Hard NRG
Encyclopedia
Hard NRG is an electronic music genre similar in structure (with regards to sequencing & programming) to UK hard house
. The main difference is in the musical/thematic content of each style.
Where UK Hard House has uplifting, playfully fun and tough elements, NRG is ominous, dark, aggressive and relentless with its distressed, menacing and gritty sounds on a slightly faster BPM (155 - 165 average) than UK Hard House (150 - 155 average).
In regard to the mechanics of the scene, many of the labels have made a shift from purely vinyl releases to CD single releases and digital downloads.
Record labels which produce the genre include Vicious Circle, Flashpoint, Tidy Trax, Kaktai, Tonka Trax, Tinrib Digital, Noir Records and Noir Digitalhttp://www.noirrecords.com.
of the late 80s was the 'happier' (playful/fun) side of dance music exemplified by Italian piano-house (Italo-Disco
/Hi-NRG
of the early 90s) and this began to progress into a scene of its own. Throughout the first half of the 90s, House music
which was more akin to the soulful, disco
influenced dance music of the 80s, continued to flourish. By the mid 90s, uplifting House music in this vein was in abundance and producers in the UK such as The Sharp Boys were providing their own interpretation of the sound. They upped the BPM's a little, chopped up the disco samples
into bite size loops
, chucked a load of filters
in and created music that was pure dance floor business. This was the sounds that provided the basis for the origins of UK Hard House. At the time, it was exclusive to the gay
scene in the UK and for a while known as "Hand Bag House" or "Hard Bag" . Hard House as a style was epitomized in the early days by producers such as Paul Janes, The Tidy Boys, Pete Wardman, Steve Thomas, Ian M, Alan Thompson, Captain Tinrib, DJ Ziad & Tony De Vit. Some of the above mentioned names were heavily involved in the club night Trade which is widely regarded as the home and birth place of UK Hard House with Tony De Vit
as the God Father of UK Hard House.
In the early 90s, producers like Joey Beltram
had transposed the sound of US Techno to Belgium
, and added their own twist to it. This new brand of Techno was darker, harder, and generally nastier than anything that had preceded it. The Techno that had emerged from Detroit in the US had the seemingly paradoxical quality of somehow being soulful while at the same time being 100% electronic. The Belgian Techno sound ripped out this soul, and replaced it with something altogether more sinister. It was this style of music that gave birth to the sound of the "Hoover
". A gritty sound produced by the Roland
Alpha Juno 2 synthesizer
and so called because of its apparent similarity to the noises made by vacuum cleaner
s.
The late 90s & early 2000s saw NRG expand a little further when the sound became even fiercer, darker and much more serious than Nu-NRG. DJ Kristian then coined the phrase "Hard NRG" while Jon Bell (Captain Tinrib/Dr. Base /Fierce Base), John Newell (RR Fierce/ Rim 'N Chop/Fierce Base), Karim Lamouri (Karim/Rim 'N Chop) Chris Payne (Casper) & Barmak Hatamian (The Alien Thing/Max & Amino) were instrumental in the development of Hard NRG.
At present, Nu-NRG & Hard NRG is known simply as NRG throughout the scene since it has become extremely difficult to draw a line of distinction between the two styles. There is however, a monumental difference between UK Hard House & NRG.
UK Hard house
UK Hard House or simply Hard House is a style of Hard Dance music that emerged in the 1990s.-Sound:Proper hard house is typified by a set formula of up-tempo house music compressed kick drums, signature style off-beat basslines and the use of 'hoover' type sounds...
. The main difference is in the musical/thematic content of each style.
Where UK Hard House has uplifting, playfully fun and tough elements, NRG is ominous, dark, aggressive and relentless with its distressed, menacing and gritty sounds on a slightly faster BPM (155 - 165 average) than UK Hard House (150 - 155 average).
In regard to the mechanics of the scene, many of the labels have made a shift from purely vinyl releases to CD single releases and digital downloads.
Record labels which produce the genre include Vicious Circle, Flashpoint, Tidy Trax, Kaktai, Tonka Trax, Tinrib Digital, Noir Records and Noir Digitalhttp://www.noirrecords.com.
Roots in UK Hard House & EU Techno
Acid HouseAcid 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...
of the late 80s was the 'happier' (playful/fun) side of dance music exemplified by Italian piano-house (Italo-Disco
Italo disco
Italo disco encompasses much of the dance music output in Europe during the 1980s. It is one of the world's first forms of mostly electronic dance music and evolved during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe...
/Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
of the early 90s) and this began to progress into a scene of its own. Throughout the first half of the 90s, House music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
which was more akin to the soulful, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
influenced dance music of the 80s, continued to flourish. By the mid 90s, uplifting House music in this vein was in abundance and producers in the UK such as The Sharp Boys were providing their own interpretation of the sound. They upped the BPM's a little, chopped up the disco samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
into bite size loops
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
, chucked a load of filters
Audio filter
An audio filter is a frequency dependent amplifier circuit, working in the audio frequency range, 0 Hz to beyond 20 kHz. Many types of filters exist for applications including graphic equalizers, synthesizers, sound effects, CD players and virtual reality systems.Being a frequency dependent...
in and created music that was pure dance floor business. This was the sounds that provided the basis for the origins of UK Hard House. At the time, it was exclusive to the gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
scene in the UK and for a while known as "Hand Bag House" or "Hard Bag" . Hard House as a style was epitomized in the early days by producers such as Paul Janes, The Tidy Boys, Pete Wardman, Steve Thomas, Ian M, Alan Thompson, Captain Tinrib, DJ Ziad & Tony De Vit. Some of the above mentioned names were heavily involved in the club night Trade which is widely regarded as the home and birth place of UK Hard House with Tony De Vit
Tony De Vit
Tony De Vit was a British club DJ, Producer and Remixer and one of the most influential of his generation. He was credited with helping to take the "Hard house" and fast "Hard NRG" sounds out of the London gay scene and into mainstream clubs...
as the God Father of UK Hard House.
In the early 90s, producers like Joey Beltram
Joey Beltram
Joey Beltram is an American DJ and record producer, best-known for the pioneering recordings "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm"....
had transposed the sound of US Techno to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and added their own twist to it. This new brand of Techno was darker, harder, and generally nastier than anything that had preceded it. The Techno that had emerged from Detroit in the US had the seemingly paradoxical quality of somehow being soulful while at the same time being 100% electronic. The Belgian Techno sound ripped out this soul, and replaced it with something altogether more sinister. It was this style of music that gave birth to the sound of the "Hoover
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...
". A gritty sound produced by the Roland
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
Alpha Juno 2 synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and so called because of its apparent similarity to the noises made by vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
s.
From Nu-NRG to Hard NRG
By '96-97 there was a steady flow of UK based Hard House that threw away the fun & uplifting parts to incorporated the "Hoover" & other gritty, menacing sounding elements at a slightly higher tempo than the conventional Hard House and thus, the style effectively became known as "Nu-NRG" when Blu Peter coined the phrase in a magazine interview. Doug Osbourne (Sourmash/Razor' s Edge/Illuminatae), Gordon Matthewman (DJ Edge/ Illuminatae), Jon Bell (Captain Tinrib), Jon Vaughan (Jon The Dentist), John Truelove (Lectrolux/Hyperspace) Pete Davis (Baby Doc/Hyperspace), Owen Swinard & Dom Sweeten (OD404), Paul King, John Newell (RR Fierce), Ben Keen (BK) & Nick Sentience all had a heavy hand in shaping this sound in the UK specifically. Outside the UK, producers such as DJ Misjah (Dyewitness), Ramon Zenker (E-Trax/Phenomania/Exit EEE), Commander Tom, Nuclear Hyde etc, all dabbled with the sound from time to time.The late 90s & early 2000s saw NRG expand a little further when the sound became even fiercer, darker and much more serious than Nu-NRG. DJ Kristian then coined the phrase "Hard NRG" while Jon Bell (Captain Tinrib/Dr. Base /Fierce Base), John Newell (RR Fierce/ Rim 'N Chop/Fierce Base), Karim Lamouri (Karim/Rim 'N Chop) Chris Payne (Casper) & Barmak Hatamian (The Alien Thing/Max & Amino) were instrumental in the development of Hard NRG.
At present, Nu-NRG & Hard NRG is known simply as NRG throughout the scene since it has become extremely difficult to draw a line of distinction between the two styles. There is however, a monumental difference between UK Hard House & NRG.
Operating
A selected list of active labels currently supporting & releasing Hard NRG.- Tinrib Digital Recordingshttp://www.tinribdigital.com
- Do Not Bend Recordings
- Vicious Circle Recordings
- Flashpoint Records
- REACT! Records
- TWIST TRAX
- Noom Records
- Toolbox Records
- Kaktai Records
- Spinball Records
- Deprivation Recordings
- Tonka Trax
- Brain Damage Recordings
- Elasticman Records
- Corrupted Recordings
- Pure NRG
- Operation 9
- Volatile NRG
- Hardsounds
- Ricochet Recordings
- Infectious Recordings
- Arktik Records
- Operation 9
- Contact Recordings
- XTension Records
- Twisted Traxx
- Ultimate Filth Coalition
- Tidy Trax
- Hard Up Digital
- Spin Hard Recordings
- Dysonage Recordings
- The Beat Ranch Digital
- NRGized Recordings
- SlaughterHouse Records
- Beatabix Recordings
- Tripoli Trax
- Severe Impacthttp://www.severeimpact.co.uk
- Hard As Nails Digital http://www.hardasnailsrecords.com
- Titanium Trax
- Slingshot Recordings
Defunct
A selected list of labels that were important in the development of Hard NRG.- Tinrib Recordings
- Fierce Technik Records
- Alien Trax
- DP Recordings
- Public House
- Tuff Trax
- Unfknblvbl
- DIP
- Short Circuit Recordings
- Energy UK Records
- Banging Tunes
- Passion Records
- Ravage Records
- Hard As Nails Records
- Hit The Deck
DJs
- DJ Fadeliss
- Digital Mizchief
- Andy Whitby - The Saviour of Hard House
- Nocturnal Disorder (Shawn Cartwright)
- Jon Hollamby
- J-Rock 1
- Fil Bray
- John Tuxman
- Karim
- Superfast Oz
- Marc Johnson
- Justin Bourne
- Ian M
- Paul Glazby
- Leigh Godson
- Jana
- Ben Stevens
- Adam M
- D-NRG
- Captain Tinrib Live
- Dynamic Intervention
- Identity
- NooNoo
- Mark Ioannides
- Andy Farley
- Ilogik
- Paul King
- JP & Jukesy
- Nik Denton
- James Nardi
- Tom Basquil
- Paul Batten
- Steve Maynard
- Dave Owens
- Nogger
- DJ Digga
- Frank Farrell
- Evo D & Rigid
- Rodi Style
- Kam-Pain
- George E
- DJ Trypt
- Sebby Bozak
- Grady G
- Narc
- Dramatik
- Destructo
- Dan Dyson
- Dan Andres
- Karl Davis
- Hi Freak1c
- Cheeky Scott
- Carl Phoenix
- Richard Toomz
- Dave The Elf (LEFTY)
- Shenton
- LT1
- Sparx
- Daley
- Space Sentinelz
- Proteus
- Rich Halpin
- A.M.G.
- Andy Rise
- Matt Pickup
- The Ting
- Chemosh
- Adam Rhodes
- MoJo
- Chase vs Serbo
- Glowbones
- Shenton
- Riggsy
- John Kerrigan
- Chase (Adelaide, Australia)
- Jonny B
- Sully Maydwell
- Kirsty Lee James
- Craig Lee
- Betwixt & Between
Producers / Engineers
- Frank Farrell
- Riggsy
- James Nardi
- Nocturnal Disorder (Shawn Cartwright)
- Sparx
- Paul Maddox
- Grady G
Notable compilations
- VA - The Sound Of The Hoover Volume 1 Mixed By Pete Wardman (TeC)
- VA - The Sound Of The Hoover Volume 2 Mixed By John Truelove & Jon Dennis (TeC)
- VA - The Captain Tinrib Live Show : Dance Valley '98 (Tinrib Recordings)
- VA - The Best Of Tinrib 96-02 - Mixed By Captain Tinrib (Tinrib Recordings)
- VA - Cyberdog : The Beginning - Mixed By RR Fierce & Roosta (Sunny Side Up Records)
- VA - Scotland PA - Mixed By Karim (Do Not Bend Recordings)
- VA - Karim - Mixed By Karim (Do Not Bend Recordings)
- VA - The NRG Files Volume 1 - Mixed By Superfast Oz & DJ Kristian (Alphamagic)
- VA - In The Bag - Mixed By Superfast Oz (DP Recordings)
- VA - The Missing Files - Mixed By Max & Amino (Alien Trax)
- VA - One From The Hardbox - Mixed By Paul Glazby & Andy Farley (Vicious Circle Recordings)
- VA - Vicious - Mixed By Paul Glazby & Andy Farley (Vicious Circle Recordings)
- VA - I Love VC - Mixed By Paul Glazby & Ben Stevens (Vicious Circle Recordings)
- VA - Industrial Strength : Volume 1 - Mixed By Marc Johnson & Jupe (Flashpoint Records)
- VA - Adelaide Energy : 100% Local Produce - Mixed By Bongo (Volatile Digital Audio)