Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or "hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s. What makes happy hardcore stand apart from gabber is that happy hardcore tends to have breakbeats running alongside the 4/4 kick drum.
History
Origins
The breakbeat hardcore
rave scene was beginning to fragment by late 1992 into a number of subsequent breakbeat-based genres:
darkcore (tracks embracing dark-themed samples and stabs),
hardcore jungle (
reggae basslines and influences became prominent), and 4-beat also known as "happy hardcore" where piano rolls and uplifting vocals were still central to the sound. DJs such as
Slipmatt, DJ Sy, DJ Seduction,
Wishdokta,
DJ Dougal, and DJ Vibes continued to play and put out music of this nature throughout 1993/94 – notably Slipmatt through the SMD releases,
Wishdokta as 'Naughty Naughty', and
Seduction on the Impact label.
1990s growth
The sound of happy hardcore changed in the 1990s, with tracks increasingly losing their breakbeats towards a stomping distorted 909 4/4
kick drum pattern, with more original vocal leads and stab patterns. DJs and producers that began to come through included
Hixxy,
Mark Breeze, Force &
Darren Styles,
DJ Sharkey, and DJ DNA,
and tracks that started to define the genre included "Heart of Gold", "Pretty Green Eyes", "Cloudy Daze", "Sunshine After the Rain", "Above the Clouds", "Discoland", "Love of My Life", "Techno Wonderland", and "Hardcore Fever".
Throughout the mid-late 1990s, the compilation series
Bonkers would be commercially popular and showcase the latest happy hardcore music. Bonkers only really came into being due to the record label React showing interest in
Toy Town, and Hixxy and Sharkey convincing the label to do a compilation album deal instead.
2000s
In the UK, the scene received its own special on BBC Radio 1 called
John Peel Is Not Enough (named after a track by CLSM) in 2004.
The scene continued to expand, with compilations such as
Clubland X-Treme Hardcore, and an evermore youthful audience.
In 2009,
Kutski hosted a show featuring hard dance and hardcore on Radio 1.
Happy hardcore compilations
Notable happy hardcore compilation albums include:
-
Bonkers
-
Clubland X-Treme Hardcore
-
Dancemania Speed
-
Happy 2b Hardcore
-
Hardcore Euphoria
-
Hardcore Heaven
See also
Bibliography
External links
