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HexD

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HexD is a microgenre that originated in the late 2010s, pioneered by the music collective Hexcastcrew. The genre is characterized by its bitcrushed lo-bit sound, sometimes drawing inspiration from Nightcore by speeding up and high pitching songs, especially through remixes and samples.[1][2] It typically encompasses atypical examples of cloud rap or trance music. It began to take on more prominence when one of the members of Hexcastcrew, Stacy Minajj, released his DJ Mix Rare RCB hexD.mp3 in June 2019.[3]

HexD music can be split in two branches based on their influences: Surge (also known as Crushed Trap), which is the original hip-hop and cloud rap-oriented musical style, and Sextrance (also known as Crushed Trance), a more recent derivative genre associated with trance music and other subgenres of electronic dance music.

The visual style associated with HexD is generally used on cover arts and music videos, focusing on a low-quality, dirty and melancholic aesthetic that evokes nostalgia, mainly for the mid-to-late 2000s. It incorporates heavily edited and compressed images, photos of (primarily) female anime characters, references to 2000s gaming culture, symbols such as the Star of David or demonic sigils, and inspiration from styles and subcultures like Emo, Scene, Blingee, and Frutiger Aero.

Closely related microgenres with a very similar aesthetic include Sigilkore, Xpiritualism, and Krushclub (all of which might aesthetically or musically overlap with each other to some extent).

History[]

HexD originated when various Experimental Hip-Hop and Cloud Rap artists formed a musical group called Hexcastcrew in 2019. This group was characterized by using an audio effect known as Bitcrush or Bitcrushing, which gave the tracks an old, sloppy lo-fi sound, plus the voices of the rappers of the group used to be altered to have a pitch higher than usual. This would give these songs a mysterious, ethereal and intriguing touch. The genre used to be quite niche and obscure at one point, but it wasn't until one of the group's members, tomoe_✧theundy1ng, better known as Stacy Minajj, released his DJ mix Rare RCB hexD.mp3, that the genre would take more notoriety within the community of underground rappers and hip hop artists on SoundCloud. The aforementioned DJ mix was a collection of remixed songs from another Cloud rap group known as Reptilian Club Boyz (RCB); these songs were remixed in the style of HexD, with lo-fi and bitcrushing effects, sped up tracks, and altered pitch.

At the beginning, HexD was just another style within hip hop and was limited only to subgenres of hip hop, but slowly, the genre would begin to evolve and merge with other musical styles, specifically artists like Sienna Sleep and Exodia who would mix HexD with trance, Freeform hardcore, and other EDM styles resulting in Sextrance as a result of this multiple genre combination. Besides Sextrance, HexD has served as the basis and insipiration for other musical genres, the most popular ones being Krushclub and Sigilkore, which share similar sound and visual style bases.

Visuals[]

Under Construction

Subgenres[]

Sextrance[]

Sextrance (also known as HexD Trance or Crushed Trance) is a subgenre of HexD most associated with hard trance music[4][5] and other styles of EDM, such as nightcore, freeform hardcore, and drum and bass, frenchcore, happy hardcore, or gabber to a lesser extent. Sextrance songs are characterized by their fast tempo (with the songs usually being over 180BPM), strong synths, pulsating tones, and compressed, bitcrushed, and distorted sounds. The tracks are usually either really short or extremely long, often building up an energetic and emotional atmosphere preceding a bass drop.

Samples and references to 2000s-2010s anime and gaming culture are commonly used in Sextrance tracks and the visual style associated with it. The genre is also notable for its distinctive Y2K-inspired aesthetic, featuring nostalgic elements such as old internet graphics, trading cards, 2000s videogames, cars, or 3D anime characters. It has particularly developed a significant fanbase on RateYourMusic, Bandcamp and SoundCloud, as well as other online underground music communities.

The term "Sextrance" was originally coined as a joke by musical artist purity://filter as a tag to describe their album Imago, released in December 24, 2020, as well as a mix they made in Halloween 2022.[6] The term itself was presumably intended to be ironic, so Sextrance doesn't have any sexual connotations despite its name. It started being adopted by other similiar musicians, and it quickly attracted a cult following thanks to the Dismiss Yourself record label, known for publishing several obscure underground and experimental songs that push the boundaries of music genres.[7] However, Purity Filter does not take credit for the creation of Sextrance, and prefers it to be attributed to other artists who picked up the idea, like Sienna Sleep or Exodia.

The aesthetic associated with Sextrance music is very similar to HexD in general, but it also has its own unique influences. Its most defining features are imagery that is reminiscent of the 2000s and the Y2K Futurism era, especially through Generation Z-related content like video games and anime shows that were popular at the time, which are often sampled in tracks and cover arts. Gaming culture from the 2000s is a significant influence in Sextrance, with many artists incorporating old game graphics (most notably low poly), fictional characters and pixelated imagery. Content from racing games, FPS games and rhythm games is commonly referenced (especially video games such as Wangan Midnight: Maximum Tune 3 or DanceDanceRevolution, which Anthony1 has cited as inspiration for their tracks in an interview).[8] Many artists also incorporate references to anime - like collectible cards, anime 3D models and action figures or their boxes. Other aspects of the aesthetic include its use of bright, holographic colors and color-changing hues.

Criticism[]

Sensitive Content Notice ⚠️
The following article contains and discusses content that may be distressing to some readers.
Reason for Warning: This page briefly discusses serious allegations against some artists.

Dismiss Yourself is a record label and YouTube channel that has played a role in popularizing HexD. The label and its owner, Sticki, have been the subject of criticism regarding the promotion of music perceived by some as low-effort and derivative. Concerns have been raised about the heavy reliance on bitcrushing, sampling of older songs, and the use of nostalgic aesthetics (e.g., Frutiger Aero and Y2K) in some HexD tracks. It has been argued that the lack of clear sample disclosure may, in some cases, mislead listeners about the artist's creative contribution, particularly among younger audiences unfamiliar with the source material.

There have also been reports of organized efforts, allegedly by Dismiss Yourself and its fans on Discord, to influence ratings of releases on platforms like Rate Your Music. These reports allege that this activity has resulted in HexD songs affecting the charts for genres such as Trance and Freeform Hardcore,[9] which has been met with criticism from fans of those genres.

Furthermore, allegations of serious offenses have been made against some artists associated with Dismiss Yourself. For example, Reptilian Club Boyz were removed from the label following allegations against one of its members. Xxtarlit⚸ was removed due to reported associations with groups such as the Order of Nine Angles and "Tempel ov Blood,"[10] which are described as Satanic accelerationist neo-Nazi groups.

Music[]

Musical Artists[]

  • $PIRIT GURLZ
  • 999 Heartake Sabileye
  • #ff85f7
  • Aero Gros M
  • Anthony1
  • Alkaline Pink
  • Axxturel
  • bliss3three
  • c678924
  • C!erra My$t
  • C3NTELL4
  • CTRLFR33K
  • DiGiGHOULS
  • DJ Coldsteel
  • DX Legacy
  • Exodia
  • Fax Gang
  • Flyby Uniform
  • Hexcastcrew
  • Hi-C
  • iANO
  • isyti
  • Midbooze
  • Night Princess
  • latex fruit
  • LonelyFriendly
  • ooxygen
  • purity://filter
  • Qyoob
  • rainsdeaf
  • brufex ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. (samuca do brufen)
  • Senenity Pill
  • Sienna Sleep
  • Team Mekano
  • tomoe_✧theundy1ng (Stacy Minajj)
  • trshckdbl
  • Vertigoaway
  • Visavril
  • Xxtarlit⚸
  • Yabujin
  • YUNG LAIN
  • 𝘿𝙅 𝙃𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙖

Songs[]

Albums, EPs & Mixes[]

Resources[]

YouTube Content[]

Communities[]

Gallery[]

HexD Trance[]

References[]

  1. ↑ HexD | rateyourmusic.com
  2. ↑ RYM Ultimate Box Set > HexD | rateyourmusic.com
  3. ↑ "The Influence of Rare RCB hexD.mp3" | passionweiss.com
  4. ↑ A Brief Guide to the Y2K Trance Revival | wknc.org
  5. ↑ Ultimate Box Set > HexD Trance | RateYourMusic
  6. ↑ "The Future of Sextrance (From Purity Filter)" | Reddit.com
  7. ↑ "How Dismiss Yourself Became a Hub for Internet Weirdness" | daily.bandcamp.com
  8. ↑ "Voice: Producers Anthony1 and Exodia Are Bringing Back Trance, on Up & Coming Label ‘Dismiss Yourself’" | noisefirst.com
  9. ↑ "Freeform Hardcore" on rateyourmusic.com
  10. ↑ "Xxtarlit/Starlit Exposed" on archive.org

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