Note: You must be registered in order to post a reply.
To register, click here. Registration is free.
T O P I C R E V I E W
DjZelous
How come hardcore has not had a proper take off, Out of all the harder styles, hardcore is the one that its climax was VERY short lived, i assume it was in the raver baby days, when Darren Styles skydivin sold a shit ton of copies. Most hardcore tunes are very well produced, And have a great sound but i cant figure out why it does not play at festivals or big parties. Here in miami, hard dance does not exist, but every so often ill hear a Drum n Bass tune on the biggest EDM fm station we have. not once do i hear a hardcore tune. any time i play at a house party i always drop at least one hardcore tune and people go INSANE, Every time! Will we ever see a tune that did what Martin Garrix Animals did? A song off an exclusive electro house label (Spinnin') that made it onto the top 10 and got regular airplay.
Just my thoughts
silver
Sounds like you should throw your own parties :)
DJ Sketchy
quote:Originally posted by DjZelous:
How come hardcore has not had a proper take off, Out of all the harder styles, hardcore is the one that its climax was VERY short lived, i assume it was in the raver baby days, when Darren Styles skydivin sold a shit ton of copies. Most hardcore tunes are very well produced, And have a great sound but i cant figure out why it does not play at festivals or big parties. Here in miami, hard dance does not exist, but every so often ill hear a Drum n Bass tune on the biggest EDM fm station we have. not once do i hear a hardcore tune. any time i play at a house party i always drop at least one hardcore tune and people go INSANE, Every time! Will we ever see a tune that did what Martin Garrix Animals did? A song off an exclusive electro house label (Spinnin') that made it onto the top 10 and got regular airplay.
Just my thoughts
I suppose you could say the Hardcore scene has had 3 peaks (correct me if I'm wrong). You have the original sound which was the all encompassing 'rave' music. Then the scene split, and Happy Hardcore was created (I heard the name 'Happy Hardcore' was actually a diss from the Drum & Bass ravers). Then you have the most recent peak, with your Raverbaby, Evolution, Quosh etc.
The rise of Hardcore in America shouldn't really come as a shock. As the music's solid. It just took the rise of EDM to give Hardcore music the proper opportunity.
Unfortunately, the UK Hardcore scene is struggling. It's more recently on the mend, however. With the rise of new artists such a Klubfiller, Fracus & Darwin, Mob etc. Just the scene needs a new BOOM for it to get its footing back. Hopefully those days will come again. Events such as HTID, Ravers Reunited, and the Clubland Weekender should help put Hardcore back on the map again.
Personally, I see Hardcore's rise to another peak as maybe a slow one. It could be 5-10 years before we see the likes of the peak during the Raverbaby Days.
Support from music industry dons All Around The World will help Hardcore maintain it's requirement for decent vocals I feel. Also they have the Clubland Xtreme Hardcore brand, to re-launch sometime in the future once the scene finds its footing again.
I feel the scene is on its way to recovery after losing some of its main labels and producers. Just the fall of vinyl has left a major hole in the producers pockets. If there is no money in producing, then some people just won't make the effort. If there are no new singles, then the scene doesn't move forward and develop.
It requires people to invest in the music and produce Hardcore music irrelevant of making money from all the invested effort. Which is a big ask!
I am currently writing a DJ Sketchy, Hardcore artist album with Matt from the Organ Donors, and its sounding awesome! It's gonna be another year until its fully completed though. I am writing this album at a financial expense which might not be recovered fully by the album and single sales. It will put 10 banging tracks into circulation though, so that's all positive. All the tracks will be based off ideas I write privately. Once the album is finished, I will have a small break, then we will commence on album 2 :)
CDJay
First of all, I'm far from convinced "boom" is a model we want (given that bust is a close companion).
Prior spikes have been based entirely on a grassroots swell, capitalised on by corporations. It's surprising we dodged the global, and certainly NA, boom but I have a fair appraisal.
The roots of the genre are actually quite solid, but we had "growing pains" in the 90 and 00s. Not taken seriously, and ironically held in better stead retrospectively.
The only way we'll get taken seriously is if we take ourselves seriously, and it saddens me to say that the best way to get "big" in hardcore is to succeed once you've given up on it. Our scene seems almost ashamed of itself and its roots, which isn't a way to attract a potential suitor.
D&B exists largely outside of the commercial sphere, but has a radio station on Forza Horizon 3. Why? Cred. Unity.
If we want another spurt, we need to do foreplay. I'm, personally, tired of banging the drum of collaboration and have ideas beyond our seemingly assigned station. We'll try to take the genre to places it hasn't been, to pastures new, but I'm tired of seeking approval. We're here, we're geared, get used to it.
Once the princesses tire of flirting with princes, outside of genre, maybe they'll work out their own kingdom needs some attention. Who knows? It's 2017; fairy godmothers don't give out durable footwear for free these days.
CDJay
DJ Sketchy
Also to add. The awesome work you and the team at Hardcore Underground do, CDJay. Is the sort of effort which will put Hardcore back on the map. Your artist and industry albums you put out are nothing short of spectacular.
CDJay
You sound suspiciously like my wife, and I paid her abductor and hypnotist well. Good work!
CDJay
Samination
Sketchy, there are some things in your statements that are complete off.
First off. Fracus & Darwin aren't blodoy newcomers, and not Mob either. Klubfiller is debatable since he's also been in the "higher" scene for a bit (and not just some random HU combilation :P)
And what the **** is AATW doing with Hardcore lately? Nothing, or are they hiding something from us? like 3 Clublanc Xtreme albums or something?
Also, are you taking queues from Donald Trump something? Your album will be great? that was his mantra the whole way through his election :D
So you will have to excuse me, But color me sceptical.
DJ Sketchy
quote:Originally posted by Samination:
Sketchy, there are some things in your statements that are complete off.
First off. Fracus & Darwin aren't blodoy newcomers, and not Mob either. Klubfiller is debatable since he's also been in the "higher" scene for a bit (and not just some random HU combilation :P)
And what the **** is AATW doing with Hardcore lately? Nothing, or are they hiding something from us? like 3 Clublanc Xtreme albums or something?
Also, are you taking queues from Donald Trump something? Your album will be great? that was his mantra the whole way through his election :D
So you will have to excuse me, But color me sceptical.
No. I've known of Fracus & Darwin for years! They have certainly jumped up a few pegs in recent times though.
AATW are sat there wanting to invest. They seriously want the Hardcore scene to thrive, and are probably a bit frustrated with the present situation. They are doing the Clubland Weekender too.
My comments about my album sounding awesome are in my opinion. It's certainly different. I'm nervous for you guys to hear the finished article, as all the tracks are all directly based off my ideas.
Samination
If they want it to thrive, they have to do something about. I'm pretty sure they have a bigger range that could help more than whatever the "top tier" are doing now.
And you have to excuse me that I can't take any artist comments face value
ViolonC
I think the answer is actually pretty simple. UK Hardcore never really had support on mainland Europe. With the rise of EDM there is a little traction in the US lately but anything else are British colonies (and Japan is another thing).
Jacco
quote:Originally posted by ViolonC:
I think the answer is actually pretty simple. UK Hardcore never really had support on mainland Europe. With the rise of EDM there is a little traction in the US lately but anything else are British colonies (and Japan is another thing).
There was lot's of potential in Germany once. One of the big problems is that people just ****ing sit on their releases for ages but it's getting better thanks to HU. If you can't sort out younger DJs with new tunes then there will be less parties and that makes it harder to win new supporters.
djDMS
quote:Originally posted by DJ Sketchy:
I suppose you could say the Hardcore scene has had 3 peaks (correct me if I'm wrong).
You're wrong, there has been 4.
There's Greg too
DJ_FunDaBounce
quote:Originally posted by djDMS:
quote:Originally posted by DJ Sketchy:
I suppose you could say the Hardcore scene has had 3 peaks (correct me if I'm wrong).
quote:Originally posted by DJ Sketchy:
I suppose you could say the Hardcore scene has had 3 peaks (correct me if I'm wrong).
You're wrong, there has been 4.
There's Greg too
Nice :)
Bring Me Round To Love
quote:Originally posted by DJ Sketchy:
quote:Originally posted by Samination:
Sketchy, there are some things in your statements that are complete off.
First off. Fracus & Darwin aren't blodoy newcomers, and not Mob either. Klubfiller is debatable since he's also been in the "higher" scene for a bit (and not just some random HU combilation :P)
And what the **** is AATW doing with Hardcore lately? Nothing, or are they hiding something from us? like 3 Clublanc Xtreme albums or something?
Also, are you taking queues from Donald Trump something? Your album will be great? that was his mantra the whole way through his election :D
So you will have to excuse me, But color me sceptical.
No. I've known of Fracus & Darwin for years! They have certainly jumped up a few pegs in recent times though.
AATW are sat there wanting to invest. They seriously want the Hardcore scene to thrive, and are probably a bit frustrated with the present situation. They are doing the Clubland Weekender too.
My comments about my album sounding awesome are in my opinion. It's certainly different. I'm nervous for you guys to hear the finished article, as all the tracks are all directly based off my ideas.
Most original raver hated AATW, Hardcore cashing in and selling out, where did it get hardcore in the end? Hixxy, Styles and AATW and some fat scouse bloke singing other peoples tunes badly and fek loads of cash for them.
CDJay
It's not all bad news; Stormtooper, Cube::Hard, Fracus, JAKAZiD, Darwin et al got a lifeline.. Oh, wait. Heh.
We're still here, but that platform and revenue stream was well defended
CDJay
jordesuvi
From the perspective I have:
I've been reading around on the social medias and finding that a lot of artists have been promising "2017 is the year of happy hardcore".
Which is quite interesting. We're all aware of how prevalent Stonebank has become in recent years. Darren Styles and Gammer got their first release on Monstercat yesterday (MC were kind enough to spontaneously send me a promo of the track beforehand to release my YouTube video in conjunction with theirs).
Hardcore Heaven was released with notable success at the end of 2016, with all the preview clips on Soundcloud averaging around 15k plays. Quite impressive.
Not to mention the upcoming HU projects.
S3RL is more successful than ever.
Artists like IYF and the guys at OneSeventy seem to have established their corner of the market
And honestly, I'm getting a lot more promo's from artists lately than I used to.
From what I've gathered, it's almost like we've all finally got ourselves together and covered exactly what we're about and what we want to present.
Hardcore was undergoing somewhat of a lengthy experimental phase.
I do think that sooner or later we are set for another spike, if not at least becoming a more underlying presence in the EDM scene.
Hopefully with all this traction the genre could be on its way to something more.
Bring Me Round To Love
quote:Originally posted by CDJay:
It's not all bad news; Stormtooper, Cube::Hard, Fracus, JAKAZiD, Darwin et al got a lifeline.. Oh, wait. Heh.
We're still here, but that platform and revenue stream was well defended
CDJay
Don't forget AL Storm, been banging out tunes since the 90's Love his darker hardcore, a 93 twist in the modern era, has his own sound which is rare these days.
Bring Me Round To Love
quote:Originally posted by jordesuvi:
From the perspective I have:
I've been reading around on the social medias and finding that a lot of artists have been promising "2017 is the year of happy hardcore".
Which is quite interesting. We're all aware of how prevalent Stonebank has become in recent years. Darren Styles and Gammer got their first release on Monstercat yesterday (MC were kind enough to spontaneously send me a promo of the track beforehand to release my YouTube video in conjunction with theirs).
Hardcore Heaven was released with notable success at the end of 2016, with all the preview clips on Soundcloud averaging around 15k plays. Quite impressive.
Not to mention the upcoming HU projects.
S3RL is more successful than ever.
Artists like IYF and the guys at OneSeventy seem to have established their corner of the market
And honestly, I'm getting a lot more promo's from artists lately than I used to.
From what I've gathered, it's almost like we've all finally got ourselves together and covered exactly what we're about and what we want to present.
Hardcore was undergoing somewhat of a lengthy experimental phase.
I do think that sooner or later we are set for another spike, if not at least becoming a more underlying presence in the EDM scene.
Hopefully with all this traction the genre could be on it's way to something more.
Just checked out the Gammer & Styles track on Monstercat, not a fan, just sounds like they are desperately trying to hit the American market with the same old sound, it that really hardcore these days, Is Gammer really even trying, musc by numbers to suit the masses.
Elipton
quote:Originally posted by Bring Me Round To Love:
quote:Originally posted by jordesuvi:
From the perspective I have:
I've been reading around on the social medias and finding that a lot of artists have been promising "2017 is the year of happy hardcore".
Which is quite interesting. We're all aware of how prevalent Stonebank has become in recent years. Darren Styles and Gammer got their first release on Monstercat yesterday (MC were kind enough to spontaneously send me a promo of the track beforehand to release my YouTube video in conjunction with theirs).
Hardcore Heaven was released with notable success at the end of 2016, with all the preview clips on Soundcloud averaging around 15k plays. Quite impressive.
Not to mention the upcoming HU projects.
S3RL is more successful than ever.
Artists like IYF and the guys at OneSeventy seem to have established their corner of the market
And honestly, I'm getting a lot more promo's from artists lately than I used to.
From what I've gathered, it's almost like we've all finally got ourselves together and covered exactly what we're about and what we want to present.
Hardcore was undergoing somewhat of a lengthy experimental phase.
I do think that sooner or later we are set for another spike, if not at least becoming a more underlying presence in the EDM scene.
Hopefully with all this traction the genre could be on it's way to something more.
Just checked out the Gammer & Styles track on Monstercat, not a fan, just sounds like they are desperately trying to hit the American market with the same old sound, it that really hardcore these days, Is Gammer really even trying, musc by numbers to suit the masses.
I don't think the nature of the track has much relevance. The fact they're using Monstercat to reach out to new audiences could breath new life into Hardcore. I, personally, hope it does. I wish more leading Hardcore brands were as willing to network with the music community and sow some seeds.
djDMS
2015 will be Hardcore's year.....
2016 will be Hardcore's year.....
2017 will be Hardcore's year....
Repeat to fade......
Triquatra
"The fact they're using Monstercat to reach out to new audiences could breath new life into Hardcore"
Monstercat have had hardcore before, though, right? It's not like this is something new.
Elipton
quote:Originally posted by Triquatra:
"The fact they're using Monstercat to reach out to new audiences could breath new life into Hardcore"
Monstercat have had hardcore before, though, right? It's not like this is something new.
You're right, but never with artists that listeners can research and discover so much past music for.
Where there was previously Stonebank, there were hardly any other Stonebank tracks to hear. When you have Darren Styles and Gammer, you have 20 years worth of Hardcore tracks, all the Bonkers', all the Clubland, all the history available at the end of a Google search. It is important
Elipton
I want to point out - and I've been saying this for SO long - that DJ-friendly 7-minute tracks with mixable intro's and outro's aren't what people want to hear. Sell them, for sure, but when it comes to releasing on Soundcloud, Spotify, Youtube and other stream services, MAKE THEM RADIO MIXES.
It's a trick Hardcore has been missing for 8 or 9 years, and it's a massive contributor. I feel as though it's a big contributor to Hardcore's inward-looking trend. It's been too oriented to events and labels simply haven't been selling their music FOR the casual listener.
The Monstercat release has got it right. It's a track for the listeners. It should be a benchmark for how Hardcore is released.
Triquatra
well, I'm convinced, 2017 is hardcores' year for sure.
Samination
Everyone already forgot how well it went they tried to make drumstep hardcore the new it in Hardcore?
Captain Triceps
quote:Originally posted by Elipton:
I want to point out - and I've been saying this for SO long - that DJ-friendly 7-minute tracks with mixable intro's and outro's aren't what people want to hear. Sell them, for sure, but when it comes to releasing on Soundcloud, Spotify, Youtube and other stream services, MAKE THEM RADIO MIXES.
Yeah, using Spotify and trying to get my old work colleagues to see that hardcore isn't necessarily what they thought was a bit of a nightmare when there was a minute and a half intro of just drums. There were some seriously good tracks I knew they would appreciate as they were kinda similar to the stuff they played, just, well, faster.
That said - if I'm buying tracks for my own use - I WANT a full intro and outro. Not 16 bars of empty drums then the breakdown - a proper intro.
Elipton
quote:Originally posted by Captain Triceps:
quote:Originally posted by Elipton:
I want to point out - and I've been saying this for SO long - that DJ-friendly 7-minute tracks with mixable intro's and outro's aren't what people want to hear. Sell them, for sure, but when it comes to releasing on Soundcloud, Spotify, Youtube and other stream services, MAKE THEM RADIO MIXES.
Yeah, using Spotify and trying to get my old work colleagues to see that hardcore isn't necessarily what they thought was a bit of a nightmare when there was a minute and a half intro of just drums. There were some seriously good tracks I knew they would appreciate as they were kinda similar to the stuff they played, just, well, faster.
That said - if I'm buying tracks for my own use - I WANT a full intro and outro. Not 16 bars of empty drums then the breakdown - a proper intro.
This 100%
There have been EP's released with both, and that's how it should be. We have to appreciate that Hardcore is one of those genres where there is a massive purist following wanting full-lenth mixable tracks, but there needs to be more casuals who can add tracks to playlists or their phone and enjoy the part of the track that counts.
Vladel
quote:Originally posted by Triquatra:
well, I'm convinced, 2017 is hardcores' year for sure.
Not the way it's going. I've been through trackitdown & Juno, it's just a total pile of shit this year so far.
Hard2Get
Hardcore is not palatable to the general public. Too 'extreme'. In England and US etc, that is.
Impulse_Response
quote:Originally posted by Hard2Get:
Hardcore is not palatable to the general public. Too 'extreme'. In England and US etc, that is.
Definitely the case here. Anytime I hear Sirius dance radio, FM pop music, or the junk people play in the clubs, it seems like the goal is to make things as slow and boring as possible.
Samination
quote:Originally posted by Impulse_Response:
quote:Originally posted by Hard2Get:
Hardcore is not palatable to the general public. Too 'extreme'. In England and US etc, that is.
Definitely the case here. Anytime I hear Sirius dance radio, FM pop music, or the junk people play in the clubs, it seems like the goal is to make things as slow and boring as possible.
like Freeform is right now? :P
jordesuvi
quote:Originally posted by Vladel:
quote:Originally posted by Triquatra:
well, I'm convinced, 2017 is hardcores' year for sure.
Not the way it's going. I've been through trackitdown & Juno, it's just a total pile of shit this year so far.
You're looking in the wrong places.
Most of the gems I find are usually on SoundCloud and YouTube
CDJay
I get the cynicism. I really do.
Few things to bear in mind:
- Q1 is, and nearly always has been, release light. Think back to AATW / Ministry release times. Look at when we've put projects out over the past 3 years.
- Whilst I'd be wary of calling 2017 "Hardcore's Year" (I think this is quite 2001-2002 -ey, personally) it's very different to 2015. There have been two massively well attended parties in the UK at the tail end of 2016, and even the January event was busier than the bulk of events in 2015. There's an actual influx UK side of both re-engaged and new followers.
- The HH album was essentially a proof of concept, which worked better than expected. We'd targeted a 3 month sell through on physical. We were caught out in terms of subsequent digital rollout. Our next projects will build on this. We're hoping for 1500-2000 in the medium term, and I believe 5000 is feasible with the right brand/project/release timeline.
- Using our model/platform, per track earnings on 2000 units are directly comparable to tens of thousands of units through traditional distro/vendor models. It sounds soulless, but the reality is that demonstrating that makes it far easier to license material *particularly* using the mix+singles model that I think is now going to become standard.
I totally agree with the idea that singles should also have general public friendly "edits" and indeed that is what will happen as the HH album hits other sites. For fetishists, the HU site will offer both.
We'll be rolling out some re-mastered back cat and albums to streaming vendors, but its definitely not a priority. You'd need 4 *million* plays on Spotify to match the revenue generated by the HH album as a physical release.
Gammer + Styles are doing a U.S tour imminently, and we're working on an international tour of our own for Q3. Sad to say that perception remains as, if not more, important than anything else so the more high profile things even peripherally related to the genre the better.
I think the UK scene will be doubled in terms of ravers and potentially listeners, over the next year. The sky is the limit, on the international side. I've been saying for years that making things slightly less UK dependant is necessary for the genre to thrive again and it seems that some actual effort might now be expended on that. It's also fair to say that "media" will be prioritised and hopefully done to a higher standard than ever before. This is crucial for engagement of potential new generations.
CDJay
Triquatra
quote:Originally posted by jordesuvi:
quote:Originally posted by Vladel:
quote:Originally posted by Triquatra:
well, I'm convinced, 2017 is hardcores' year for sure.
Not the way it's going. I've been through trackitdown & Juno, it's just a total pile of shit this year so far.
You're looking in the wrong places.
Most of the gems I find are usually on SoundCloud and YouTube
Apparently I wasn't sarcastic enough.
Captain Triceps
quote:Originally posted by CDJay:
(I think this is quite 2001-2002 -ey, personally)
Wow, I remember the buzz and excitement of that time like it was yesterday - it was literally almost half my life ago.
I remember thinking it was all over when events were scrapping hardcore and there was next to nothing being released, I was buying tape packs and hearing all the same tunes repeatedly, then suddenly - boom! UK hardcore was born!
CDJay
The potential is certainly there for the same thing to play out. There's a baked in disadvantage, unfortunately, this time around and that is everyone rowing in different directions. Lack of scene unity and common intent are the barriers to growth, not things like accessibility (people really aren't half as scared by the music as is oft presumed).
We'll still be here if and when others decide to engage.
CDJay
djDMS
As strange as it may sound, I think there's too much going on.
Too many artists, too many events, too many little groups within groups - most of which don't or won't work together.
There isnt a shortage of talent and dedicated individuals, but there is a massive surplus of hangers-on and self proclaimed big boys who really wouldn't be missed.
I, for one wouldn't be at all bothered by the 'scene' becoming much smaller and more focused before it tries to grow again.
Big branches on a small tree, or small branches on a big tree - which would you rather be?
DJ A.K.
quote:Originally posted by Hard2Get:
Hardcore is not palatable to the general public. Too 'extreme'. In England and US etc, that is.
Exactly, its too fast and hard (even the soft stuff) and if you tone it down to be more commercial, people rightly say its not hardcore. Its catch 22.
I do think there has been a trend for faster tracks in the dance scene in general (around 150bpm for some hardstyle and future house), so maybe hardcore at 170bpm wont seem as extreme now and get played more.
Hardcores main problem is we need a new big crossover artist, but there isnt enough talent coming through and when they do the politics of "the scene" usually puts them off or forces them to try their luck in another genre.
Finally the general uk music scenes reluctance to accept hardcore music and almost deny its existance never helps.
Samination
+100
quote:Originally posted by djDMS:
As strange as it may sound, I think there's too much going on.
Too many artists, too many events, too many little groups within groups - most of which don't or won't work together.
There isnt a shortage of talent and dedicated individuals, but there is a massive surplus of hangers-on and self proclaimed big boys who really wouldn't be missed.
I, for one wouldn't be at all bothered by the 'scene' becoming much smaller and more focused before it tries to grow again.
Big branches on a small tree, or small branches on a big tree - which would you rather be?
trippnface
quote:Originally posted by CDJay:
I get the cynicism. I really do.
Few things to bear in mind:
- Q1 is, and nearly always has been, release light. Think back to AATW / Ministry release times. Look at when we've put projects out over the past 3 years.
- Whilst I'd be wary of calling 2017 "Hardcore's Year" (I think this is quite 2001-2002 -ey, personally) it's very different to 2015. There have been two massively well attended parties in the UK at the tail end of 2016, and even the January event was busier than the bulk of events in 2015. There's an actual influx UK side of both re-engaged and new followers.
- The HH album was essentially a proof of concept, which worked better than expected. We'd targeted a 3 month sell through on physical. We were caught out in terms of subsequent digital rollout. Our next projects will build on this. We're hoping for 1500-2000 in the medium term, and I believe 5000 is feasible with the right brand/project/release timeline.
- Using our model/platform, per track earnings on 2000 units are directly comparable to tens of thousands of units through traditional distro/vendor models. It sounds soulless, but the reality is that demonstrating that makes it far easier to license material *particularly* using the mix+singles model that I think is now going to become standard.
I totally agree with the idea that singles should also have general public friendly "edits" and indeed that is what will happen as the HH album hits other sites. For fetishists, the HU site will offer both.
We'll be rolling out some re-mastered back cat and albums to streaming vendors, but its definitely not a priority. You'd need 4 *million* plays on Spotify to match the revenue generated by the HH album as a physical release.
Gammer + Styles are doing a U.S tour imminently, and we're working on an international tour of our own for Q3. Sad to say that perception remains as, if not more, important than anything else so the more high profile things even peripherally related to the genre the better.
I think the UK scene will be doubled in terms of ravers and potentially listeners, over the next year. The sky is the limit, on the international side. I've been saying for years that making things slightly less UK dependant is necessary for the genre to thrive again and it seems that some actual effort might now be expended on that. It's also fair to say that "media" will be prioritised and hopefully done to a higher standard than ever before. This is crucial for engagement of potential new generations.
CDJay
woot!
I will be taking a break from this epic psytrance year to attend the HU party in LA on april 7th. got another invite to the mojave; but no ****ing way i am missing the HU party!!
fkn AOS !!
and ... you brining me Entity CDJay!?! ;)
Bring Me Round To Love
quote:Originally posted by Captain Triceps:
quote:Originally posted by CDJay:
(I think this is quite 2001-2002 -ey, personally)
Wow, I remember the buzz and excitement of that time like it was yesterday - it was literally almost half my life ago.
I remember thinking it was all over when events were scrapping hardcore and there was next to nothing being released, I was buying tape packs and hearing all the same tunes repeatedly, then suddenly - boom! UK hardcore was born!
Agreed, those of us that stuck with Hardcore in 99 and a few more years after where awaiting a even bigger surprise for being loyal, new sound, new direction, and for me looking back and even at the time you could see it was special, a buzz in the air, the second phase maybe even better then the 90's which i would have never thought would have happened.
DJ Sketchy
quote:Originally posted by Bring Me Round To Love:
quote:Originally posted by Captain Triceps:
quote:Originally posted by CDJay:
(I think this is quite 2001-2002 -ey, personally)
Wow, I remember the buzz and excitement of that time like it was yesterday - it was literally almost half my life ago.
I remember thinking it was all over when events were scrapping hardcore and there was next to nothing being released, I was buying tape packs and hearing all the same tunes repeatedly, then suddenly - boom! UK hardcore was born!
Agreed, those of us that stuck with Hardcore in 99 and a few more years after where awaiting a even bigger surprise for being loyal, new sound, new direction, and for me looking back and even at the time you could see it was special, a buzz in the air, the second phase maybe even better then the 90's which i would have never thought would have happened.
Well I caught the tail end of Happy Hardcore, and loved it! I remember the days when Hardcore was struggling just after and it was in the tiny room at Camden Palace. I'll never forget a room tightly packed with about 300 ravers singing tunes back to Vibes! There was SUCH an atmosphere in that room. Then the scene quite quickly gained its ground and started developing again.
Back then though pretty much all the big boys were intertwined with it. That's not really happened this time round. Don't get me wrong, there are still quite a few big names present at the moment though. Just records were still big then, and everyone stuck to their release schedules, as people were still buying records.
Back onto the boom after Happy Hardcore with the UK Hardcore sound was just immense. I loved when I was running my coaches about once a month after about 2005, and I saw some wild, huge raves and pretty much every HTID. It was awesome! Id say I preferred the UK Hardcore peak, as I saw all of it! I loved the wild freedom I experienced at the Happy Hardcore peak though.
Bring Me Round To Love
quote:Originally posted by DJ Sketchy:
quote:Originally posted by Bring Me Round To Love:
quote:Originally posted by Captain Triceps:
quote:Originally posted by CDJay:
(I think this is quite 2001-2002 -ey, personally)
Wow, I remember the buzz and excitement of that time like it was yesterday - it was literally almost half my life ago.
I remember thinking it was all over when events were scrapping hardcore and there was next to nothing being released, I was buying tape packs and hearing all the same tunes repeatedly, then suddenly - boom! UK hardcore was born!
Agreed, those of us that stuck with Hardcore in 99 and a few more years after where awaiting a even bigger surprise for being loyal, new sound, new direction, and for me looking back and even at the time you could see it was special, a buzz in the air, the second phase maybe even better then the 90's which i would have never thought would have happened.
Well I caught the tail end of Happy Hardcore, and loved it! I remember the days when Hardcore was struggling just after and it was in the tiny room at Camden Palace. I'll never forget a room tightly packed with about 300 ravers singing tunes back to Vibes! There was SUCH an atmosphere in that room. Then the scene quite quickly gained its ground and started developing again.
Back then though pretty much all the big boys were intertwined with it. That's not really happened this time round. Don't get me wrong, there are still quite a few big names present at the moment though. Just records were still big then, and everyone stuck to their release schedules, as people were still buying records.
Back onto the boom after Happy Hardcore with the UK Hardcore sound was just immense. I loved when I was running my coaches about once a month after about 2005, and I saw some wild, huge raves and pretty much every HTID. It was awesome! Id say I preferred the UK Hardcore peak, as I saw all of it! I loved the wild freedom I experienced at the Happy Hardcore peak though.
Miss those days for sure, hope your new album has some early/mid 00's influence.
DJ Sketchy
quote:Originally posted by Bring Me Round To Love:
quote:Originally posted by DJ Sketchy:
quote:Originally posted by Bring Me Round To Love:
quote:Originally posted by Captain Triceps:
quote:Originally posted by CDJay:
(I think this is quite 2001-2002 -ey, personally)
Wow, I remember the buzz and excitement of that time like it was yesterday - it was literally almost half my life ago.
I remember thinking it was all over when events were scrapping hardcore and there was next to nothing being released, I was buying tape packs and hearing all the same tunes repeatedly, then suddenly - boom! UK hardcore was born!
Agreed, those of us that stuck with Hardcore in 99 and a few more years after where awaiting a even bigger surprise for being loyal, new sound, new direction, and for me looking back and even at the time you could see it was special, a buzz in the air, the second phase maybe even better then the 90's which i would have never thought would have happened.
Well I caught the tail end of Happy Hardcore, and loved it! I remember the days when Hardcore was struggling just after and it was in the tiny room at Camden Palace. I'll never forget a room tightly packed with about 300 ravers singing tunes back to Vibes! There was SUCH an atmosphere in that room. Then the scene quite quickly gained its ground and started developing again.
Back then though pretty much all the big boys were intertwined with it. That's not really happened this time round. Don't get me wrong, there are still quite a few big names present at the moment though. Just records were still big then, and everyone stuck to their release schedules, as people were still buying records.
Back onto the boom after Happy Hardcore with the UK Hardcore sound was just immense. I loved when I was running my coaches about once a month after about 2005, and I saw some wild, huge raves and pretty much every HTID. It was awesome! Id say I preferred the UK Hardcore peak, as I saw all of it! I loved the wild freedom I experienced at the Happy Hardcore peak though.
Miss those days for sure, hope your new album has some early/mid 00's influence.
Well we have completed 2 tracks and are working on a 3rd & 4th at the same time. The first track has some oldskool flava. The 2nd sounds like a Hardcore Nukleuz track! So yeah it's coming along well so far!
Vladel
My morale with the state of releases is pretty low atm to be honest and like CDjay says, early in the year is pretty release light but i think it goes beyond that. It's funny to me that for most of 2013-2015 lethal theory were banging out the albums. Since they (Joey & Kurt) started their subscription service to get "releases" early should probably have been worded "at all". From the previews make you stomp seemed a bit flat and that was all we got last year as i don't really credit lethal theory with the M-project stuff as most of that comes out of terraform anyway.
Hixxy has been producing but he's TWR so we will likely never see them. Speahow to make it king of which i think TWR might be dead if the releases are anything to go by and that Gammer & Styles are now on monstercat. I have no idea if their first track will actually be released anywhere else.
Freeform has to be utter dead or deaths door without the relentless Thumpa to push it. Transcend and the others were discussing on facebook how to make it more popular again and if anything the consensus was take it further away from UK hardcore which is kind of saying "lets cut our hand off and it will work much better". Freeform worked best when it shadowed uk hardcore and crossed over. The only man now who seems to do that is gammer although the snobby freeform scene probably wouldn't class that stuff as anything to do with freeform.
We've lost some big producing names and returns haven't really panned out. The Sy & Unknown split still stings and i haven't seen anythuing from unknown for a while now (no great loss). Nothing from brisk, Bananaman hasn't really panned out, recon has gone, squad-e is on GTYM so we will never hear anything from him. IYF & nobody were promising but went to shit really, rescue hasn't done much, the list goes on.
Again it's up to HU to do everything it seems with regard to releases because at the end of the day, you can have big raves and lots of online mixes and stuff like that but if none of it is released, it's all a bit sharkey i.e a waste of hope and effort.
arpz
Brisk was only talking about his new artist album the other day :)
Samination
how to make freeform great again? Easy. Make it hard, not chillout with LONG bloody mixable section and short melodic section... The melodic sections aren't much longer than what 'Happy' Hardcore is right now, but the 2 minute intro's and 2 minute outro's are friggin boring to mix nowadays. I'm no big player in any scene's (only been making mixes since 2003 but hey, I aint sucking dick to get anywhere :)), but I am seriously considering dumping freeform completly too...
Elipton
Freeform's getting a lot of stick which I think is a bit unfair. It's not beyond making a strong recovery. I think it's gone a little too far from Hardcore, and it's lost most of the up-beat, care-free vibe that it was founded upon (I use Freeformation as the perfect benchmark). Perhaps it's lost it's personality?
The music being released isn't by any means bad, it's just moved itself into even more of a niche than it was before, and I think that's unwittingly hurt it more than it's helped it. ILHB started 5 years ago, so it's disappointing that they rely on Kevin Energy or Scott Brown guest mixes to headline. It'll be interesting to see what shape it's in after not attending ILHB since 2013
Cyrax
I have no idea what's going on with Freeform this year, what I do know is that Transcend is releasing another artist album, hopefully Spring 2017 and Substanced is also finalizing one.
Triquatra
I keep meaning to "start up" a free sister label to "The world of cuttlefish/bee-trax" and start farting out old-skool freeform.
but lazy.
true story.
Thumpa
The problem with freeform is there aren't enough strong personalities to push it, apart from a few good mates its a load of geeks that don't go to a lot of raves so they don't know any promoters or are too terrified to speak to anyone at raves. I knew everyone, promoters, ravers, producers, MCs etc and I put all my effort into making everyone aware of what's going on in freeform. There isn't that extrovert people-person to be at the forefront shouting about it every 5 mins. There's some skilled producers in freeform but you can't just sit and make tunes, you need to be out there talking about it.
Fortunately for my sanity I've removed myself from it, it's a thankless task.
trippnface
I doubt this appeals to og freeform heads; but this is kill kill. i said it before and will say it again. psytrance is getting massive. most popular genre right now in the USA; not kidding. people are starting to crave high energy beats with trippy lyrics; psychedically inclined music. everyone wants to be " spiritual" . the festie scene rules supreme. this is the age of psytrance. cyrax and transend nailed it.
unheard of. never ever happened before. insomniac is dropping ther mainstream bs for wicked underground.
hope someone is listening. they could easily accomplish what Gammer failed miserably to do; and appeal to a much wider base of fans; and actually be successfull.
EDC added a full 3 day trance/psy stage . first time a new stage in YEARS?. they are not dumb. trap is already failing; people are bored of it. even seen common trance producers hopping board with psy tracks.
quote:Originally posted by trippnface:
I doubt this appeals to og freeform heads; but this is kill kill. i said it before and will say it again. psytrance is getting massive. most popular genre right now in the USA; not kidding. people are starting to crave high energy beats with trippy lyrics; psychedically inclined music. everyone wants to be " spiritual" . the festie scene rules supreme. this is the age of psytrance. cyrax and transend nailed it.
unheard of. never ever happened before. insomniac is dropping ther mainstream bs for wicked underground.
hope someone is listening. they could easily accomplish what Gammer failed miserably to do; and appeal to a much wider base of fans; and actually be successfull.
EDC added a full 3 day trance/psy stage . first time a new stage in YEARS?. they are not dumb. trap is already failing; people are bored of it. even seen common trance producers hopping board with psy tracks.
But Psy-trance already had pretty firm roots as far as popularity goes, artists like Juno Reactor, Astrix, Ace Ventura, and Liquid Soul have been playing to huge festivals such as Boom, Freedom, Burning Mountain and even Tomorowland for over the last decade.
All i'm saying is I don't think comparing Psy trance to Hardcore is fair given its initial popularity. Perhaps a better comparison is something like Drum and Bass, Garage or Bassline.
Edit: Also Trance artists like Jordan Suckley aren't just hopping on the bandwagon. He's been playing Psy-Trance since i first saw him back in 2011. Guys like Aly & Fila also play the odd track here and there and have done so for a while. Trance is one of those great genres where the Dj's actually experiment a little between playing out some of the tracks from the many sub-genres within the scene, unlike hardcore.
CDJay
We're working on another comp, if that helps?
Whole bunch of other stuff lined up, too.
It'll be fine
CDJay
Samination
quote:Originally posted by Rodz90:Trance is one of those great genres where the Dj's actually experiment a little between playing out some of the tracks from the many sub-genres within the scene, unlike hardcore.
Unlike Hardcore? I'm pretty sure there are as many dj's (procentage) that 'experiments' by playing similar styles/genres in they sets in both genres. I'm pretty sure even Darren Styles or Gammer have done it. Scott Brown does it all the time.
Other genre's? I'd say they are less inclined (to do?) to mix other genres into their set (or other peoples tracsk for that matter :P)
Rodz90
quote:Originally posted by Samination:
quote:Originally posted by Rodz90:Trance is one of those great genres where the Dj's actually experiment a little between playing out some of the tracks from the many sub-genres within the scene, unlike hardcore.
Unlike Hardcore? I'm pretty sure there are as many dj's (procentage) that 'experiments' by playing similar styles/genres in they sets in both genres. I'm pretty sure even Darren Styles or Gammer have done it. Scott Brown does it all the time.
Other genre's? I'd say they are less inclined (to do?) to mix other genres into their set (or other peoples tracsk for that matter :P)
What i mean more is that the Dj's play a wider spectrum of music from there music scene, as opposed to just stuff of the record label they are part of. Listen to a Darren Styles set, then listen to a Breeze set, then listen to a Hixxy set. Proceed to count the number of the same songs that were played in all three sets and it shouldn't be too dissimilar. A good example is the Ravers Reunited Black Party sets that were recorded, the top tier just played the same "big" tunes as opposed to any tracks from HU, or pretty much any other record label then TWR.
Samination
Well that's the top tier. Even tho they are idolized, they aren't the only ones around.
DjZelous
Well, it must be getting heard by some of the big guys in EDM, last year, Carnage dropped a gammer tune here in miami @ Ultra, and the year before that Krewella played some Breeze! i nearly shat my self :)
Samination
quote:Originally posted by DjZelous:
Well, it must be getting heard by some of the big guys in EDM, last year, Carnage dropped a gammer tune here in miami @ Ultra, and the year before that Krewella played some Breeze! i nearly shat my self :)
at original speed or watered down versions of the watered down hardcore tracks? :P
arpz
I'm not really into this whole 'EDM DJ plays hardcore tune to massive crowd' hype that seems to happen. To me it's like 'check out how zany/edgy I am by playing this at the end of a set'
I can't really see why it's a good thing (not that it's inherently bad either)
djDMS
quote:Originally posted by DjZelous:
Well, it must be getting heard by some of the big guys in EDM, last year, Carnage dropped a gammer tune here in miami @ Ultra, and the year before that Krewella played some Breeze! i nearly shat my self :)
Unless that made thousands of people think 'wow, I must find more stuff like this', it makes no difference at all.
I've heard (and played) all kinds of random tunes in sets but not once has it made anyone ask about or look for more of the same.
Captain Triceps
I'd bet a lot of them would think it was a novelty faster track, or the DJ's sped it up as a trick or something.
DjZelous
@32:20 he dropped some gammer
Im too lazy to find the krewella one
trippnface
quote:Originally posted by Rodz90:
quote:Originally posted by trippnface:
I doubt this appeals to og freeform heads; but this is kill kill. i said it before and will say it again. psytrance is getting massive. most popular genre right now in the USA; not kidding. people are starting to crave high energy beats with trippy lyrics; psychedically inclined music. everyone wants to be " spiritual" . the festie scene rules supreme. this is the age of psytrance. cyrax and transend nailed it.
unheard of. never ever happened before. insomniac is dropping ther mainstream bs for wicked underground.
hope someone is listening. they could easily accomplish what Gammer failed miserably to do; and appeal to a much wider base of fans; and actually be successfull.
EDC added a full 3 day trance/psy stage . first time a new stage in YEARS?. they are not dumb. trap is already failing; people are bored of it. even seen common trance producers hopping board with psy tracks.
But Psy-trance already had pretty firm roots as far as popularity goes, artists like Juno Reactor, Astrix, Ace Ventura, and Liquid Soul have been playing to huge festivals such as Boom, Freedom, Burning Mountain and even Tomorowland for over the last decade.
All i'm saying is I don't think comparing Psy trance to Hardcore is fair given its initial popularity. Perhaps a better comparison is something like Drum and Bass, Garage or Bassline.
Edit: Also Trance artists like Jordan Suckley aren't just hopping on the bandwagon. He's been playing Psy-Trance since i first saw him back in 2011. Guys like Aly & Fila also play the odd track here and there and have done so for a while. Trance is one of those great genres where the Dj's actually experiment a little between playing out some of the tracks from the many sub-genres within the scene, unlike hardcore.
psytrance is just now getting big in the USA; no joke. it has literally never been featured at a mainstream american event ever period; before this last year. just comparing sounds and what people are getting into; i easily see the bridge gapped between that cyrax style track and the psytrance scene. seriously so similiar.
I think it makes 100% more sense than trying to make hardcore sound like mainstram EDM; the intuitive capabilities of some of the djs in the hardcore scene is downright pathetic imo. they should have been seeing psy coming if anything; and taking it a darker harder direction; than mixing it with trap and big room. that was probably the dumbest thing the hardcore scene ever did. certainly while I have been into it.
and true; suckely and some of those dudes have been messing around for awhile; but now they are all out to play; they would never have dreamed of dropping psy style tracks before this new revolution occurred; atleast not in USA
Samination
I wish Cyrax would be more like Psykovsky. More raw energy instead of trancy psytrance :P
Cyrax
quote:Originally posted by Samination:
I wish Cyrax would be more like Psykovsky. More raw energy instead of trancy psytrance :P
Post a raw energy reference track for me x
Samination
does my fart count? :P
Technically, it's my brother who listens to artist like psykovsky or Astrix, and since I dont have any speakers near me (high db workplace so i cant even use my phone), so i will just throw a link up and hope it plays what i described.
quote:Originally posted by Samination:
does my fart count? :P
Technically, it's my brother who listens to artist like psykovsky or Astrix, and since I dont have any speakers near me (high db workplace so i cant even use my phone), so i will just throw a link up and hope it plays what i described.
from what I remember of Psykovsky, if you like finrg by artists like Epyx & Cyrez, but just more progressive(?) and faster, then it should bu up that alley
Rodz90
quote:Originally posted by trippnface:
psytrance is just now getting big in the USA; no joke. it has literally never been featured at a mainstream american event ever period; before this last year.
I don't think that's right, Astrix has been booked at EDC Las Vegas for the last two years running. I guess it's never been given it's own stage though, which is pretty great. But again, Psy trance has been able to stand on it's own two legs for a long time. Even if there was zero interest from America, it would still be a much bigger music genre then Hardcore ever has been.
I feel like you've just discovered Psy-trance, and as such are completely over hyping certain things in your own mind. Suckley, Aly & Fila, Ben Nicky, Bryan Kearney to name a few would all have dropped Psy Trance before this "Revolution", and here is proof - https://soundcloud.com/alyandfila/aly-fila-b2b-john-ocallaghan-2?in=alyandfila/sets/sets at 4 mins in, Coming Soon - Become One.
Impulse_Response
quote:Originally posted by DjZelous: @32:20 he dropped some gammer
Im too lazy to find the krewella one
After hearing that set, I'm glad I've never bothered to go to any of these big events. Maybe other sets are better?
DjZelous
I'm Dying to go to ultra! but still live at home so parents dont let me.
The carnage set was pretty meh, lots of hype and mic yelling but lots of shit tunes. The Jack U, Hardwell, Armin van Buuren and Dash Berlin Sets were great in my opinion.
Cyrax
quote:Originally posted by Samination:
from what I remember of Psykovsky, if you like finrg by artists like Epyx & Cyrez, but just more progressive(?) and faster, then it should bu up that alley
Remixing some Lost Soul in that style over the next few weeks.
It took 4.25 ninja's to process this page!
HappyHardcore.com
1999 - 2024 HappyHardcore.com audio: PRS for music. Build: 3.1.73.1
