UK hardcore
Encyclopedia
UK Hardcore is a broad term to describe the evolved sound of Happy Hardcore
Rave music
which emerged around the end of the 1990s and grew in strength during the 21st century. The music is typically harder and less break-beat led than happy hardcore
back in the 1990s.
and the subsequent development of Drum and Bass
. The stylistic influence of techno including the movie, cartoon and media samples, and powerful synthesizer-based breakdowns characterised this earlier form of UK Hardcore, which some believed to have hit its first peak in 1992. For example, some fan websites go so far as to hyperbolically proclaim "1992 was the best year for music, EVER!"
With the diversity in sound available to producers rising with the onset of progressively more advanced computer and music production systems, electronic music was evolving at a rapid pace during this period. Hardcore, Techno, and Drum and Bass began to split during this intense period of creativity, spinning off the genres Ragga
and Darkside.
The United Kingdom-based rave hardcore scene of the 1990s encompassed several native styles through the years, techno
and hardcore being the respective dominant genres in the North and South of the country for much of this period.
Happy Hardcore
evolved from hardcore music in the early 1990s. Its characteristic 4/4 beat "happy" sound distinguishes it from most other forms of hardcore. The term UK Hardcore refers to the evolution of the Happy Hardcore sound and is not a general term for Hardcore (Gabber or Techno) that comes from the UK.
Through a combination of factors, hardcore had taken a new musical direction towards the latter half of the 1990s. It now had little musical resemblance to its origins, generally becoming more vocal-based and at times producing cover version
s of popular songs. This sound attracted a younger audience in the UK. Elsewhere at this time, this particular sound had found a new worldwide audience in places such as Australia
, Canada
, Japan
and the United States
.
Producers looked to regenerate the United Kingdom rave hardcore music scene towards the end of the 20th century, taking influence from many different styles whilst trying to leave the late 1990s happy hardcore image behind. Their sound was called UK Hardcore; it has seen new producers enter the scene. This current sound similarly has also found followers from all corners of the globe.
Hardcore also received its own special in 2004 on BBC Radio 1
entitled John Peel
Is Not Enough named after a CLSM track of the same name.
Nowadays (Post 2000), The UK hardcore rave scene is a thriving scene with many producers, DJs, MCs and Labels. UK Hardcore is seen as an underground genre, but recent albums such as the Clubland X-treme Hardcore series have exposed the music to a more commercial audience. It is known that the younger generation of raver
s are enjoying the hardcore music scene and will continue to progress and become much more mainstream than when it originally came from clubs.
2009 saw DJ Kutski land his own show on Radio 1. Along with various other harder styles, UK Hardcore receives much air time and the show continues to grow from strength to strength. The show has had the likes of CLSM
as live guests, and a range of guest mixes. While the genre remains very much an underground style of music, its receiving crucial mainstream air time. 2011, however, has seen the closure of a number of labels, such as the veteran Freeform
label; Nu Energy Collective, coupled with the end of the infamous Freeformation events. Kevin Energy and DJ Sharkey
also announced their retirements, which stirred some worry amongst the community about the decline in popularity for hardcore. Nevertheless, other Hardcore labels such as Evolution and Quosh have celebrated their milestone 100th releases. In addition, hardcore has seen a growing abundance of digital labels, and amongst them, upcoming artists such as the highly acclaimed Fracus and Darwin.
UK Hardcore has also started to take many different directions with influences from Dubstep, Electro, Techno and Oldskool Rave once again becoming poplular in many modern productions.
Notable artists=
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...
Rave music
Rave music
Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...
which emerged around the end of the 1990s and grew in strength during the 21st century. The music is typically harder and less break-beat led than 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...
back in the 1990s.
History of UK Hardcore
Early Hardcore producers such as SL2, Prodigy, Hyper-On Experience, DJ Jonny L and Sonz of a Loop da Loop Era, along with record labels such as Moving Shadow, Reinforced, XL and Formation evolved in a period where Techno was developing a harder edge, exploring the complex breakbeats that would later manifest themselves as JungleJungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
and the subsequent development of 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...
. The stylistic influence of techno including the movie, cartoon and media samples, and powerful synthesizer-based breakdowns characterised this earlier form of UK Hardcore, which some believed to have hit its first peak in 1992. For example, some fan websites go so far as to hyperbolically proclaim "1992 was the best year for music, EVER!"
With the diversity in sound available to producers rising with the onset of progressively more advanced computer and music production systems, electronic music was evolving at a rapid pace during this period. Hardcore, Techno, and Drum and Bass began to split during this intense period of creativity, spinning off the genres 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 Darkside.
The United Kingdom-based rave hardcore scene of the 1990s encompassed several native styles through the years, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and hardcore being the respective dominant genres in the North and South of the country for much of this period.
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...
evolved from hardcore music in the early 1990s. Its characteristic 4/4 beat "happy" sound distinguishes it from most other forms of hardcore. The term UK Hardcore refers to the evolution of the Happy Hardcore sound and is not a general term for Hardcore (Gabber or Techno) that comes from the UK.
Through a combination of factors, hardcore had taken a new musical direction towards the latter half of the 1990s. It now had little musical resemblance to its origins, generally becoming more vocal-based and at times producing cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of popular songs. This sound attracted a younger audience in the UK. Elsewhere at this time, this particular sound had found a new worldwide audience in places such as 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...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Producers looked to regenerate the United Kingdom rave hardcore music scene towards the end of the 20th century, taking influence from many different styles whilst trying to leave the late 1990s happy hardcore image behind. Their sound was called UK Hardcore; it has seen new producers enter the scene. This current sound similarly has also found followers from all corners of the globe.
Hardcore also received its own special in 2004 on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
entitled John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
Is Not Enough named after a CLSM track of the same name.
Nowadays (Post 2000), The UK hardcore rave scene is a thriving scene with many producers, DJs, MCs and Labels. UK Hardcore is seen as an underground genre, but recent albums such as the Clubland X-treme Hardcore series have exposed the music to a more commercial audience. It is known that the younger generation of raver
Raver
Raver or ravers may refer to:* Raver, Maharashtra, a city in India* Raver, a party-goer: in the 1960s and 1970s, a "party animal"; since the 1980s, more specifically an aficionado of raves...
s are enjoying the hardcore music scene and will continue to progress and become much more mainstream than when it originally came from clubs.
2009 saw DJ Kutski land his own show on Radio 1. Along with various other harder styles, UK Hardcore receives much air time and the show continues to grow from strength to strength. The show has had the likes of CLSM
CLSM
CLSM is also an abbreviation of the scientific term Confocal laser scanning microscopyCLSM is also an abbreviation of the concrete term CLSM is a British Happy Hardcore group...
as live guests, and a range of guest mixes. While the genre remains very much an underground style of music, its receiving crucial mainstream air time. 2011, however, has seen the closure of a number of labels, such as the veteran Freeform
Freeform Hardcore
Freeform Hardcore is a term used to describe a subgenre of Happy Hardcore UK Hardcore. The genre developed gradually as conventional Hardcore slowly became more influenced by trance. The music is generally more instrumental, being known for its 4/4 beat, prominent acid lines, and often rolling bass...
label; Nu Energy Collective, coupled with the end of the infamous Freeformation events. Kevin Energy and DJ Sharkey
DJ Sharkey
Sharkey is a British record producer, disc jockey, and rapper. Sharkey co-created a style of hardcore techno known as freeform or freeform hardcore.-Career:...
also announced their retirements, which stirred some worry amongst the community about the decline in popularity for hardcore. Nevertheless, other Hardcore labels such as Evolution and Quosh have celebrated their milestone 100th releases. In addition, hardcore has seen a growing abundance of digital labels, and amongst them, upcoming artists such as the highly acclaimed Fracus and Darwin.
UK Hardcore has also started to take many different directions with influences from Dubstep, Electro, Techno and Oldskool Rave once again becoming poplular in many modern productions.
Notable artists=
- CLSMCLSMCLSM is also an abbreviation of the scientific term Confocal laser scanning microscopyCLSM is also an abbreviation of the concrete term CLSM is a British Happy Hardcore group...
- Darren StylesDarren StylesDarren James Mew , better known as Darren Styles, is a British record producer, disc jockey and singer-songwriter from Colchester, England. Originally a member of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & The Evolution, Darren found success during the 1990s as one half of Force & Styles...
- DougalDJ DougalDJ Dougal is a British UK Hardcore and happy hardcore artist and DJ.He first became involved with the dance music scene at the age of 15, while setting up sound systems for some of the first acid house parties, as part of work experience assignment to a music shop.His style is a mix of euphoric...
- GammerGammerGammer is a UK hardcore and Hard Dance producer and DJ.Gammer made his first appearance in the Hardcore scene during 2002 and since he has gone on to be a very successful and prolific producer, being best known for his extensive discography on the revamped Essential Platinum label...
- HixxyHixxyHixxy or DJ Hixxy, born Ian Hicks, is a British UK Hardcore and previously happy hardcore DJ and musician from Portsmouth, England....
- Mark BreezeMark BreezeMark Breeze, also known as DJ Breeze , is a UK Hardcore producer based in the United Kingdom. He is most known for his songs "Let's Fly" and "Jump A Little Higher", and frequently contributes DJ mixes to hardcore compilation series such as the Clubland X-Treme Hardcore series.He is mostly known in...
- Re-Con
- Scott BrownScott Brown (DJ)Scott Alexander Brown is a Glasgow-born Scottish DJ and music producer, now living in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Brown produces and plays a variety of genres commonly called rave. Although he is most associated with bouncy techno, his music ranges from happy hardcore, through hard trance, to...
External links
- The world's #1 clubbing community site, voted "Best Website" at the 2008 Hardcore Heaven Awards
- News and discussion on all types of hardcore, mostly UK Hardcore
- Home of the biggest UK Hardcore Website, with active discussion forums
- "Hardcore Dance Music - What Is Hardcore Dance Music?" - BDWRekordings.com
- Ultimatebuzz - The webs biggest clubbing/hardcore/rave website