Hardcore (also known as hardcore techno)[2][3] is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany[4] in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorted sawtooth kick (160 to 200 BPM or more[5]), the intensity of the kicks and the synthesized bass (in some subgenres),[6] the rhythm and the atmosphere of the themes (sometimes violent),[7] the usage of saturation and experimentation close to that of industrial dance music. It would spawn subgenres such as gabber.
In the mid-1980s, under the influence of the Belgian group Front 242, electronic body music (EBM), a new genre more accessible and more dancing inspired by industrial and new wave, appeared.[10] This style is characterized by minimalism, cold sounds unlike disco, funk or house, with powerful beats, generally combined with aggressive vocals and an aesthetic close to industrial or punk music.[10] Under the influence of new beat, another Belgian genre and acid house, EBM music became harder.[11] All the elements were present for the arrival of hardcore. The beginnings of the genre, they are traced at the very end of the 1980s in Belgium, within the new beat scene with the titles: Rock To The Beat by 101 released in 1988, Saigon Nightmare by 101 released in 1988, Warbeat by Bassline Boys released in 1989, I Want You! by The Concrete Beat released in 1989, I Love You by The Acid Kids released in 1988, Doughnut Dollies by HNO3 released in 1988, Action In Paradise by Export released in 1988, Acid New-Beat by Tribe 22 released in 1988, I Sit On Acid by Lords Of Acid released in 1988, Acid Rock by Rhythm Device released in 1989, Double B by Dirty Harry released in 1989, Also Sprach Zarathustra by Bingo! released in 1989, Europe by Christine D released in 1989, Do That Dance by The Project released in 1990, in 1988 the Belgian new beat arrived in Frankfurt in West Germany.
The most commonly used wordmark for early hardcore
The term hardcore is not new in the music world. It was first used to designate a more radical movement within punk rock (Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains...) which, in addition to hardening the music, also attached importance to their attitude and their way of life as in the street where it was born: violent, underground, but engaged and sincere. The term has then been reused when hip hop emerged in the late 1980s, designating the harder part of the hip hop, with the same characteristics: a harder sound, engaged lyrics and a whole way of life dedicated to the respect of the values shown by rappers like KRS-One or Public Enemy. The term hardcore techno has first been used by EBM groups like à;GRUMH..., Pankow,[12] and Leæther Strip[13][14] in the late 1980s, although their music had nothing to do with hardcore. à;GRUMH...'s Sucking Energy (Hard Core Mix), released in 1985, was the first track ever to use the term hardcore, within an EDM context.
1990s
In 1990, GermanproducerMarc Trauner (also known as Mescalinum United) released the first hardcore techno track with "We Have Arrived".[15][16] The British group Together released its track "Hardcore Uproar", also in 1990. Music journalistSimon Reynolds has written books on hardcore techno, covering bands related to the Belgium hardcore scene like Second Phase and T99 or Dutch hardcore bands such as L.A. Style and Human Resource. Many of the iconic "stabs" that would become part of hardcore were popularized by these and other Belgian techno producers during the early 1990s, like the "Mentasm"[17] and the "Anastasia" stabs.[18]
In the early 1990s, the terms "hardcore" and "darkcore" were also used to designate some primitive forms of breakbeat and drum and bass which were very popular in England and from which have emerged several famous producers like the Prodigy, Altern-8 and Goldie. It introduced sped up hip-hop breakbeats, piano breaks, dub and low frequency basslines and cartoon-like noises, which has been retrospectively called 'old skool' hardcore (a.k.a. breakbeat hardcore) and is widely regarded as the progenitor of happy hardcore (which later lost the breakbeats) and jungle (which alternatively lost the techno style keyboard stabs and piano breaks).
Paul Elstak, the founder of Rotterdam Records.
An important event in the popularization of the genre occurred with the[16][19] release of the 1990 track "We Have Arrived" by the German producer Mescalinum United, of Frankfurt.[13][20] Trauner founded the label Planet Core Productions in 1989 and has produced more than 500 tracks, including 300 by himself until 1996.[13] Another important name of the hardcore scene was PCP: Miroslav Pajic, better known as Miro. His group PCP popularized a slow, heavy, minimal and very dark form of hardcore that is now designated as "darkcore" or "doomcore".
In the United States, the New York pioneer of techno Lenny Dee launched the first dedicated hardcore record label[21] Industrial Strength Records in 1991[20] that has federated a large part of the American scene, making New York one of the biggest centers of early American hardcore. Other American producers on the label included Deadly Buda and the Horrorist, but the label has also produced producers from other nationalities. At the same time in Rotterdam, the DJs and producers Paul Elstak[22] and Rob Fabrie popularized a speedier style, with saturated bass-lines, quickly known as "gabber", and its more commercial and accessible form, happy hardcore.[20][23]
Paul Elstak founded Rotterdam Records in 1992, which became the first hardcore label in the Netherlands.[24] In 1992 at Utrecht, a large rave called The Final Exam[25] led to the creation of the label ID&T. Launched in 1993, the concept of Thunderdome quickly popularized hardcore music in Europe with a catalogue of CD compilations and events, attracting thousands of young people that launched the gabber movement. Just during the single year of 1993, four compilations were released with increasing success.[26][27][28][29][bettersourceneeded] Many artists on the compilations have become well-known figures in the scene, notably 3 Steps Ahead, DJ Buzz Fuzz, The Dreamteam, Neophyte, Omar Santana, and Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo in the gabber/happy hardcore registry. The same year, the label Mokum Records was created[20] by Freddy B who had success with artists and groups like Technohead[30][31][32][33] Tellurian, the Speedfreak, Scott Brown,[34] and the Belgian musician Liza N'Eliaz,[35] pioneer of speedcore.
Around 1993, the style became clearly defined and was simply named "hardcore", as it left its influences from Detroit techno.[36]
In England, the members of the sound system Spiral Tribe,[37] including Stormcore, 69db, Crystal Distortion and Curley hardened their acid-breakbeat sound, becoming the pioneers of the "acidcore" and "hardtechno" genres. In 1994, they founded the label Network 23 which among others has produced Somatic Responses, Caustic Visions and Unit Moebius, establishing the musical and visual basis of the free party rave.
Hardcore/Gabber clubs in Belgium, DJ Yves was resident DJ at Club X[38] in Wuustwezel and from the Hardcore room of the Cherry Moon[39] in Lokeren, DJ Bass (DHT) was resident DJ of the Hardcore room of Temple Of House La Bush[40] in Esquelmes (Pecq) and of La Florida[41] in La Glanerie (Rumes) which is next to the Complexe Cap'tain.[42]Thunderdome in Belgium was organized at the Antwerps Sportpaleis[43] and in clubs such as the Planet Hardcore (Club) in Dendermonde 3 April 1994,[44] the Extreme in Affligem on 16 December 1994,[45] the Club X in Wuustwezel on 7 June 1996[46] and 13 September 1996,[47] the Cherry Moon in Lokeren on 31 October 1997.[48]
In France, the pioneers of hardcore include Laurent Hô. The French hardcore scene later went on to develop into frenchcore.[49]
In the late 1990s, hardcore progressively changed as gabber waned in popularity. This left a place for other hardcore-influenced styles like mákina and hardstyle.
2000s
Under the influence of Hardstyle and industrial hardcore, a new scene was developing featuring DJ Promo and his label The Third Movement. This scene now known as mainstream hardcore emerged in the early 2000s with a modern, mature, slower, and sophisticated form.[19] It was successful in Europe, especially in Netherlands and Italy,[19] with producers and groups like Endymion, Kasparov, Art of Fighters, The Stunned Guys and DJ Mad Dog. Happy hardcore continues its movement underground and has evolved bringing out other related genres such as eurobeat, UK hardcore, Freeform hardcore and Full-on Hardcore.
Labels such as Enzyme Records, Crossbones and Bloc 46 have produced darkcore artists, like Ruffneck, Fifth Era and The Outside Agency.
As the free party movement was successful in all the Europe, freetekno appeared. Numerous producers and labels emerged representing the hard techno and the frenchcore genres: Epileptik, Audiogenic, Les Enfants Sages, Tekita, Breakteam, Mackitek, B2K and Narkotek.
Meanwhile, in 2001, Norwegian DJ duo Thomas S. Nilsen Fiction and Steffen Ojala Søderholm began to develop the nightcore genre influenced by pitch-shifted vocals in German group Scooter's songs "Nessaja" and "Ramp! (The Logical Song)". Nightcore artists started appearing on services such as LimeWire in mid-2003, and YouTube in 2006.
2010s
The early 2010s saw the rise of hardcore internationally, with artists such as Angerfist gaining popularity quickly. The hardcore scene thrived during this period with many new producers and labels making their mark on the scene, both in Europe and the rest of the world, appearing even at North America's biggest music festival, Electric Daisy Carnival. In 2011, Angerfist entered the DJ Mag Top 100 at position #39.[50]
The middle of the decade saw a shift in popularity, from mainstream hardcore to faster styles such as frenchcore, uptempo hardcore and terrorcore. Although these styles existed previously already, an increase in artists and events around 2015 helped these styles develop and move to the forefront of the audience's attention. The shift from the older range of 160–180 beats per minute to 200+ changed the hardcore market, creating a demand for more energetic and intense hardcore than before. Artists like Sefa & Dr. Peacock saw a quick rise within the scene and influenced the musical direction to a louder, faster, but more melodic and euphoric style.[51] Major artists from other genres such as Marshmello, Carnage, Porter Robinson[52] and Headhunterz[53] started to occasionally play faster hardcore in their sets.
The end of the decade saw rapid growth of the hardcore scene in Europe. Hardcore festivals within the Netherlands saw a significant rise in attendance. 2019's edition of Thunderdome reached an attendance of almost 40,000 people and became the biggest hardcore event to ever take place.[54] Regular large scale events hardcore started happening outside of the Netherlands in countries like Spain,[55]Russia,[56]Austria,[57]Switzerland[58] and the Czech Republic[59] among other European countries. In America hardcore remains a relatively underground genre, but can be found in major cities being pushed by independent promoters and artists.
Hard dance is an umbrella category of electronic dance music genres characterized by fast tempos and hard kick drums, but less harsh-sounding and often a bit slower than hardcore. The category includes hard house, hard trance, hardstyle, some forms of Eurodance and regional genres, such as mákina, lento violento and others. Sometimes the category has crossovers with hardcore genres such as frenchcore or UK hardcore. Despite this, the category is sometimes referred to as synonymous with hardcore techno music generally.
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.
A rave is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance music scene when DJs played at illegal events in musical styles dominated by electronic dance music from a wide range of sub-genres, including drum and bass, dubstep, trap, break, happy hardcore, trance, techno, hardcore, house, and alternative dance. Occasionally live musicians have been known to perform at raves, in addition to other types of performance artists such as go-go dancers and fire dancers. The music is amplified with a large, powerful sound reinforcement system, typically with large subwoofers to produce a deep bass sound. The music is often accompanied by laser light shows, projected coloured images, visual effects and fog machines.
Freetekno is a cultural movement that is present in Europe, Australia and North America. Freetekno sound systems or tribes form in loose collectives, frequently with anarchist philosophies. These sound systems join to hold parties wherever a viable space can be found – typical locations include warehouses, fields, abandoned buildings or forests. Because freetekno parties are usually held illegally this sometimes leads to clashes with the police, as was the case at both the 2004 and 2005 Czechtek festivals and many other, smaller parties around the world at different times.
Digital hardcore is a fusion genre that combines hardcore punk with electronic dance music genres such as breakbeat, techno, and drum and bass while also drawing on heavy metal and noise music. It typically features fast tempos and aggressive sound samples. The style was pioneered by Alec Empire of the German band Atari Teenage Riot during the early 1990s, and often has sociological or leftist lyrical themes.
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 Happy Gabba, is that Happy Hardcore tends to have breakbeats running alongside the 4/4 kick drum.
Breakcore is a style and microgenre of electronic dance music that emerged from jungle, hardcore, and drum and bass in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is characterized by very complex and intricate breakbeats and a wide palette of sampling sources played at high tempos.
Techstep is a dark subgenre of drum and bass that was created in the mid-1990s.
Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre that emerged in the late 1990s, with origins in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Hardstyle mixes influences from techno, new beat and hardcore.
Speedcore is a form of electronic music that is characterized by a high tempo and aggressive themes. It was created in the early to mid-1990s and the name originates from the hardcore genre as well as the high tempo used. Speedcore beats per minute (BPM) is classified when a song is 300+ BPM.
Bouncy techno is a hardcore dance music rave style that developed in the early 1990s from Scotland and North England. Described as an accessible gabber-like form, it was popularised by Scottish DJ and music producer Scott Brown under numerous aliases.
Hard trance is a subgenre of trance music that originated in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in the early 1990s as the Breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic music, all influenced by Hard house, New beat, Happy hardcore and Jungle music. The popularity of hard trance peaked during the late 1990s and has since then faded in scope of newer forms of trance.
Thunderdome is a concept in hardcore techno and gabber music that was mainly used for a series of parties and CD albums. It was organized by the Dutch entertainment company ID&T. The first party was organized in 1992 and the party held in December 2012 was advertised as being the end of Thunderdome. The party was brought back in 2017 for the 25th anniversary with a 2019 edition announced the following year. In 2022, Thunderdome celebrated its 30th anniversary at the Jaarbeurs convention centre, Utrecht.
Dov Joseph Elkabas, known professionally as DJ The Prophet, is a Dutch hardcore techno and hardstyle DJ and producer. The Prophet is also the owner of one of the largest hardstyle record labels, Scantraxx.
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music. While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in ancient history, the earliest Western dance music that we can still reproduce with a degree of certainty are old-fashioned dances. In the Baroque period, the major dance styles were noble court dances. In the classical music era, the minuet was frequently used as a third movement, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The waltz also arose later in the classical era. Both remained part of the romantic music period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the barcarolle, mazurka, ecossaise, ballade and polonaise.
New beat is a Belgian electronic dance music genre that fuses elements of new wave, hi-NRG, EBM and hip hop. It flourished in Western Europe during the late-1980s.
Frenchcore is a subgenre of hardcore techno. The style differs from other forms of hardcore in terms of a faster tempo, usually above 190-250 BPM, and a loud & distorted offbeat bassline.
Gabber is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of hardcore techno, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as Hardcore, which is characterised by fast beats, distorted & heavier kickdrums, with darker themes and samples. This style was developed in Rotterdam and Amsterdam in the 1990s by producers like Marc Acardipane, Paul Elstak, DJ Rob, and The Prophet, forming record labels such as Rotterdam Records, Mokum Records, Pengo Records and Industrial Strength Records.
Lenny Dee is the performing name of Leonard Didesiderio, a DJ based in New York City. Starting as a house DJ in the 1980s, Dee quickly moved towards harder sounds such as techno and gabber. He set up the well respected record label Industrial Strength in 1991.
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.
1 2 "Mescalinum United - Biography". Planet Lyrics. Retrieved 8 May 2013. Trauner was co-founder of record label Planet Core Productions and has been credited with creating the first hardcore techno/gabber track in 1990, 'We Have Arrived', under the name of Mescalinum United
↑ Reynolds, Simon (1998). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Picador. The monstrous 'mentasm' sound – a swarming killer-bee drone derived from the Roland Juno Alpha synthesizer, a writhing, seething cyclone-hiss that sends ripples of shivery, shuddery rapture over your entire bodysurface – spread through rave culture like a virus, infecting everyone from the Belgian, Dutch and German hardcore crews to British breakbeat artists like 4 Hero, Doc Scott and Rufige Cru. The 'mentasm stab' – which took the sound and gave it a convulsive riff-pattern – was hardcore's great unifier (…).
↑ Reynolds, Simon (1998). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Picador. On T99's 'Anasthasia', the 'Mentasm' stab mutated into what some called the 'Belgian hoover' effect: bombastic blasts of ungodly dissonance that sounded like Carmina Burana sung by a choir of satan-worshipping cyborgs.
↑ "Daniel Leeflang Bio". Mokum Records. Retrieved 11 January 2013. [...] and "I wanna be a hippy" which gave him a gold record for 25,000 copies sold in Germany only.
↑ Wyburn, Claire (April 1996). "Scott Brown: The King of Scottish Hardcore". M8 (85): 10–11.
↑ Des pratiques artistiques des jeunes (in French). 2003. p.43.
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