From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia UK hardcore
UK hardcore
UK Hardcore years, techno and hardcore being the respective domi-
nant genres in the North and South of the country for
Stylistic origins Happy hardcore much of this period.
4-beat
Bouncy techno Happy Hardcore evolved from hardcore music in the
Hardcore techno early 1990s. Its characteristic 4/4 beat "happy" sound
Trance distinguishes it from most other forms of hardcore. The
Eurodance term UK Hardcore refers to the evolution of the Happy
Mákina Hardcore sound and is not a general term for Hardcore
Cultural origins Mid 1990s, United Kingdom (Gabber or Techno) that comes from the UK.
Through a combination of factors, hardcore had tak-
Typical Synthesizer – Software synthesizers
instruments Drum machine – Sequencer –
en a new musical direction towards the latter half of the
Sampler – Vocals 1990s. It now had little musical resemblance to its origins,
generally becoming more vocal-based and at times pro-
Mainstream Moderate
ducing cover versions of popular songs. This sound at-
popularity
tracted a younger audience in the UK. Elsewhere at this
Subgenres time, this particular sound had found a new worldwide
Hardcore breaks, Freeform Hardcore, Gabba
audience in places such as Australia, Canada, Japan and
the United States.
UK Hardcore is a broad term to describe the evolved Producers looked to regenerate the United Kingdom
sound of Happy Hardcore Rave music which emerged rave hardcore music scene towards the end of the 20th
around the end of the 1990s and grew in strength during century, taking influence from many different styles
the 21st century. The music is typically harder and less whilst trying to leave the late 1990s happy hardcore im-
break-beat led than happy hardcore back in the 1990s. age behind. Their sound was called UK Hardcore; it has
seen new producers enter the scene. This current sound
similarly has also found followers from all corners of the
History of UK Hardcore globe.
Early Hardcore producers such as SL2, Prodigy, Hyper- Hardcore also received its own special in 2004 on BBC
On Experience, DJ Jonny L and Sonz of a Loop da Loop Radio 1 entitled John Peel Is Not Enough named after a
Era, along with record labels such as Moving Shadow, Re- CLSM track of the same name.
inforced, XL and Formation evolved in a period where Nowadays (Post 2000), The UK hardcore rave scene is
Techno was developing a harder edge, exploring the a thriving scene with many producers, DJs, MCs and La-
complex breakbeats that would later manifest them- bels. UK Hardcore is seen as an underground genre, but
selves as Jungle and the subsequent development of recent albums such as the Clubland X-treme Hardcore se-
Drum and Bass. The stylistic influence of techno includ- ries have exposed the music to a more commercial audi-
ing the movie, cartoon and media samples, and powerful ence. It is known that the younger generation of ravers
synthesizer-based breakdowns characterised this earlier are enjoying the hardcore music scene and will continue
form of UK Hardcore, which some believed to have hit its to progress and become much more mainstream than
first peak in 1992. For example, some fan websites go so when it originally came from clubs.
far as to hyperbolically proclaim "1992 was the best year 2009 saw DJ Kutski land his own show on Radio 1.
for music, EVER!" Along with various other harder styles, UK Hardcore re-
With the diversity in sound available to producers ris- ceives much air time and the show continues to grow
ing with the onset of progressively more advanced com- from strength to strength. The show has had the likes of
puter and music production systems, electronic music CLSM as live guests, and a range of guest mixes. While the
was evolving at a rapid pace during this period. Hardcore, genre remains very much an underground style of mu-
Techno, and Drum and Bass began to split during this in- sic, its receiving crucial mainstream air time. 2011, how-
tense period of creativity, spinning off the genres Ragga ever, has seen the closure of a number of labels, such as
and Darkside. the veteran Freeform label; Nu Energy Collective, cou-
The United Kingdom-based rave hardcore scene of pled with the end of the infamous Freeformation events.
the 1990s encompassed several native styles through the Kevin Energy and DJ Sharkey also announced their re-
tirements, which stirred some worry amongst the com-
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia UK hardcore
munity about the decline in popularity for hardcore. • Hixxy
Nevertheless, other Hardcore labels such as Evolution • Mark Breeze
and Quosh have celebrated their milestone 100th releas- • Re-Con
es. In addition, hardcore has seen a growing abundance • Scott Brown
of digital labels, and amongst them, upcoming artists
such as the highly acclaimed Fracus and Darwin. UK
Hardcore has also started to take many different direc-
External links
tions with influences from Dubstep, Electro, Techno and • The world’s #1 clubbing community site, voted "Best
Oldskool Rave once again becoming poplular in many Website" at the 2008 Hardcore Heaven Awards
modern productions. • News and discussion on all types of hardcore, mostly
UK Hardcore
• Home of the biggest UK Hardcore Website, with
Notable artists active discussion forums
• "Hardcore Dance Music - What Is Hardcore Dance
• CLSM Music?" - BDWRekordings.com
• Darren Styles • Ultimatebuzz - The webs biggest clubbing/hardcore/
• Dougal rave website
• Gammer
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UK_hardcore&oldid=462171448"
Categories:
• Hardcore music genres
• Hardcore techno
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