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The Power of The Prophet’s DJ Sets [History Of Hardstyle Column]

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This column was written by Stefan (History of Hardstyle) for Scantraxx’s January 2026 newsletter, published on February 3.

Today, we all know the modern mainstage sets.

Artists appears like a pop stars, playing almost exclusively their own music: one hour packed with their biggest hits, latest releases, and a few unreleased tracks. Everything is tightly planned, filmed by six cameramen, and prepared for the next videoclip.

But back in the day, things were different.

And nowhere was that difference more obvious than in The Prophet’s DJ sets.

As a label boss, The Prophet was constantly being sent the newest tracks by „his“ Scantraxx artists. That created a true win-win situation. He always had the freshest music in his hands, and he wasn’t afraid to play it. That’s exactly why I loved his sets so much back then.

Half of his performances consisted of unreleased tracks, many of them played for the very first time. Of course, you could catch a great set from Headhunterz, Wildstylez, or Frontliner. But The Prophet? He had everything. All their newest music, combined with his own upcoming productions.

A perfect example is The Prophet’s Defqon.1 2007 set.

Imagine this: Wildstylez – “K.Y.H.U.” was premiered there for the first time. At that moment, Wildstylez was still a newcomer. His first big booking Q-Base came three months later. 

Right after that premiere, The Prophet mixed in “Lockdown” by Scope DJ.

I remember standing next to Dennis (Scope DJ) and seeing his face when his track was played on the Defqon.1 mainstage. Priceless!

That moment also showed something important: Dov, aka The Prophet, didn’t care whether a track was released on Scantraxx or not. “Lockdown” was later released on Straight On Recordings, the label of Pila, Luna & The Scientist. And with “Nothing Else Matters” by Zany & DV8, the Scantraxx boss even dropped a Fusion Records track.

All he cared about was the quality of a song. 

 

The madness didn’t stop there.

As the fireworks lit up the sky and a warm day at Almere Strand came to an end, he plays one of the biggest Bonzai rave classics of all time:

Jones & Stephenson – “The First Rebirth.”

The variety in DJ sets back then, especially in The Prophet’s set, matched the quality of the music of that era.

And that is something truly special, and unforgettable i will never forget.

You can relive Prophets legendary Defqon.1 Set here: