What BPM is Rawstyle?

Rawstyle sits between 150–160 BPM. Our catalog isn't tagged for rawstyle as a separate genre yet, so the numbers here are the editorial range rather than a measured median — we'd rather say that than guess.

Hardstyle / Hardcore · 2010s — present

Method: how we correct half-time BPM detection — why fast genres get stored at half speed, and the rule we apply before publishing a median.

Editorial range

150–160

Family

Hardstyle / Hardcore

Era

2010s

Editorial range, not a measured one

Our catalog isn’t tagged for rawstyle as its own genre — most of our tags come from Beatport, and Beatport doesn’t carry one. So there’s nothing here to measure a median from, and we’re not going to invent one. The range, family context, technique and history below are editorial. The moment the tag lands, the distribution chart and example tracks appear on this page. Think we’re missing something? Tell us.

Why this tempo?

Rawstyle settled at 150–160 BPM as a logical extension of hardstyle's 150 BPM foundation, but with deliberate sonic aggression that demands the tempo's upper range. The distortion-heavy kick design—layered with sub-bass and mid-range grit—requires sufficient headroom between beat cycles to avoid mud; 155–160 BPM provides enough space for screech leads and pitched noise elements to cut through without phase collision. Dancefloor-wise, the tempo sits above peak-time hardstyle but below hardcore's 170+ threshold, occupying a niche for harder festival sets and dedicated rawstyle venues where sustained intensity matters more than accessibility.

Where rawstyle sits on the tempo axis

Median BPM of rawstyle compared to neighbouring genres in the same family. Closer medians mean easier cross-genre transitions.

152156160164168172176180184188192196200204

Producing rawstyle — tempo notes

›Set your master tempo to 156–158 BPM and lock all kick layers (sub, mid, distortion) to a tight phase relationship; rawstyle's clarity depends on zero phase drift across the kick stack.
›Use sidechain compression on your mid-range distortion at 155 BPM with a fast attack (2–4 ms) and medium release (80–120 ms) to prevent screech leads from masking the kick transient.
›Build breakdowns with 8–16 bar phrase lengths at 158 BPM; shorter phrases (4 bars) feel rushed in rawstyle's sparse aesthetic, while longer ones lose tension.

Mixing rawstyle sets — tempo notes

›When beatmatching rawstyle tracks at 155–160 BPM, use the kick's distortion peak as your visual cue on the waveform, not the sub-bass, since sub-bass timing can vary across releases.
›Blend incoming rawstyle tracks over 16–32 bars at 157 BPM to allow filtered breakdowns and screech-lead transitions to settle; shorter blends expose EQ mismatches between raw and melodic sections.