COONE

Coone, whose real name is Koen Bauweraerts, is a Belgian DJ and producer whose musical home is hardstyle. Through his Dirty Workz label, he has also created his own space for harder electronic music.

He began producing music in 1998, with “Protect the Innocent” arriving as one of his first releases in 2002. After years spanning jumpstyle and hard house, he founded Dirty Workz in 2006 and contributed an anthem for Reverze that same year. For the album “The Challenge”, he took on an unusual task in 2011: working with artists from the hardstyle scene on a full album within a month, while a film crew documented the process.

In 2013, he teamed up with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Lil Jon for “Madness”, which reached number 35 in the Belgian singles chart. His collaboration with Steve Aoki also opened up his sound to encounters between hardstyle and house. A standout live moment followed in 2018, when Coone became the first hardstyle act to play Tomorrowland’s Mainstage.

Alongside his solo career, he forms The Elite with Da Tweekaz and Hard Driver. Over the years, his tracks have become more melodic without hardstyle disappearing from his work. His sets draw heavily on his own productions, remixes and bootlegs.