Three generations of headliners share these twenty cuts, and the roster explains why the selection holds together. Nicky Romero opens with 'Freak', a track that made the rounds at Tomorrowland Brasil, Ultra Miami and Don't Let Daddy Know before landing in June on Protocol Recordings, the imprint the Dutchman founded in 2012 and which has just passed five hundred releases. Hardwell arrives filtered through the 2ACES remix of 'Encoded', pushing the pulse up to 140 BPM, while Paul Oakenfold with 2LOT on 'Masquerade' and Sander Van Doorn with BLR on 'Touching Myself' complete the veteran front, both anchored between 130 and 132.
The acid axis
The juiciest thread belongs to the 303 crowd. Maddix, the Dutchman who has been fusing techno-rave with big room and trance DNA since 'Ecstasy' (2019), drops 'Acid For Breakfast' at 150 BPM on EXTATIC, under the Revealed umbrella. The old-school connection surfaces on 'Africa (Afro Acid Mix)': Kai Tracid and A*S*Y*S — two Beatport catalogues that read almost like an acid monograph, from 'Trance & Acid' to the remix of Emmanuel Top's 'Acid Phase' — team up with PETER PAHN on Fe Chrome, the same label where Tracid had already crossed paths with Tom Wax on 'Freedom of Expression'.
Between the veterans and the acid, the list also shows who is pushing from below:
- Funk Tribu signs 'reborn (alma)' on his own TRIBE rec, at 148 BPM and right in the fast lane of the selection.
- FLGTT matches Maddix's 150 with 'High Tension', wrapped up in just 3:39.
- Rad Cat and Izzy Arden compress 'zero 2 obsessed' into 2:22 at 145 BPM: the shortest cut and one of the fastest.
Revealed showing up twice — Hardwell's remix plus 'Energy' by JUNIVERZ and BOSEP — while Protocol, DOORN, EXTATIC and TRIBE rec contribute one piece each captures the moment well: the big names no longer just sign tracks, they sign ecosystems. The 2026 mainstage rests less on a shared sound than on these personal franchises competing between 127 and 150 BPM.
Sources: Protocol Recordings · 1001Tracklists · Beatport
