Happy hardcore

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Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or "hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s. The thing that makes happy hardcore stand apart from gabber, is that happy hardcore tends to have breakbeats running alongside the 4/4 kick drum. [1]

Contents

History

Origins

The breakbeat hardcore rave scene was beginning to fragment by late 1992 into a number of subsequent breakbeat-based genres: darkcore (tracks embracing dark-themed samples and stabs), hardcore jungle (reggae basslines and influences became prominent), and 4-beat also known as "happy hardcore" where piano rolls and uplifting vocals were still central to the sound. [2] DJs such as Slipmatt, DJ Sy, DJ Seduction, Wishdokta, DJ Dougal, and DJ Vibes continued to play and put out music of this nature throughout 1993/94 – notably Slipmatt through the SMD releases, Wishdokta as 'Naughty Naughty', and Seduction on the Impact label. [3]

1990s growth

The sound of happy hardcore changed in the 1990s, with tracks increasingly losing their breakbeats towards a stomping distorted 909 4/4 kick drum pattern, with more original vocal leads and stab patterns. DJs and producers that began to come through included Hixxy, Breeze, Force & Styles, DJ Sharkey, and DJ DNA, [4] and tracks that started to define the genre included "Heart of Gold", "Pretty Green Eyes", "Cloudy Daze", "Sunshine After the Rain", "Above the Clouds", "Discoland", "Love of My Life", "Techno Wonderland", and "Hardcore Fever". [5] Throughout the mid-late 1990s, the compilation series Bonkers would be commercially popular and showcase the latest happy hardcore music. Bonkers only really came into being due to the record label React showing interest in Toy Town , and Hixxy and Sharkey convincing the label to do a compilation album deal instead. [6]

2000s

In the UK, the scene received its own special on BBC Radio 1 called John Peel Is Not Enough (named after a track by CLSM) in 2004. [7] The scene continued to expand, with compilations such as Clubland X-Treme Hardcore , and an evermore youthful audience. [8] In 2009, DJ Kutski hosted a show featuring hard dance and hardcore on Radio 1. [9]

Happy hardcore compilations

Notable happy hardcore compilation albums include:

See also

Related Research Articles

Breakbeat hardcore is a music genre that spawned from the UK rave scene during the early 1990s. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In addition to the inclusion of breakbeats, the genre also features shuffled drum machine patterns, hoover, and other noises originating from new beat and Belgian techno, sounds from acid house and bleep techno, and often upbeat house piano riffs and vocals.

Jungle is a genre of electronic music that developed out of the UK rave scene and Jamaican sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and synthesised effects, combined with the deep basslines, melodies, and vocal samples found in dub, reggae and dancehall, as well as hip hop and funk. Many producers frequently sampled the "Amen break" or other breakbeats from funk and jazz recordings. Jungle was a direct precursor to the drum and bass genre which emerged in the mid-1990s.

Hardcore is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorted sawtooth kick, the intensity of the kicks and the synthesized bass, the rhythm and the atmosphere of the themes, the usage of saturation and experimentation close to that of industrial dance music. It would spawn subgenres such as gabber.

Bouncy techno is a hardcore dance music rave style that developed in the early 1990s from Scotland and Northern England. Described as an accessible gabber-like form, it was popularised by Scottish DJ and music producer Scott Brown under numerous aliases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Sharkey</span> British musical artist and producer

DJ Sharkey is a British record producer, disc jockey and rapper. As of September 2011 he is semi-retired from music production and performance. Sharkey has performed in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, and Japan.

Matthew Nelson, better known as DJ Slipmatt, is a British electronic music producer and DJ. He was one half of breakbeat hardcore group SL2, who had a 1992 UK hit with "On a Ragga Tip".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Dougal</span> British hardcore DJ and producer (born April 1975 (unconfirmed))

DJ Dougal, is a British UK Hardcore and Happy Hardcore artist and DJ.

<i>Euphoria</i> (compilations) Series of dance music compilations

Euphoria is a series of dance music compilations that debuted on the Telstar Records label in early 1999. During the first year, Euphoria focused primarily on trance music until mid-2000 when Euphoria released the first chill-out album in the series and the first hard house album in late 2000. Euphoria was later spun off into a number of associated club nights around the UK, Ibiza and Cyprus. Over the course of three years, in excess of 500 tour dates were chalked up with tour DJs such as Adam White, Robert Van Ryn, Simon Webdale and Darren James. The compilations included box sets usually priced at around £20.00. The Euphoria albums were of high quality and still are highly collectible and the earlier versions are somewhat rare.

The Bonkers series was one of the leading happy hardcore compilation series in the UK. The first release was in 1996 on the record label React. It was available on 2xCD and 2xTC formats. DJs Sharkey and Hixxy were signed by React, and they released "Bonkers", the first in a series of albums that has become the best-selling hardcore compilation series of all time. As of 11 May 2009, the series had reached its nineteenth release, titled Bonkers: The Original Hardcore.

Darren James Mew, better known as Darren Styles, is an English music producer, DJ, singer and songwriter from Colchester, Essex. Originally a member of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & the Evolution, Styles found success during the 1990s as one half of Force & Styles. The duo were pioneers of happy hardcore and wrote several well-known songs such as "Heart of Gold", "Pretty Green Eyes" and "Paradise & Dreams".

React Music Limited was a British independent record label, based in London, formed in 1990 by James Horrocks and Thomas Foley. James Horrocks was initially involved with successful dance music independent Rhythm King, and React pursued a similar approach — specifically electronic dance music, house music, acid house, techno and rave, along with newer "dance" oriented subgenres which emerged throughout the 1990s. These included hard house, tech house, trance, hardbag, happy hardcore, drum and bass and chill out.

This is the discography page for Darren Styles. It also includes the discography of his groups DJ Force & The Evolution, Force & Styles and Styles & Breeze. It also includes the peak chart performance of each album or single where applicable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kutski</span> British radio DJ

John Walker known by his stage name, Kutski is a British radio DJ, from Chester, England. He presented various shows for BBC Radio 1, playing a variety of hard dance music, including breakbeat, electro, hard trance, hardcore and hardstyle. Kutski now produces and hosts a weekly podcast, "Keeping the Rave Alive", which plays music similar to that heard on his BBC Radio 1 shows.

Clubland X-Treme Hardcore are a series of compilation albums from Clubland, released by Universal Music TV and AATW, that was initiated by DJ producers Hixxy and Styles. The series has been credited as a turning point in the popularity of the hardcore music scene.

Dowster or DJ Dowster, also known as David Thomas,, is a Welsh record producer, singer-songwriter and disc jockey from Cwmbran in South Wales. David has been involved in the rave scene since 1998 and his love of the music lead him to begin his DJ career in In 2001, Dowster was signed to Raver Baby Records by its owner DJ Hixxy to become part of the original Raver Baby Collective. This collective, known at the time as the RBC, included some of the UK Hardcore scene's leading DJs and MCs – Hixxy, Breeze, Darren Styles, UFO, MC Storm and MC Whizzkid. In addition to his DJ bookings and single releases within this period, Dowster's solo and collaborative studio projects can be found on certain volumes of the highly successful Bonkers series as well as other leading names in UK hardcore compilation albums. Three of his most popular tracks were "Starlight", "Steps Ahead" and "Here We Go".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fracus & Darwin</span>

Fracus & Darwin are a British DJ and production duo, known for producing a variety of electronic music styles. They have been guests on BBC Radio 1 and have performed at clubs and festivals across the world.

Hixxy, or DJ Hixxy, is a British disc jockey and electronic music producer known for his innovative work in the UK happy hardcore scene, co-founding the Raver Baby record label, and the Bonkers compilation album series.

<i>Happy 2b Hardcore</i> 1997 compilation album (DJ mix album) by Anabolic Frolic

Happy 2b Hardcore is a DJ mix album by Canadian DJ Anabolic Frolic. It was released in 1997 on American breakbeat label Moonshine Music and is the first series in Frolic's Happy 2b Hardcore series of DJ mix albums, documenting the emergence of happy hardcore music in the United Kingdom and Europe. The series itself is a spin-off of Moonshine's Speed Limit 140 BPM+ series of fast-tempo dance music compilations. The album was conceived to introduce American audiences to happy hardcore, and contains sixteen of the genre's anthems which carry many of happy hardcore's defining characteristics, such as fast tempo, frantic breakbeats, major key tonality, off-kilter, quirky keyboard effects and "semi-melodies."

Belgian hardcore techno is an early style of hardcore techno that emerged from new beat as EBM and techno influences became more prevalent in this genre. This particular style has been described as an "apocalyptic, almost Wagnerian, bombastic techno", due to its use of dramatic orchestral stabs and menacing synth tones that set it apart from earlier forms of electronic dance music. It flourished in Belgium and influenced the sound of early hardcore from Netherlands, Germany, Italy, UK and North America during the early-1990s, as a part of the rave movement during that period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toy Town</span> 1995 single by DJ Hixxy and MC Sharkey

"Toy Town" is a happy hardcore track by British duo Hixxy and Sharkey. Released in 1995, the single was a hit in the UK clubbing scene, peaked at number 24 in the UK dance singles chart, and had a pivotal impact in the UK rave music scene with a move away from breakbeat towards the newer happy hardcore "cheesy" sound.

References

  1. ↑ Reynolds 2013, chpt. 11: "The difference between happy hardcore and happy gabba is slight: basically, the English tracks have sped-up breakbeats running alongside the stomping four-to-the-floor kick-drum, and at 170 b.p.m., they're slightly slower than happy gabba.".
  2. ↑ Reynolds 2013, p. 266, "Back in 1993, when hardcore plunged into the 'darkside', a breakaway faction of DJ-producers like Seduction, Vibes and Slipmatt continued to make celebratory, upful tunes based around hectic breakbeats. By the end of 1994, happy hardcore had coalesced into a scene that operated in parallel with its estranged cousin, jungle.".
  3. ↑ "Gone To A Rave: High On A Happy Vibe – The Rise And Fall Of Hardcore". Ransom Note. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Louis Pattison (21 February 2020). "White gloves on, whistles out: Photos capturing the thrill of hardcore rave". RBMA Daily. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Mumdance (4 September 2014). "The 20 best happy hardcore records of all time". FACTmag. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  6. 1 2 Roberts, Joe (10 March 2019). "Happy hardcore will never die: An ode to the Bonkers series". DJ Mag . Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  7. ↑ Wall, Mick (2004). John Peel: A Tribute To The Legendary DJ and Broadcaster. Orion Books. ISBN   978-0-7528-7212-4.
  8. 1 2 Hodgson, Jaimie (20 July 2021). "'Why Don't We All Go Bonkers?' – The Rise and Fall of Happy Hardcore". Vice . Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  9. ↑ "Kutski's Biography". BBC . Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  10. ↑ "dance mania speed 6". Oricon . 2001. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024. highest ranking 31st place
  11. ↑ "Looking back on Anabolic Frolic, Happy 2b Hardcore in Canada". Metafilter. 3 October 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "HARDCORE EUPHORIA". Official Charts Company . Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  13. ↑ "HARDCORE HEAVEN 3 – VARIOUS ARTISTS - Official Charts". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 20 May 2024.

Bibliography

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