The Hard Dance Tour is a tribute to the “fastest, most ecstatic fringes of club culture” visiting fifteen cities across Europe and the UK. Sim0ne, mischluft & Juicy Romance are headlining the tour as well as some extra additions in each different city, finishing in Maastricht, Netherlands on the 15th March. Forms of trance, techno, and house music all featured in this exciting, “hard dance” immersion experience. The exciting set list for Newcastle included the following: Evian Christ, Franck, mischluft, Sim0ne, Juicy Romance, Boo (main room), and Salome, Sunny Bean, Niamh and Jude Race (second room).
Juicy Romance, a Melbourne-born DJ but currently London-based, is breaking the cultural band waves of DJ identity right now, with her new cult EP “Drink The Juice” released only at the end of last year, showcasing her iconic brand of voguish, hot girl party expert. Her set was a success, led by her iconic electro-house “jucified” remix of Will.I.AM’s 'I Got It From My Mama' and a remix of Damien Marley and Ini Kamoze’s 'Welcome To Jamrock'. She also remixed a fab version of 'Boasty' feat. Idris Elba by Wiley, Stefflon Don and Sean Paul, which got the crowd going wild and grooving to the max. Juicy Romance’s DJ talent runs in the family, with her brother Partiboi69 also taking the dance scene by storm. She finished with the classic anthem 'Sexy B***ch' feat. Akon by David Guetta, which subsequently made the crowd erupt with joy, all pumped for the next set.
Sim0ne followed, in this fantastic line-up of dance artists. The Scottish DJ, based in London who rose to acclamation after learning to mix during lockdown (sourced from an interview with LUXEGEN), provided the energy on Saturday night with her infectious hit remix of Lana Del Ray’s 'Say Yes to Heaven' and an invigorating set with techno beats. With the ambience and light artistry of NX, Sim0ne’s discography including 'work it' was brought to life, despite a drunk raver unfortunately harassing her for a hug, before the start of her set. The 31-year-old mixed oldies with new forms of dance music, alongside punchy hot girl lyrics.
Each set provided more and more tempo, it was as if the raver was able to experience the full and broad range of “hard dance” "set-by-set", as the event “unced” further into the evening. Both Juicy Romance and Sim0ne delivered on the night, reflecting their own personal style and dance tastes. Despite being a male-dominated industry, these young, innovative DJs represent what’s great about dance music and the positive impact of women in the genre. Both sets achieved a 4/5 rating for me, with the audience feeling empowered and energetic afterwards. Featuring their most famous tracks & mixing the upcoming with the old, both artists achieved a huge cheer of approval from the Toon crowd when finishing their individual sets.