding them at a merch stand 30 minutes later. One thing about me? I am blessed with lucky girl syndrome.

Our first stop of the day was a quick peek into the xtra raw stage where Fraw was playing, and I saw the greatest sight to be seen at any hardstyle event; everyone kick rolling in unison. As I stood at the back of the crowd, I could see waves of arms moving in synchronicity. It could’ve honestly created an earthquake. I don’t have a video, but here is one of Dual Damage at the same stage so you can get an understanding.

Sunday afternoon at main stage was the “Live Loud Marathon” - five artists playing back to back half hour sets. I decided to go over and pay my respects to Sefa. Homie spent 30 minutes absolutely losing it on stage and it was the best 30 minutes of my life. Amongst the insanely energetic crowd, I locked eyes with a tall curly haired Dutch ginger with great teeth. We not-so-sublty kept looking over at each other, which resulted in him sparking up a conversation with me. Nobody Said It Was Easy played, and we sang and danced with our arms around each other. This song has a very important place in my heart, and to hear it and enjoy it with a new friend felt so special. At the end of the set he asked for my Snapchat, something I’ve had to get accustomed to in Dutch dating culture. Usually I would counter-offer a different method of communication, but in this case I folded. Anything for you my tall Dutch ginger king!

Sickmode was supposed to play after Sefa, but unfortunately (but not actually) got replaced by Rooler last minute. Rooler posted on his Instagram story that he was going to be mixing some classics into his set and I think it got me more excited than his original set on Saturday. During Rooler I noticed some guys muzzing, so obviously it would’ve been rude not to join in. Nine times out of 10 if you see someone muzzing at a Dutch festival, they’re probably Australian. They were four guys from Perth (or Adelaide idk, either way they weren’t from Sydney) who adopted me into their group for the hour. From offering me shoulder rides so I could find my friends in the crowd, to giving me a whole ass joint when we said goodbye, these guys were the definition of rave community. We got a photo together, and I’m hoping the universe reunites us at Knockout in Sydney this October.

After Rooler I made my way to the artist I was most excited to see that weekend; Dr Donk.  An uptemo DJ from Germany, Dr Donk’s sound is something we don’t hear much of in Australia. Playing at the Future District stage (kind of like an “up and coming” stage), I was expecting a sparse crowd with plenty of room to get to the front and see this goofy looking dude in the flesh. HA! I couldn’t have been more wrong. I think the entire German population of Decibel were at Dr Donk. The stage was not only PACKED, but OVERFLOWING. I happened to run into the Dutch guy from Friday who had recognised me from TikTok, and he started spilling the lore on Dr Donk and his music style. He explained that Dr Donk produced '“rawtempo”; a style that mixes the BPM of raw and the kicks of uptempo. Like Chapter V, I was completely taken aback by the unwavering support that was shown to Dr Donk. Anytime a beat would drop, the crowd went absolutely insane. Arms were flying, flags were being waved, everyone was chanting “IT’S FUCKING DR DONK” and the atmosphere was above anything I have ever experienced. The fact that this one guy with just 19,000 followers had brought not only a strong German presence, but little old me from Australia to his Decibel set, was inspiring. It opened my eyes to the fact that going to festivals overseas is such an enriching cultural experience, and I am forever grateful for this lifestyle I have chosen.

It was 9:30pm and I had half an hour until Dimtri K started, so I decided it was the best time to have a main character moment with a solo ferris wheel ride. The views were incredible, the weed was hitting, and the two couples in the carriages both in front and behind me were definitely fucking. My Dutch ginger king was waiting for me once I got off, and we went together to Dimitri K. Sadly, our boogie was cut short when his friend who was designated driver decided he had had enough. We exchanged a kiss goodbye, and living three hours away from Amsterdam, Joep now sadly only lives in my Snapchat DMs.

Earlier on Saturday Nat and I had met an Australian couple, Ziggy and Alannah who had recognised us from TikTok. They had been adopted by two Dutch guys who amazingly also recognised us from TikTok. Sunday evening I received a message from Ziggy saying that they wanted to dance with me at some point - what an honour! I met them at Dimitri K once my short-lived rave bae left, and I ended up staying with them until the end of the night. We went to go see Mutilator at main stage before the end show, and boy did he put on a SHOW. He played banger after banger, and Sunday’s chemical concoction was sitting right where it needed to.

The endshow was one for the books. It is probably the first time I’ve ever gotten to experience a hardstyle festival endshow the way I’ve always wanted to; surrounded by people I feel comfortable with, reminiscing on not just the weekend that was, but everything that has lead me to this moment. At one pointed I turned to Alannah and said “not to be dramatic, but I think I found my purpose”. I think that “purpose” has lost a bit of it’s validity now, but for blog post’s sake I’ll tell you what it was. Ziggy and Alannah had known me through TikTok, and seemed to take a great interest in my connection with the hardstyle scene. It made me feel like I was fulfilling some sort of “rave mum/big sister” role.

I want to be able to attend these European festivals over Summer, take what I’ve learnt, and channel that back home in Australia. I want to guide others through the same experiences I have had, and encourage them to make most of what the community is, not just in Australia, but worldwide. I want to be the person that I want to see more of within the scene.

Anyway, how I’m going to put this “purpose” into fruition is still up in the air, but as the universe says; yOu’Re eXaCtLy WhErE yOu NeEd tO bE!!!!!

The Hostel Degenerates kicked on for one last time that night, but memories were solidified for a lifetime.

Favourite sets: Dr Donk, Dimitri K, Mutilator 

Rating: 10/10

FINAL THOUGHTS

Decibel, along with every other event I’ve been to this Summer, has made realise that what I’ve built for myself within the hardstyle community is something beautiful. The feeling I felt this weekend is one of belonging that I never anticipated. With everyone I met and every set I saw, I will carry pieces of those moments with me for as long as I’m listening to this music. For even when I retire from events, a legacy I have helped build will live on.

Decibel was such a unique festival experience for me. A whirlwind of energy, connection, and music that deepened my love for hardstyle. See you next year.