Artist
KNST
- Followers:
- 139
- Popularity:
- 0/100
- Tracked releases:
- 2
- Latest release:
- 19 Jun 2026
KNST is a rawstyle producer and DJ from Oulu, Finland, who spent over fifteen years as a metal guitarist before discovering hardstyle in 2021 and turning to production in 2024.
Releases (2)
2 tracks
About KNST
KNST took the scenic route to rawstyle: fifteen-plus years as a metal guitarist in Oulu, Finland, before hardstyle caught him in 2021 and the DAW replaced the amp in 2024. The metal past isn’t trivia, it’s the sound.
Metal roots, raw output
Distorted kicks are, at bottom, distortion, and a producer who spent years shaping guitar tone hears them differently. KNST’s stated formula is old school influences under dark, melancholic melodies, which places him in rawstyle’s moodier corner: less scream-and-screech, more atmosphere and dread, the sensibility metal listeners recognize immediately.
The first releases
June 2026 delivered a double introduction. ‘Here We Go Again (Theme From San Andreas)’, a grin of a title, paired him with BITCRUSHR, the Bergen artist behind the Real Hardstyle Norway 2026 anthem, making it a genuinely Nordic hardstyle record. ‘Striking Like Lightning’ with Insomnyz followed on Hard Alliance, putting a label stamp on the project two tracks in.
The Nordic angle
Hardstyle’s center of gravity is Dutch, but its edges keep moving north, and KNST, alongside Norwegian peers like BITCRUSHR, is part of a small Nordic wave building local scenes with export-grade production. A Finnish rawstyle producer with metal DNA is exactly the kind of outsider profile this genre has historically rewarded.
Every new KNST release lands on the Hardstyle Release Radar the day it hits Spotify. The full tracked catalogue is listed above.
Questions,answered
Who is KNST?
KNST is a rawstyle producer and DJ from Oulu, Finland. He played guitar for more than fifteen years with roots in metal, discovered hardstyle in 2021, and began producing in 2024, blending old school influences with dark, melancholic melodies.
What genre is KNST?
Rawstyle with an old school streak: dark, melancholic melodies and powerful energy, shaped by a background in metal rather than dance music.
What has KNST released?
'Here We Go Again (Theme From San Andreas)' with Norwegian hardstyle artist BITCRUSHR in June 2026, and 'Striking Like Lightning' with Insomnyz on the Hard Alliance label the same month.