Posted - 2026/06/13 : 18:37:00
The scene is long gone, totally shit really. Most people seem to have given up with it like the music never existed.
Are people here still playing the now considered classics? Is it all change and it's barely thought of?
Classic tracks on sites like YT have limited plays these days.
I'll blast the core out myself (2006 and some happy hardcore) when having a BBQ with family or just chilling at home.
It was ****ing funny the other week though. I was at a pub and some people were saying about music they listened to or liked and asked what I like....... "Happy hardcore" was my reply. It felt like an "oh no" thing but **** it, hardly going to say "well, a bit of plop and country".
It's firmly in that territory though, either people don't know what it is or it's "oh no".
Whereas we did have a time where commercial dance tracks like "DJ Sammy - heaven" were even played in supermarkets. Not far off hardcore to some extent.
Janster New Member
Canada
59 posts Joined: Dec, 2008
Posted - 2026/06/14 : 10:31:26
There's tons of happy hardcore scenes on the planet in this dimension, plus other dimensions with scenes you can learn to switch to later with drugs.
I've been listening to music that sounds better and better every day than the previous day, new releases especially, and feeling better and better euphoria every day too. Just drinking non-alcoholic fruit beer in the Czech Republic.
It's gonna get good. If you think happy hardcore went away it's gonna come back better than anything in yours too. You can figure out the metaphysics to life and it proves it gets better and better forever.
warped_candykid Advanced Member
United States
3,432 posts Joined: Jan, 2004
Posted - 2026/06/15 : 02:07:38
I still play my Happy2bHardcores, Bonkers, Hardcore Heavens, Hardcore Nations, etc. almost daily.
I frequent new releases too.
I still love this music, but it's becoming more of a nostalgia reason I'm listening as there is no Hardcore scene anywhere near me, and I have no one in person to talk about the music with at this point.
DJ_FunDaBounce Advanced Member
Colombia
1,099 posts Joined: Nov, 2001
Posted - 2026/06/15 : 03:03:51
quote:Originally posted by Sparkz_LuckyStrike:
The scene is long gone, totally shit really. Most people seem to have given up with it like the music never existed.
Are people here still playing the now considered classics? Is it all change and it's barely thought of?
I feel the music has reached a point where it is no longer spreading/growing. With the sudden loss of junodownload I feel.. lost. or at least in the midst of some kind of shift.
The music has changed for me in the sense that I don't keep up with current trends and focus on my own take on the craft side of things, mainly taking influence from the classics. To me the current scene really is "all change" like we no longer have an identity beyond the term "HappyHardcore", and I feel there is a danger in that, in the sense that a people without history is like a tree without roots.
__________________________________
"Fun with a capital F-D-B!"
DJ_FunDaBounce Advanced Member
Colombia
1,099 posts Joined: Nov, 2001
Posted - 2026/06/15 : 03:19:49
quote:Originally posted by warped_candykid:
I still play my Happy2bHardcores, Bonkers, Hardcore Heavens, Hardcore Nations, etc. almost daily.
I frequent new releases too.
The scene, as seen from my end, has gone through a lot of iterations. I just think that compared to other genres of music there is a built in flaw, especially concerning new music.
Somebody said on another post that saying that one is a dj nowadays is almost cringe/embarrasing. I am not embarrased to be a happyhardcore dj. The problem is that even the term "DJ" seems to have lost it's way.
__________________________________
"Fun with a capital F-D-B!"
warped_candykid Advanced Member
United States
3,432 posts Joined: Jan, 2004
Posted - 2026/06/15 : 03:37:47
quote:Originally posted by DJ_FunDaBounce:
I feel the music has reached a point where it is no longer spreading/growing. With the sudden loss of junodownload I feel.. lost. or at least in the midst of some kind of shift.
The music has changed for me in the sense that I don't keep up with current trends and focus on my own take on the craft side of things, mainly taking influence from the classics. To me the current scene really is "all change" like we no longer have an identity beyond the term "HappyHardcore", and I feel there is a danger in that, in the sense that a people without history is like a tree without roots.
Losing Junodownload is hurting me too. I mean, yes Beatport is still here, but it's harder to navigate. And Bandcamp has a whole different interphase. I'm still missing Serious Sounds.
Mad Max Advanced Member
United Kingdom
945 posts Joined: Dec, 2005
281 hardcore releases
Posted - 2026/06/18 : 17:16:46
I still collect, listen, mix and enjoy.
I first heard the music in 1997 and still enjoy it the same to this day.
The term scene is different I guess to different people.
New music still appears, I attend raves now again and hear new and old music that is amazing.
Peak for me was 2000-2010. My freeform collection is my pride complete collection of NEC digital and vast amount of vinyl, near complete electronic exposed collection cd/vinyl, rebuild, stamina, switched on and so much more.
As long as people make the music I will always listen.
I have also followed hard trance and it is my other love. Thus making Bonkers 7 Hixxy mix perhaps one of the greatest of all time. The HT scene is still strong in the south west of the UK and you see a good bit of HHC as well.
Enjoying happy hardcore is always my cheesie, happy side. I dont use the phrase hardcore till I die but I am holding the value well.
Archefluxx Advanced Member
United Kingdom
1,001 posts Joined: Sep, 2011
Posted - 2026/06/22 : 11:20:25
Poking my head in.
Unfortunately, it does seem very hard to find where Hardcore is thriving now.
There's no single platform that's an effective terminus for the genre. You have to get into the weeds to find it, when it was thriving nicely on Soundcloud with discussion on here and USH.
Algorithms have hurt the genre, tailored to push whatever is trending at the time. It's throttled the genre at a grass-roots levels and has placed countless barriers between prospective listeners and the music.
I've not produced anything in a long while, but the machine is in storage. May one day return to it.
In the meantime, I've returned to swimming competitively and pretending I'm not too old for it.
DJ_FunDaBounce Advanced Member
Colombia
1,099 posts Joined: Nov, 2001
Posted - 2026/06/26 : 23:03:46
It's algorithms in the sense that if you're on spotify or anything like that, you're competing against the mainstream/trending/viral/whatev.
__________________________________
"Fun with a capital F-D-B!"
Archefluxx Advanced Member
United Kingdom
1,001 posts Joined: Sep, 2011
Posted - 2026/06/28 : 20:54:20
Take Soundcloud as an example. They took away the feed that listed everything equally based on date posted, and provided trending/popular/algorithmic feed.
Same happened with YouTube. Homepage used to be subscribed videos, now its recommended based on history or popularity.
Alert moderatorEdited by - Archefluxx on 2026/07/02 22:46:05
Darts Senior Member
United Kingdom
453 posts Joined: Jun, 2010
Posted - 2026/06/29 : 16:28:11
I'm still pretty active with things! Really enjoying making new music, drawing influences from the 90s, 00s and some of the tunes I've been hearing out and about at multi-genre parties. I definitely think there's a future for Happy Hardcore, but maybe as part of a wider underground rave scene more than a scene of it's own.
Would love to be playing out more regularly but averaging 1 or 2 gigs a month and tbh I'm pretty happy with that balance... I need my beauty sleep more these days and I like doing other things like going out trekking out in the countryside and staying in watching YouTube with my cat
Hope everyone's keeping well
__________________________________ If you're open to criticism, you're able to accept negative feedback about yourself or your work without reacting overly emotionally. Feedback is an opportunity to learn.
Thumpa Advanced Member
United Kingdom
1,351 posts Joined: Feb, 2009
Posted - 2026/06/30 : 19:17:11
I still DJ regularly, 2020 during covid I went down a rabbit hole of D&B and jungle and played in that scene for a few years playing at D&B Classics, Random Concept etc and really enjoyed it, over the last 12 months I've been getting back into next gen hardcore and am back playing this style at hardcore gigs, playing in Holland a few times this year as well as Tomorrow's World.
The UK hardcore scene is deader than dead but there might be some legs in the next gen sound. Look up artists and labels like Wicked XXX, T-Go, Distorted Reality, Genetic Disorder, Wicked Records, Mokum, Arvid, Redlock, Cenobite...that's the future for me.
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Posted - 2026/06/13 : 18:37:00
