k?d

k?d is one of the more unexpected arrivals in hardstyle’s American wave: Patrick Cybulski built his reputation far from the harder styles, with dreamlike remixes of Daft Punk and Steve James that carried him from festival attendee (2016) to the Circuit Grounds stage of EDC Las Vegas in under two years.

Dreamscapes and nightmares

His early catalogue swings between wonder and menace: airy, cinematic tracks like “Discover” on one end, darker cuts like “Mortem” and “Vindicta” on the other. Singles “Lose Myself” and “Distance” reached the Billboard dance charts, and collaborators from Wolfgang Gartner to Rezz signal how wide his range runs. He also draws his own illustrations and designs, giving the project an unusually complete visual identity.

The hardstyle turn

Like much of the US electronic vanguard, k?d found his way to the harder styles as hardstyle broke through in North America in the 2020s, and his recent releases plant the flag firmly in that territory. It’s the same route that turned riders of the US wave like Yosuf into scene names, approached from an art-kid angle rather than a gym one. On HDRR’s tracking, “Distant Dreams” and “Lose Myself” lead a catalogue of around 24 releases.

On the radar

Every new k?d release lands on the Hardstyle Release Radar the day it hits Spotify, with standouts charting in the Hardstyle Top 100. The full tracked catalogue is listed above.