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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| DjMoNkEyBoY |
http://www.calendarlive.com/nightlife/cl-w...more%2Dchannels
Success for a sunny sound oft maligned
Despite being dubbed "candy ravers," electronic music's "happy hardcore" scene is alive and well.
A new beginning
Get happy
In the Flesh: Orion, 740 S. Broadway, L.A.; Qtopia, 6021 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood.
When: Friday nights.
Info: (310) 285-8192 (Orion); (310) 509-0031 (Qtopia).
On the Web: www.candykids.net or www.raversdigest.com
By Andrew John Ignatius Vontz, Special to The Times
In spite of Moby's success, mainstream pop fans continue to shun electronic music at the checkout stand, and many erroneously regard the music's followers as glow-stick-wielding, drug-fueled hedonists .
But fan-bashing isn't exclusively a mainstream game. Within the electronic music world, the subgenre known as "happy hardcore" and its fans, known as "candy ravers" because of their Teletubbies-inflected psychedelic fashion sense , are almost universally regarded as juvenile.
"The scene at large looks down on them mainly because it casts a bad light on the whole scene because it's so childlike," says Scott Sterling, editor of the electronic music magazine URB .
Last month, Santa Monica electronic music label Moonshine released the seventh installment in its "Happy 2B Hardcore" series mixed by Canadian DJ and producer Chris Frolic, a.k.a. Anabolic Frolic .
As the title of the sixth CD in the series, "Happy 2B Hardcore: The Final Chapter," suggests, it was supposed to have been the last. Nevertheless, like Britney Spears, happy hardcore may often be criticized, but it's a smashing commercial success.
The first six CDs in the series have sold a combined 323,000 copies , making Anabolic Frolic the third-best-selling electronic mix CD artist in North America, according to SoundScan, trailing only Paul Oakenfold and DJ Keoki.
Frolic's sales put him ahead of vastly better-known DJs, including Sasha and Digweed (No. 4) and Paul Van Dyk (No. 5). In L.A., the subgenre thrives at clubs, including the Orion and Qtopia in Hollywood, and at such one-shot events as Together as One and the Monster Massive
Given the "Happy 2B" series' success, Moonshine decided that whether the genre is loved or hated, "Happy 2B Hardcore" had not yet breathed its last.
"A big group of kids really identify with it defining their rave experience," Moonshine President Steve Levy says. "It was in the back of our minds that we were going to do a comeback one."
Thus, "Happy 2B Hardcore Chapter Seven: A New Beginning" was born.
The rebirth of the series and its popularity are significant in light of the fact that the electronic music press and aficionados largely dismiss it as repetitive, unmusical and lacking in nuance -- many of the same criticisms mainstream pop fans make about all electronic music.
But the beef against it has much to do with the genre's roots as well.
In the early '90s, the hard-core style of electronic music mutated in two directions. One evolved into the rhythmically complex style known as jungle. With its syncopated, 170-plus beats per minute and nightmare bass moans, jungle was the darker, grittier side of the evolution, and the urban, B-boy-inflected style of its fans, known as junglists, sartorially mirrored the sound.
Happy hardcore arose as a smiley-faced antidote to the darkness of jungle. In its modern form, happy hardcore is characterized by a relentless, boingy 140-plus beats per minute and four-to-the-floor kick drum accompanied by saccharine-sweet synth stabs, diva vocals and roaring crescendos.
Aesthetically, its mostly 14-to-20-year-old candy raver fans are the flip side of junglists, typically people in their early 20s. Candy ravers still rely on the aesthetic of the early days of rave: They turn up at clubs in leg-swallowing fuzzy pants, oversized shirts and kiddie candy-bead jewelry, often toting plush dolls and pacifiers .
The ubiquitous '70s smiley-face symbol , which appears on the cover of every "Happy 2B Hardcore" compilation, is the predominant signifier of the genre. The dance moves of choice are a combination of popping, locking and the NordicTrak , an insanely fast and athletic style of dancing that looks like someone pumping away on a cross-country skiing exercise machine.
The candy ravers' youthful energy is often astounding at the alcohol-free raves or all-ages clubs that specialize in happy hardcore. The atmosphere tends to be more upbeat, as fans get their first experiences with music they can call their own.
Candy ravers are die-hard fans , and as the series has shown, their loyalty translates into big sales. And even though they are shunned by many e-music fans, candy ravers get some respect for their enthusiasm.
"I definitely respect the happy hardcore heads for sticking to their guns and being proud to wave their freak flag high," Sterling says. "That's what a lot of the American rave scene was based on: being able to totally freak out and do your own thing.
Dj MoNkEyBoY
Founder of Monkeyshine Inc.
Keep it Real!
Keep it Happy!
Keep it Hardcore! |
| fazza |
quote:
Originally posted by DjMoNkEyBoY:
140-plus beats per minute and four-to-the-floor kick drum accompanied by saccharine-sweet synth stabs, diva vocals and roaring crescendos.
140 bpm? as if!!!!! lol
so whats the la times then? is it just like a broadsheet newspaper over here like the telegraph? its good that hardcore is getting recognition over there in the us which is sopposed to have no dance scene at all! we all know that isnt true tho coz there are loads of americans on here!!!
notice as well that all the other djs mentioned that are below frollic in the sales charts are from the uk!! were so lucky to have such a good dance scene over here!! not that i like sasha and digweed tho! lol
"I feel you, i want you, i know your touch is all i need, im waiting you're shining" |
| Brian K |
i didn't know what to think of this other than laugh at the fact that they got chris's name wrong =P
"we'll delete the weak" |
| tommo |
Personally,I think that articles a load of shite.
Im just a bassline addict
Im just a hardcore addict
Im just a dancefloor manic
Why o why cant you just accept it. |
| atomicb |
it's not great, but we all know it coulda been a lot worse :)
|
| rezzna |
why's it shite???
christ sake the blokes regulrly writes for one of the most prestigious papers in the US, and probably isnt into his hardcore, so dont expect the man to have found everything out in the one or two days research he might have put in.
the point is hes given hardcore a good review, which is needed, as (correct me if im wrong please) the us might till be tryin to pass the "clubs as crackhouses" laws that bans chillout rooms an glowstick s and the like because they encourage drug use.
hes even advertising a damn event.
if only the british press had anything so openminded in its columns.
and so what if rich business types are guna laff at the "plush dolls and pacifiers," hu gives a shit what anyone else thinks.
as far as im aware the US hardcore scene is nowhere near as prolific as it is in the UK, so for more events to be held, the interest needs to rise, interested that can be garnered from the press.
|
| whispering |
I'm with rezzna with this one, i liked the part where it sayd:
"The first six CDs in the series have sold a combined 323,000 copies , making Anabolic Frolic the third-best-selling electronic mix CD artist in North America, according to SoundScan, trailing only Paul Oakenfold and DJ Keoki.
Frolic's sales put him ahead of vastly better-known DJs, including Sasha and Digweed (No. 4) and Paul Van Dyk (No. 5)."
|
| CandyAss |
Not a bad article IMO
CandyAss
Drew
http://www.valence2000.com
http://www.hardcorps.org |
| virus |
HAHAAH Chris Frolic!
and uhm.. not everyone that listens to hardcore is a candy kid....
|
| atomicb |
yeah of course :) lots of mis-information but at least it wasn't taking the piss at our expense.
|
| strychnine |
Yeah that whole "happy hardcorer = candy-raver" association that you have in N America has always baffled me. I remember a flame-war I witnessed as a lurker on LoungeX where one participant, in response to a statement made that one city's scene was better than another's because the former had less of a candy-raver proportion, replied that the biggest promotions crew in the apparently non-candy city was Hullaballoo, a "candy" crew. Is the association really that strong?
________________________________________________________________________
Nothing is random. You were meant to read this. |
| Brian K |
quote:
Originally posted by virus:
and uhm.. not everyone that listens to hardcore is a candy kid....
oh come on now adam, i know i've seen you carrying you're pacifier around =P
"we'll delete the weak" |
| milo |
good press... LA Times is one of the more popular news papers in the US
and in chapter 7 Chris lists his name as Chris Frolic and that name is posted in several other places as well.
"Everybody... rock, rock on.. " |
| Xenochrome |
I kind of resent the "candy kid" stereotype. I'm rather large with a shaved head, long goatee, and multiple tatoos. Definitely NOT candy.
|
| Brian K |
big up long goatee massive =)
my goofy slippers are about as candy as i get =P
"we'll delete the weak" |
| rezzna |
every scene gets its stereotype fans, rock and metal got "goths" and "skater grebs" or woteva, clubbers all wear white shirts propa trouses an shoes, prog house fans wear cords and slippers...
im sure every hippy wasnt unwashed, hairy and stoned...
most of em were but hey...
"don't worry about it, if i were you i wouldn't remember me either" |
| No Left Turn |
quote:
Originally posted by virus:
HAHAAH Chris Frolic!
and uhm.. not everyone that listens to hardcore is a candy kid....
i think everyone knows that Adam, Chrisskippa, and I are raging neon teletubby fluff neon candy ravers
-Donny / No Left Turn
http://www.liquidvinyldjs.com |
| tommo |
quote:
Originally posted by rezzna:
im sure every hippy wasnt unwashed, hairy and stoned...
most of em were but hey...
"don't worry about it, if i were you i wouldn't remember me either"
Im just a bassline addict
Im just a hardcore addict
Im just a dancefloor manic
Why o why cant you just accept it. |
| CandyAss |
quote:
Originally posted by CandyAss:
Not a bad article IMO
CandyAss
Drew
http://www.valence2000.com
http://www.hardcorps.org
Haha, I don't even remember posting this! I must've been drunk because I don't remember reading the article either. Word to the beercore.
Anyway, I just read it. I don't like how they compared happy hardcore to Britney Spears (wtf?) and only focused on Moonshine and Frolic. And yeah, it was funny how they got his name wrong, Chris Frolic, Hahahahaha. Anyway, like atomicb said, it could've been a lot worse.
CandyAss
Drew
http://www.valence2000.com
http://www.hardcorps.org |
| fazza |
quote:
Originally posted by CandyAss:
quote:
Originally posted by CandyAss:
Not a bad article IMO
CandyAss
Drew
http://www.valence2000.com
http://www.hardcorps.org
Haha, I don't even remember posting this! I must've been drunk because I don't remember reading the article either. Word to the beercore.
CandyAss
Drew
http://www.valence2000.com
http://www.hardcorps.org
hahaha u big piss head u!!
"I feel you, i want you, i know your touch is all i need, im waiting you're shining" |
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