Posted - 2011/11/15 : 12:36:33
So, as a guy in his 30s that was into happy hardcore through the 90s, can someone give me a list of current genres, and examples of them? I used to love this stuff and have recently started to get back into it, but listening to current hardcore compilations and reading forums I'm just confused. Freeform, UK Hardcore, Makina... I have not idea what these and other genres are and what they're supposed to sound like. So you know where I'm coming from, here's my history:
England early 90s, began listening to 'rave' music. This was the slow (1990/91-ish) early breakbeat hardcore. Similar to acid house, same sort of speed. This then got faster and vocals pitched higher, melodies more mental, and around 1991-93 was what we called 'hardcore' and 'happy hardcore'. This then started turning into jungle, and then drum and bass. But at the same time - around 1994 ish - we started getting more 4/4 square hard dance tracks, the likes of Twisted Vinyl, Evolution Records, etc - the Scottish & Irish (and european) influence became dominant and this was what was then known as hardcore and happy hardcore. Started to drift away in the late 1990s. Didn't hear much through 2000-2008, but what I've heard recently just sounds like any commercial dance track but a lot faster. Is this what hardcore is nowadays?
Any assistance at helping an old raver get back on his feet and understanding this would be appreciated ;)
Hard2Get Advanced Member
United Kingdom
12,837 posts Joined: Jun, 2001
Posted - 2011/11/15 : 13:00:52
quote:Is this what hardcore is nowadays?
Unfortunately that's exactly what it is. It's been that way since about 2005. Anyway Freeform is just the stuff that was once called Trancecore that Billy Bunter/Ramos & Supreme/Sharkey etc started playing and making in around 1997. The stuff you would get in Sharkeys Bonkers mixes from Bonkers 3 onwards. Makina is a Spanish genre and arguably has nothing to do with what we know as Hardcore although it is very similar to Hardcore in energy and tempo so is virtually Hardcore, and is considered Hardcore by everyone else although I'm not sure how the Spanish feel about that. UK Hardcore is just what replaced the name 'Happy' Hardcore around 2002 since it clearly wasn't happy anymore and the name needed to be changed.
New UK Hardcore - Thought it was worth mentioning this; the 'new' sound that in now is hardcore with dirty basslines with less melody mostly inspired from the whole commercialization of dubstep, while people still call it UK Hardcore I feel it's so different it's worth noting the difference :P - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns6QJO3uqv0 (Bad example but nothing else is coming to mind :()
Freeform - My take on this is that it's similar to UK Hardcore just less mainstream, tends to be much more melodic and less 'loopy' in the way that it doesn't repeat itself over and over. Has a more fluid structure aswell, build ups and breakdowns are much more stretched out and drops tend to be less sudden. Has less of a pump to the kick and bass and usually features more arps / sequences(?) - Don't personally listen to it too much so can't give notable examples but here's a freeform mix - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwPNr1bq43k
Posted - 2011/11/15 : 13:14:49
Thanks both of you for such helpful replies! I've just hit Juno Download to grab a few recent compilations, with my iPod loaded up hopefully I'll be a bit wiser in a few days :)
CDJay Advanced Member
United Kingdom
3,049 posts Joined: Nov, 2001
Posted - 2011/11/15 : 13:18:04
Get hold of a copy of "Hardcore Underground 5", put on CD3, and be very happy. It'll bridge the gap from "then" to "now" like nothing else.
Also be wary of listening too much to definitions or appraisals from anyone who lumps anything and everything in a date range together and dismisses it by default.
djDMS Advanced Member
United Kingdom
10,304 posts Joined: Feb, 2003
572 hardcore releases
Posted - 2011/11/15 : 13:27:56
I agree with CDJay. It's useful to hear general definitions of each genre but there is still loads of diversity within each - so don't read too much into the inevitable 'it all sounds like..' type of comments. Yes, the general theme of a lot of music from the past 7-8 years has been one of sounding like sped up commercial dance but there's loads of variety out there. For instance. For oldies like us, there's the more ravey sounding breakbeat led stuff on HU breaks and CLSM etc. So as i suspect you're doing already, lose yourself on sites like Trackitdown and Hardbeats download for a couple of hours and see what's on offer. Good luck!
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Taking my time to perfect the beat
Dante Advanced Member
Vatican City State (Holy See)
1,185 posts Joined: Dec, 2009
Posted - 2011/11/15 : 13:53:36
I think happy hardcore sounded just as much as commercial dance music as uk hardcore does now :P In some cases commercial dance WAS happy hardcore, even. Pop dance changed, hardcore changed ;)
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Audio Warfare Advanced Member
United Kingdom
3,053 posts Joined: Mar, 2009
Posted - 2011/11/15 : 14:34:50
quote:Originally posted by Dante:
I think happy hardcore sounded just as much as commercial dance music as uk hardcore does now :P In some cases commercial dance WAS happy hardcore, even. Pop dance changed, hardcore changed ;)
This is a good point actually. All electronic based music will use the same new ground breaking technology and borrowed techniques so both will share a lot of similarities at any given period in time.
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Listen to released and forthcoming Audio Warfare/Audio Weaponry tunes here:- http://soundcloud.com/audio-warfare
NekoShuffle Advanced Member
United Kingdom
1,480 posts Joined: Nov, 2009
Posted - 2011/11/15 : 18:43:00
hardcore is a small scene, a very small scene...so when someone decides that they wanna make hardcore happy or with breakbeats or with dubstep drops or whatever, it quickly gets accepted as "this is how the genre is now". I think really the truth of the matter is that basically without trying to be offensive, we just have a lot of sheep in the scene and it tends to dictate the genre as a whole.
happy hardcore, breakbeat hardcore, dutch hardcore, freeform, electro hardcore etc are all still alive but due to the changing of trends have just been ignored/forgotten. Kniteforce, CLSM, Hardcore Underground etc. have kept the breakbeat hardcore alive in small pockets, there have been very very few people keeping happy hardcore alive after 2005ish but alas they are still around just about.
happy hardcore didn't change into UK hardcore because happy hardcore has been around all this time; it's just that there hasn't been enough of it to get on a CD compilation or get into the eye of the fans etc. Also happy hardcore isn't the most macho genre in the world so I guess a lot of people are scared to carry the torch on.
I'm just saying, hardcore has changed but the subgenres haven't; they've just shrank in popularity and have been eclipsed by other sounds, if the hardcore scene was as big as the trance scene there would probably be loads of places to find breakbeat hardcore or happy hardcore and probably loads of events themed around those subgenres exclusively. Luna C was very right when he said we just need to branch outwards and do our own thing without chasing the $$$ or the current trends. I'm not calling people money-hungry or anything like that but I think hardcore is an easy genre to break into once you know what you're doing so there's an inclination to want to make more money when you sell even just a few tracks for 10p or something, I think I'd probably be unknowingly guilty of that had I not spent time online and watched other people do it first.
Dys7 Advanced Member
United States
1,231 posts Joined: Nov, 2011
Posted - 2011/11/15 : 23:16:07
quote:Originally posted by Karthy:
New UK Hardcore - Thought it was worth mentioning this; the 'new' sound that in now is hardcore with dirty basslines with less melody mostly inspired from the whole commercialization of dubstep, while people still call it UK Hardcore I feel it's so different it's worth noting the difference :P - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns6QJO3uqv0 (Bad example but nothing else is coming to mind :()
Karthy Senior Member
United Kingdom
337 posts Joined: Jun, 2011
Posted - 2011/11/16 : 01:09:16
quote:Originally posted by Dys7:
quote:Originally posted by Karthy:
New UK Hardcore - Thought it was worth mentioning this; the 'new' sound that in now is hardcore with dirty basslines with less melody mostly inspired from the whole commercialization of dubstep, while people still call it UK Hardcore I feel it's so different it's worth noting the difference :P - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns6QJO3uqv0 (Bad example but nothing else is coming to mind :()
Yeah, I guess, I was actually trying to find a bad track to use as an example being the biased bastard that I am. I just tend not to remember shit tunes :P
ultraskool Advanced Member
Australia
669 posts Joined: May, 2002
Posted - 2011/11/16 : 08:05:11
Don't forget your 'J-Core' influenced HHC which has a lot of "Makina" elements and the Techno/Acid sounds but can still be classed as Happy Hardcore. 'Jakina' as I like to call it.
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"NO MATTER HOW, NO MATTER WHY... HARDCORE STATE OF MIND! "Respect To the Man in the Ice-Cream Van!" http://ultraskool.weebly.com
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Posted - 2011/11/15 : 12:36:33
