Posted - 2015/08/01 : 12:04:07
I used to be a bedroom DJ about 12 years ago. What a great deal has changed.
I can't find anything I'd want to buy on IMO Records. The forums seem dead. How much has happy hardcore dwindled in this time. Is it anywhere as big as it was in the late 90s and early noughties.
CDJay Advanced Member
United Kingdom
3,049 posts Joined: Nov, 2001
Posted - 2015/08/01 : 12:29:14
It's nowhere near the late 90s, or mid noughties.
It is, however, at least as big as it was in the early noughties before things exploded again.
The primary difference is that vinyl is no more, but there *are* far more albums. There's still a lot of music being written, it's just scattered fairly haphazardly across various digital and retail platforms, even when released.
The good news, from your POV, is at www.hardcoreunderground.co.uk
For a good summary of upfront stuff, there's Hardcore Underground 7. If you yearn for the late 90s, Happy Hardcore Underground is there. If you're a long term fan of Brisk, or Dougal and Gammer, there are very high value beautifully presented artist albums rammed with content.
I may have a vested interest, but I'd challenge anyone to tell me a better place to get stuck back in circa 2015
We also ship using a tracked service, at a flat rate of ?8.50 per order. Seems horrendous, if you buy a single CD, but if you do what so many in Australasia do it's actually quite a steal.
quote:Originally posted by Hard2Get:
Completely. If you want the old sound. Or basically what CDJay said.
Now this worries me a bit. I didn't connect with anything on IMO Records but there are mixes floating around which sound promising. The vocals and synth riffs were really doing my head in on the vinyl samples I listened to.
What in particular has changed about the sound. I began to lose interest when it went all trancey in the early noughties. It's definitely changed again.
I don't want to have to run screaming to the other micro scene I'm into; acid techno. Will give it a fair listen. Can you expand on "completely".
CDJay Advanced Member
United Kingdom
3,049 posts Joined: Nov, 2001
Posted - 2015/08/01 : 13:13:32
From the sounds of it, I'd stick to the Brisk and "Happy Hardcore Underground" albums. That said, if you're willing to take a risk on something you might not like, HU7 is essentially the best way to do it.
You could also check out our podcasts, on soundcloud, as they cover a lot of what is going on
Hard2Get Advanced Member
United Kingdom
12,837 posts Joined: Jun, 2001
Posted - 2015/08/01 : 13:22:52
quote:Originally posted by Benjaymun:
quote:Originally posted by Hard2Get:
Completely. If you want the old sound. Or basically what CDJay said.
Now this worries me a bit. I didn't connect with anything on IMO Records but there are mixes floating around which sound promising. The vocals and synth riffs were really doing my head in on the vinyl samples I listened to.
What in particular has changed about the sound. I began to lose interest when it went all trancey in the early noughties. It's definitely changed again.
I don't want to have to run screaming to the other micro scene I'm into; acid techno. Will give it a fair listen. Can you expand on "completely".
I just mean that it's evolved into something that bears no resemblance to what used to exist 12 years ago when you get to the really commercial sounding side of things. There is still stuff about that is true to what Hardcore used to be about but it's very different from what it was. Things have been steadily improving in the last few years due to Hardcore Underground and things close to it but either way the sound has changed enough that it's effectively a different genre now. You may like the new sound for what it is or you may not but it definitely isn't the same as it was 12 years ago. 12 years is a long time in the evolution of music!
warped_candykid Advanced Member
United States
3,981 posts Joined: Jan, 2004
Posted - 2015/08/01 : 16:20:10
I'm in the same boat as you. It's been hard to find releases I like post 2011/2012. That being said, CDJay & the peeps at HU have done a great job keeping the harder sound going. My suggestion to you is to pick up Happy Hardcore Underground, the mixes are pretty solid!
Guest Advanced Member
United Kingdom
1,511 posts Joined: Feb, 2015
Posted - 2015/08/02 : 10:43:07
mainstream gabba took over and became a bass scene, while dubstep/dnb/uk hardcore was dead and dying, which then killed terror/frenchcore/industrial and most of its labels as most big events ditched all the shit terror/frenchcore/industrial
so its called hardcore every where on the internet instead of gabba, and uk hardcore is called uk hardcore is you search for either
__________________________________ youtube channel / soundcloud and mixcloud suck
Posted - 2015/08/02 : 13:49:49
Thanks for posting that gabber set I enjoyed that. You say it's just called hardcore. Such an overused term; gets confused with rock and p0rn if you search for it. Is there an equivalent to happyhardcore.com for it. Might look into it if happy or uk hardcore is misbehaving.
Posted - 2015/08/03 : 12:24:48
Okay; found trackitdown.net - is this the main uk hardcore hub. Lots of poor stuff but the occasional track which reminds me why I fell in love with this genre. It only takes one track to remind you. When happy hardcore fires on all cylinders not much can compare.
I think I'll stick it out. Just filter through the poor stuff and find the gems. Happy hardcore is all I know. With a euphoric harmonic genre like ours it's so very easy to get things wrong thus the amount of misfires. Twas always thus. I believe that eventually happy hard will rise again although a guy at work today compared my status to that of Disco Stu.
Today I dragged a suitcase containing my record collection across the lino on the floor in my hallway after having it imported from the eastern states of Australia. It left a couple of scars in the lino it was that heavy. Decks long gone so I can't play anything. I represented happy hardcore in Tasmania for a few years there.
After a failed marriage I've a house to myself and a couple of MC909's. Could try my hand at producing. Will probably find it's a lot harder than it seems.
Anyway thanks for bearing with me guys and I'll check out your cds CDJay.
Guest Advanced Member
United Kingdom
1,511 posts Joined: Feb, 2015
Posted - 2015/08/03 : 12:41:18
there are plenty of controllers you can plug in some vinyl decks when you buy some more, and use traktor +analog and the controller as a mixer for both, the cheapest and best would be
the american audio vms4.1, you just flick a switch on the front to change a mixer channel to a analog input, and it is full DAC for traktor, so you dont need any audio interface or nothing
yeah DAC, midi and audio goes through the usb cable, and set traktor to use external mixer and have full 24bit ASIO audio
__________________________________ youtube channel / soundcloud and mixcloud suck
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Posted - 2015/08/01 : 12:04:07
