Breakcore
Encyclopedia
Breakcore is a style of electronic music
largely influenced by hardcore techno
, drum and bass
and Intelligent dance music
. Its sound is largely characterized by a high-tempo, well-timed mingling of distorted kick drums (also known as "Gabber
kicks"), break beat
s arranged from samples of the Amen break
, and audio samples from a wide spectrum of sources (dialog from horror film
s, instrumental snippets from metal and Gangsta rap
tracks are common). Musicians and DJs such as Electric Kettle, Drop the Lime
, Christoph Fringeli
and Dj Balli
have said that breakcore is merely a catch-all term which encompasses a variety of distinct electronic music styles that are related through a scene culture and aesthetics, rather than sound.
and other classic jungle and hip-hop breaks in high BPM. Classic rave sounds such as Acid
bass lines, Hoover leads
and Reese bass lines are also common. Distorted Roland TR-909
bass drum sounds aren't uncommon either, which has led to breakcore, either mockingly or affectionately, to be referred to as "gabber kicks and Amen breaks". There are a growing number of musicians who make use of recorded live instrumentation in their music, such as Drumcorps, Igorrr, Hecate, and Benn Jordan
.
sequencer. Other artists preserve and simply loop the original drum beat sample, applying effects such as distortion, compression, chorus
, delay
and pitch-shifting
to alter the beat's timbre
. Another method is to compose original beats, using virtually any percussive audio sample, either programming the patterns with a software or hardware drum machine, or manually arranging the samples using a hardware sequencer or audio clip editing software.
with fellow producer Aphasic to focus on more extreme noise-oriented hardcore drum and bass
. Some artists released on Ambush are Christoph Fringeli, Slepcy, The Panacea, and Noize Creator. "Scud and Nomex tracks like 'Total Destruction' helped create the blueprint for much of breakcore's sound, a high-bpm mash-up of hyperkinetic, post-jungle breaks, feedback, noise, and Jamaican elements paired with a devil-may-care attitude towards sampling that pulls from the broadest musical spectrum of styles (hip-hop, rock, industrial, pop, and beyond)."
based in Newcastle
, Australia
released many records of hardcore
/gabber, industrial
, and noise
. Label founder Mark Newlands said, in 1997, "I think that the uncomfortableness also comes from a reaction towards the mainstream and popular culture that's constantly shoved down our throats, that's forced on the people via television, radio, mass media, etc. I think that also fuels the fire and keeps the aggressiveness there and the uncomfortableness." Artists signed to Bloody Fist in its lifetime include Syndicate, Xylocaine, Epsilon and Nasenbluten
.
released music by artists such as Alec Empire
, Patric Catani, Shizuo
, Atari Teenage Riot
, EC8OR
and Bomb20, shaping the breakcore sound. The Alec Empire album The Destroyer
is often noted as the first breakcore album.
from Bologna, Italy; and Planet Mu
, from London, began to take a new shape, adding in more elements of mashup
and IDM
to the hardcore sounds. Each of these labels began to draw in aspects of their own social and aesthetic scenes into their music, allowing for an even broader definition of what was possible in the music.
One of the most controversial issues in breakcore is that of the mere existence of the genre. Because it pulls liberally from other musical genres, there is not a consensus on what is and what is not breakcore, or even over the usefulness of the term itself. Because of the fragmentation, the breakcore scene is not centered in any one geographical location, but is rather scattered into disparate groups. Perhaps the one place where breakcore's "voice" can be heard is virtually, through the internet and various online forums, such as those at C8 and Widerstand (Eiterherd
's now defunct website).
In Europe, the breakcore genre was solidified by raves and club events such as Belgium's Breakcore Gives Me Wood, featuring local acts such as UndaCova, Sickboy
and Droon
; Breakcore A Go Go, in the Netherlands, which was run by FFF and Bong-Ra
; as well as Anticartel, in Rennes
, the seat of PeaceOff, and later, Wasted, in Berlin and Bangface in London.
, a style of music that somewhat predates breakcore, characterized by ragga
and dancehall
rhythms and vocals. Its roots align with that of jungle
producer Remarc, who was one of the first producers to mix ragga and dancehall vocals with chaotic and intricately rearranged break beats. While only a few producers primarily work in the style, it still has a sizable following among breakcore fans. Notable artists who have releases in this style include Aaron Spectre, Bong-Ra
, Enduser, Shitmat
, LFO Demon, Cardopusher, FFF, and Rotator.
networks, and discussed on internet forum
s. Whereas the early days of breakcore were based in select urban cities, the genre now has no geographical center. The music itself tends to reflect this multiplicity of media diffusion itself by incorporating many different forms of music hacked together. It remains a relatively small genre, but compared to its size prior to the 1990s web boom, it continues to grow substantially.
or Igorrr has produced breakcore blended with elements of classical music
. Many breakcore artists focus on melodic progressions and complex drum programming reminiscent of IDM, while others continue the tradition of producing breakcore influenced by dark-edged music (such as heavy metal
, and industrial
) and marked by distorted hardcore breakbeats. Artists such as Shitmat
, Sickboy
, DJ Scotch Egg
, and Drop the Lime
take another direction towards mash-up, happy hardcore
, and rave
to create a lighter sound. The rise of chiptune music brought a new sound to breakcore, by artists such as Patric Catani (of EC8OR), Baseck, and Tarmvred
. Artists such as Edgey
, and SNM, who are typically classified in the darkstep
power noise
scene, have taken influence from breakcore. The UK free party
scene has increasingly expressed interest in producing and distributing its own takes on breakcore, working with crews and labels such as Life4land, Hecate, Audacious Records, Sindica7o and Bad Sekta
to promote the breakcore culture and sound.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
largely influenced by hardcore techno
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
, drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
and Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...
. Its sound is largely characterized by a high-tempo, well-timed mingling of distorted kick drums (also known as "Gabber
Gabber
Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
kicks"), break beat
Break beat
Break beat may refer to:*the genre breakbeat*the technique break beat...
s arranged from samples of the Amen break
Amen break
The Amen break is a brief drum solo performed in 1969 by Gregory Cylvester "G. C." Coleman in the song "Amen, Brother" performed by the 1960s funk and soul outfit The Winstons...
, and audio samples from a wide spectrum of sources (dialog from horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s, instrumental snippets from metal and Gangsta rap
Gangsta rap
Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
tracks are common). Musicians and DJs such as Electric Kettle, Drop the Lime
Drop the Lime
Drop the Lime, is an electronic producer and DJ and founder of dance label Trouble & Bass. Drop the Lime's new material and DJ sets also feature live vocals on original compositions....
, Christoph Fringeli
Praxis Records
Praxis Records is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany, releasing primarily harsh experimental electronic music. The label was founded in 1992 by Christoph Fringeli, who has released music under numerous monikers such as Base Force One, Scaremonger and Metatron.-Roster:Praxis...
and Dj Balli
DJ Balli
DJ Balli is the performing name of the Italian based breakcore artist Riccardo Balli. With a past as a drummer in the straight edge hardcore band "Isotopi del Dolore" and as a noise musician in the "S.E.B." plunderphonics collective, at the beginning of the '90s Dj Balli lost interest for music to...
have said that breakcore is merely a catch-all term which encompasses a variety of distinct electronic music styles that are related through a scene culture and aesthetics, rather than sound.
Characteristics
Breakcore hosts such a diverse array of sub-styles that it often presents a challenge when attempting to specifically describe the genre as a whole. Most styles of breakcore share an element of aggression or chaos, unconventional song structures, sudden shifts of rhythm, and sounds from all over the musical spectrum to accommodate the frantic and fast-paced nature of the rhythm section. Other styles are less aggressive, but still contain the common element of intricacy in drum programming, usually based on the manipulation of the Amen breakAmen break
The Amen break is a brief drum solo performed in 1969 by Gregory Cylvester "G. C." Coleman in the song "Amen, Brother" performed by the 1960s funk and soul outfit The Winstons...
and other classic jungle and hip-hop breaks in high BPM. Classic rave sounds such as Acid
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
bass lines, Hoover leads
Hoover sound
Hoover sound refers to a particular synthesizer sound in electronic music, commonly used in Hard House music and other styles. Originally called the "Mentasm" or "Dominator", the name that stuck was the one likening the sound to that of a vacuum cleaner.-The sound:The Hoover is a complex waveform...
and Reese bass lines are also common. Distorted Roland TR-909
Roland TR-909
The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a partially analog, partially sample-based drum machine built by the Japanese Roland Corporation in 1983. The brainchild of Tadao Kikumoto, the engineer behind the Roland TB-303, it features a 16-step step sequencer and a drum kit that aimed for realism and...
bass drum sounds aren't uncommon either, which has led to breakcore, either mockingly or affectionately, to be referred to as "gabber kicks and Amen breaks". There are a growing number of musicians who make use of recorded live instrumentation in their music, such as Drumcorps, Igorrr, Hecate, and Benn Jordan
Benn Jordan
Benn Lee Jordan is an American modern jazz and electronica musician operating under many pseudonyms. Since 1999 his most widely distributed and eclectic music has been released under the name of The Flashbulb...
.
Production techniques
Breakcore's hallmark drum programming style is achieved by various means. One method is to manipulate an original recording of a beat: Some artists slice audio clips of drum loops using a hardware sampler, or audio editing software, and arrange them manually using a hardware or softwareDigital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
sequencer. Other artists preserve and simply loop the original drum beat sample, applying effects such as distortion, compression, chorus
Chorus effect
In music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one...
, delay
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
and pitch-shifting
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
to alter the beat's timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
. Another method is to compose original beats, using virtually any percussive audio sample, either programming the patterns with a software or hardware drum machine, or manually arranging the samples using a hardware sequencer or audio clip editing software.
Ambush Records
In London, DJ Scud co-founded Ambush RecordsAmbush records
Ambush Records is a London based breakcore record label. It was started in 1997 by Toby Reynolds and Jason Skeet .- External links :* * - Catalogue...
with fellow producer Aphasic to focus on more extreme noise-oriented hardcore drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
. Some artists released on Ambush are Christoph Fringeli, Slepcy, The Panacea, and Noize Creator. "Scud and Nomex tracks like 'Total Destruction' helped create the blueprint for much of breakcore's sound, a high-bpm mash-up of hyperkinetic, post-jungle breaks, feedback, noise, and Jamaican elements paired with a devil-may-care attitude towards sampling that pulls from the broadest musical spectrum of styles (hip-hop, rock, industrial, pop, and beyond)."
Bloody Fist Records
At the same time, Bloody Fist RecordsBloody Fist Records
Bloody Fist Records was an independent record label based in Newcastle, Australia.Bloody Fist was one of the most prolific labels involved in hardcore/gabber, industrial, breaks, noise, and related genres...
based in Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
released many records of hardcore
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
/gabber, industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
, and noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
. Label founder Mark Newlands said, in 1997, "I think that the uncomfortableness also comes from a reaction towards the mainstream and popular culture that's constantly shoved down our throats, that's forced on the people via television, radio, mass media, etc. I think that also fuels the fire and keeps the aggressiveness there and the uncomfortableness." Artists signed to Bloody Fist in its lifetime include Syndicate, Xylocaine, Epsilon and Nasenbluten
Nasenbluten
Nasenbluten were a Newcastle, Australia recording and performance group, who pioneered hardcore techno, gabber, amigacore and cheapcore music. The group was founded in the early 1990s by Mark Newlands, Aaron Lubinski and David Melo...
.
Digital Hardcore Recordings
Formed in 1994, Digital Hardcore RecordingsDigital Hardcore Recordings
Digital Hardcore Recordings is a record label set up in 1994 by Alec Empire, Joel Amaretto and Pete Lawton. Most of the music is recorded in Berlin, though the label is based in London where the records are mastered and manufactured...
released music by artists such as Alec Empire
Alec Empire
Alec Empire is a German musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot. Also a prolific and distinguished solo artist, producer and DJ, he has released well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles and remixed over seventy tracks for various artists including Björk...
, Patric Catani, Shizuo
Shizuo
Shizuo was the Digital Hardcore Recordings manifestation of David Hammer, with occasional vocals and an animated stage show by Annika Trost.-Biography::...
, Atari Teenage Riot
Atari Teenage Riot
'Atari Teenage Riot' is a German digital hardcore group formed in Berlin in 1992. The name was taken from a Portuguese Joe song 'Teenage Riot' from the 'Teen-age Riot' album, with the word 'Atari' added as an Atari ST computer was used to create compositions...
, EC8OR
EC8OR
EC8OR is a German digital hardcore band founded in 1995 by Patric Catani and Gina V. D'Orio and signed by Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore Recordings record label...
and Bomb20, shaping the breakcore sound. The Alec Empire album The Destroyer
The Destroyer (album)
The Destroyer is an album by electronic artist Alec Empire, his first on his own record label Digital Hardcore Recordings, released in 1996 in Europe and a revised version in 1998 in USA. Destroyer is also the name given to a series of EPs by Empire released two years before...
is often noted as the first breakcore album.
Breakcore becomes a genre
As the early days of "hardcore techno" or just "hardcore" began to settle in Europe, breakcore as a genre began to take more concrete forms in other parts of the world. Inspired by new labels such as Addict, from Milwaukee, USA; Peace Off from Rennes, France; Sonic BelligeranzaSonic Belligeranza
Sonic Belligeranza is an Italian independent record company started in the year 2000 by dj Balli. Breakcore is the main style of music covered by the label so far, but since the year 2004 in response to the above-mentioned genre codification growing bigger and bigger, two new imprints were added:...
from Bologna, Italy; and Planet Mu
Planet Mu
Planet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
, from London, began to take a new shape, adding in more elements of mashup
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
and IDM
Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...
to the hardcore sounds. Each of these labels began to draw in aspects of their own social and aesthetic scenes into their music, allowing for an even broader definition of what was possible in the music.
One of the most controversial issues in breakcore is that of the mere existence of the genre. Because it pulls liberally from other musical genres, there is not a consensus on what is and what is not breakcore, or even over the usefulness of the term itself. Because of the fragmentation, the breakcore scene is not centered in any one geographical location, but is rather scattered into disparate groups. Perhaps the one place where breakcore's "voice" can be heard is virtually, through the internet and various online forums, such as those at C8 and Widerstand (Eiterherd
Eiterherd
Eiterherd is an Austrian breakcore artist.He first got into experimental music in 1994, when he started DJ'ing hardcore and gabber around Graz, Austria and Maribor, Slovenia. In 1995 he started making music on a computer, using various trackers. In 1996 together with Gwal he founded the record...
's now defunct website).
In Europe, the breakcore genre was solidified by raves and club events such as Belgium's Breakcore Gives Me Wood, featuring local acts such as UndaCova, Sickboy
Sickboy Milkplus
Sickboy Milkplus is the stage name of Jurgen Desmet, a Belgian electronic music producer of Breakcore Gives Me Wood and "servants of the apocalyptic goat rave" with music releases on Tigerbeat6, Peace Off, Mirex and Wood.- Discography :* Ganja Bullet / Worst Trade Central * Swingin' in the Rain EP...
and Droon
Droon
Droon is an alias of Belgian breakcore producer William Ghysels. Droon is also active as graphic designer, working from planet-mu, ad noiseam, overkill, and many more. He won an award for the short video "Screen"....
; Breakcore A Go Go, in the Netherlands, which was run by FFF and Bong-Ra
Bong-Ra
Bong-Ra is the performing name of Dutch breakcore musician Jason Kohnen from Utrecht. Formed in 1996, initially producing and DJing jungle music...
; as well as Anticartel, in Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
, the seat of PeaceOff, and later, Wasted, in Berlin and Bangface in London.
Raggacore
Raggacore is a type of breakcore that is highly influenced by ragga jungleRagga jungle
Ragga jungle is a genre of music that emerged circa 1989-1990 and was initially heavily based on production of Michael West...
, a style of music that somewhat predates breakcore, characterized by ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
and dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
rhythms and vocals. Its roots align with that of jungle
Oldschool jungle
Jungle is a genre of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is debate as to whether jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as many use the terms interchangeably...
producer Remarc, who was one of the first producers to mix ragga and dancehall vocals with chaotic and intricately rearranged break beats. While only a few producers primarily work in the style, it still has a sizable following among breakcore fans. Notable artists who have releases in this style include Aaron Spectre, Bong-Ra
Bong-Ra
Bong-Ra is the performing name of Dutch breakcore musician Jason Kohnen from Utrecht. Formed in 1996, initially producing and DJing jungle music...
, Enduser, Shitmat
Shitmat
Shitmat is the performing name of Henry Collins, aka Henry Collinz, a breakcore artist from Brighton, England.-Biography:His music, sometimes referred to as "Mashcore", is known for the humorous use of samples atypical of "serious" electronic artists and deliberate use of clichés...
, LFO Demon, Cardopusher, FFF, and Rotator.
Distribution
Since the genre as a whole still is developing and growing rapidly, the music itself is largely downloaded via peer-to-peerPeer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
networks, and discussed on internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s. Whereas the early days of breakcore were based in select urban cities, the genre now has no geographical center. The music itself tends to reflect this multiplicity of media diffusion itself by incorporating many different forms of music hacked together. It remains a relatively small genre, but compared to its size prior to the 1990s web boom, it continues to grow substantially.
Breakcore today
Since its inception, breakcore has mutated, branched off and provided a foundation for numerous fusion styles. Notable artists as Venetian SnaresVenetian Snares
Venetian Snares is the main performing alias of Canadian electronic musician Aaron Funk .From Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Funk is known for making electronic music often in odd numbered time signatures...
or Igorrr has produced breakcore blended with elements of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. Many breakcore artists focus on melodic progressions and complex drum programming reminiscent of IDM, while others continue the tradition of producing breakcore influenced by dark-edged music (such as heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, and industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
) and marked by distorted hardcore breakbeats. Artists such as Shitmat
Shitmat
Shitmat is the performing name of Henry Collins, aka Henry Collinz, a breakcore artist from Brighton, England.-Biography:His music, sometimes referred to as "Mashcore", is known for the humorous use of samples atypical of "serious" electronic artists and deliberate use of clichés...
, Sickboy
Sickboy Milkplus
Sickboy Milkplus is the stage name of Jurgen Desmet, a Belgian electronic music producer of Breakcore Gives Me Wood and "servants of the apocalyptic goat rave" with music releases on Tigerbeat6, Peace Off, Mirex and Wood.- Discography :* Ganja Bullet / Worst Trade Central * Swingin' in the Rain EP...
, DJ Scotch Egg
DJ Scotch Egg
DJ Scotch Egg is a Japanese producer of chiptune/gabba music based in Brighton, England.He has released music on the Wrong Music label, Adaadat and was signed to Load Records after Lightning Bolt was impressed by his music.)...
, and Drop the Lime
Drop the Lime
Drop the Lime, is an electronic producer and DJ and founder of dance label Trouble & Bass. Drop the Lime's new material and DJ sets also feature live vocals on original compositions....
take another direction towards mash-up, happy hardcore
Happy hardcore
Happy hardcore, also known as happycore, is a genre of music typified by a very fast tempo , often coupled with solo vocals and sentimental lyrics. Its characteristically 4/4 beat "happy" sound distinguishes it from most other forms of hardcore techno, which tend to be "darker". It is typically in...
, and rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
to create a lighter sound. The rise of chiptune music brought a new sound to breakcore, by artists such as Patric Catani (of EC8OR), Baseck, and Tarmvred
Tarmvred
Tarmvred is a music group from Gothenburg, Sweden that is the brainchild of Jonas Johansson.-History:Johansson got his start musically by making his own remixes of tracks by Skinny Puppy and posting them online under the name Triptamine, in 1998...
. Artists such as Edgey
Edgey
Edgey is an experimental music, industrial and breakcore musical project from New York City. Stephen James Knight is the production mind behind the creations, also denoting a side project, for this moniker...
, and SNM, who are typically classified in the darkstep
Darkstep
Darkstep is a subgenre of drum and bass that fuses elements of darkcore with uptempo breakbeats and ambient noises . Darkstep music is typically composed in a chromatic scale...
power noise
Power noise
Power noise is a fusion genre among noise music and various styles of electronic dance music. It should not be confused with "power electronics", which lacks rhythmic elements and is closer to harsh noise...
scene, have taken influence from breakcore. The UK free party
Free party
A free party is a party "free" from the restrictions of the legal club scene, similar to the free festival movement. It typically involves a sound system playing electronic dance music from late at night until the time when the organisers decide to go home. A free party can be composed of just one...
scene has increasingly expressed interest in producing and distributing its own takes on breakcore, working with crews and labels such as Life4land, Hecate, Audacious Records, Sindica7o and Bad Sekta
Bad Sekta
Bad Sekta is an independent English record label founded in Halstead in 2005, with a mission statement to release new music and video by underground & experimental electronic music artists....
to promote the breakcore culture and sound.