Hardwell is a big room institution, and Encoded is one of those tracks built to detonate a stadium, so a 2ACES remix was always going to aim for the cheap seats. This version keeps the original’s massive festival-sized DNA while updating the energy for where the main stage sound is right now. The drop is enormous in the way only big room really commits to, all rising tension and then a wall of synth that’s engineered to make twenty thousand people jump at the exact same second. Big room gets clowned for being formulaic, and honestly the criticism isn’t wrong, but when it’s done with this much conviction the formula still works on me every single time. 2ACES clearly studied the blueprint and then cranked everything up a notch. Revealed has been Hardwell’s playground for years, so this lives right at home on the label. Subtlety left the building a long time ago. This is festival fireworks in audio form, and some nights that’s the entire point of going out.
Hardwell is no stranger to this blog. Last time: Hardwell & Showtek - How We Do (NLW Remix)