Partyraiser

Partyraiser is the stage name of Dutch DJ and producer Wesley van Swol, known for particularly hard Hardcore. His sets thrive on pace and energy; he describes his own approach as “Party in einer Sägejacke” — “a party in a saw jacket”.

Born in Delft and raised in Wateringen, he became interested in working the turntables as a teenager at Hardcore parties. He began DJing in 1993, played his first events two years later and won his first DJ competition in 1996. His first tracks with Bart Revier, also known as Distroyer, followed, including the release “A New World Order”.

After joining Megarave Records in 2005, his music reached a wider audience in the Dutch Gabber scene. The impact he had on the scene was clear at Thunderdome 2005, when the crowd chanted his name. In Amsterdam, he held two editions of his “One Man//Half Machine Project” in 2006 and 2007. Later, he took charge of his own label, Partyraiser Records, at Rige, and worked with Drokz, among others, as well as with F. Noize as Scarphase.

He deliberately pushed his sound in a harder direction when the Hardcore sets of his time became too similar for him. With the rise of Uptempo Hardcore, he became a defining figure in this fast, uncompromising style. On stage, the core of his approach remains the blend of hardness and party spirit.