170BPM & Beyond! – AAN’s A-Z Guide To Hardcore

If you are reading this article, chances are you’re already at least a little bit familiar with hardcore music, that is to say, electronic dance music of 170BPM and above.

To the uninitiated, 170BPM might sound incredibly fast and we’ve all got a least one friend who says “all that hardcore stuff sounds the same” (actually, why is that person even our friend?), but we know better – we know there is a whole wonderful world of musical adventures just waiting to be discovered at the top end of the bpm spectrum.

But which artists, which anthems, events or subgenres do you think of when you say “hardcore”?  There are so many different styles of hardcore and each has it’s own dedicated fan base and raver subculture.

Without further ado, we present: Alive At Night’s A-Z Guide To Hardcore!

A is for… Angerfist (n: artist) The instantly recognisable global face of Dutch hardcore music is in fact not a face at all but a mask.  The man behind the mask is responsible for waking the world up to hardcore and is regularly voted into the upper end of the otherwise quite conservative DJ Mag Top 100 DJs list.

B is for… Breakbeat Hardcore (n: genre) Sometimes nothing says “old skool” like the sound of breakbeats.  For classic breakbeat hardcore sounds check out Luna-C’s Kniteforce Records label and for brand new tunes with a classic twist look up the album “Can’t Stop” by Inspector Sands which was recently released on the CLSM label.

C is for… Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo (n: artist) Dutch happy hardcore artists from the nineties, still winning new fans today with regular appearances at major hard dance festivals.  Responsible for instantly recognisable tracks such as “Wonderful Days” and “Stars” which were accompanied by classic cheesy video clips.

D is for… Da Mouth Of Madness (n: artist) Legendary Dutch rave MC, performing at parties from Thunderdome to Tomorrowland and everything in between.  In the nineties he presented a weekly hardcore show on Dutch TV channel TMF and today he co-hosts the weekly Thunderdome online radio show.

E is for… (no, not that…) E is for… Evil Activities (n: artist) Hardcore DJ and producer turned hardcore duo live act since joining forces with E-Life a few years ago.  Host of the “Extreme Audio” hardcore podcast.

F is for… Freeform (n: genre) Literally meaning “hardcore free from form”, freeform bundles together all those ingredients you always wanted to throw into a hardcore mix but were afraid to try.  Encompassing underground scenes from Finland and the UK, the Finnish freeform sound led by FINRG Recordings is dark and acidy while the UK freeform sound is typically uplifting and features hard trance inspired melodies.  But remember – when it comes to producing freeform tracks, there are no rules!

G is for… Gabber (n: British: genre) (v: dance style) (n: Dutch: person) British word for the music known simply to the rest of Europe as “hardcore”; gabber has remained a popular term in the UK in order to differentiate between UK hardcore and the Dutch/European hardcore sound.  In many parts of Europe, hardcore fans are known to bust out a distinctive dance routine known as the “gabber” or “hakken”; this dance is also popular in Australia, where it is derided by those outside the scene as “the chicken dance”.  In the Netherlands a person who is into hardcore music and the raver lifestyle is often known as a “gabber”, such a person may or may not have a penchant for wearing tracksuits.

H is for… Hardcore ‘Til I Die (HTID) (n: British: brand) (n: Aus: track/anthem) (n: Global: oath of allegiance) Internationally recognised flagship UK hardcore event brand, hosting events in the UK and overseas including the annual week long rave holiday HTID In The Sun.  “HTID” is also the name of an Australian rave anthem by Antix, Tom-E and Destiny, first released in 2007 and just recently given a hard as nails remix by Raw Machine and Convict. In conversation and on social media, ravers around the world will make their musical preferences and loyalty clear by declaring themselves to be “hardcore ‘til I die.”

I is for… Industrial (n: genre) Hardcore music created from wide range of musical and non-musical sounds, sampled or synthesised, sometimes at a lower tempo than other forms of hardcore.  Interesting music for listening to, not always exactly suitable for dancing to.

J is for… J-Core (n: genre)  “What the actual…” “Is this even really…” Yes, J-Core is a genre.  Japanese anime and/or video game samples mixed up into hardcore, accompanied by cutesy and/or sexy anime videos.  Vocals may or may not be in Japanese.

K is for… Kick(drum) (n: sound/instrument) The all-important lead sound in a hardcore track.  When one producer says to another “hey mate, I love your kicks”, he or she isn’t talking about their new Air Max trainers.

L is for… Lenny Dee (n: artist) Eighties techno pioneer from the New York club scene turned nineties hardcore scene leader.

M is for… Masters Of Hardcore (n: brand) Iconic hardcore record label and global event brand, Masters Of Hardcore has been at the forefront of the hardcore scene for over twenty years.

N is for… Neophyte Records (n: label) Dutch hardcore record label founded by DJ Neophyte. Home to some of the biggest names in the business including Tha Playah, Nosferatu and Furyan.

O is for… Outblast (n: artist) Leading Dutch hardcore artist and a founder of Masters Of Hardcore.

P is for… Powerstomp (n: genre) Punchier and, umm, stompier variant of UK hardcore, but still without the aggression of Dutch hardcore. Made popular by Joey Riot and Kurt, now produced worldwide by artists such as Japan’s M-Project.

Q is for… Quosh Records (n: label) Highly successful and long running UK hardcore record label founded by Sy and Unknown.

R is for… Rave (n: event) (n: person) (v: weekend activity) Originally meaning underground and/or illegal gathering of people for the primary purpose of listening to electronic music and getting off their heads, use of the term rave has sometimes broadened to mean any hard dance music festival, club night or event.  Generally though, the word “rave” has closer ties to hardcore than to any other style of music.  People who regularly attend raves identify themselves as “ravers”, while “raving” is a well-understood term to describe the activity of attending an event in order to listen to fast music, dance around a lot and (optionally) get off your head.

S is for… Speedcore (n: genre) Very ridiculous fastness. Often sounds like helicopters. More bpm than you can shake a stick at, or do anything much with at all really except stand still and have your senses blown away.  Useful speedcore fact: if anyone tries to tell you “all that hardcore noise isn’t music”, just point them in the direction of the track “Thousand” by grown-up respectable vegan recording artist Moby; that tune is speedcore and that dude’s won Grammys.

T is for… Terrorcore (n: genre) Funny thing about terrorcore – if you are generally accustomed to the more aggressive side of hardcore, terrorcore isn’t always terrifying.  In fact, the range of elements brought into the music bring a really unique flavour to some terrorcore tracks.

U is for… OK.. okay.. okaayyy… ladies and gentlemen we have a tie-breaker situation.  There is simply no way on this earth that I could pick only one answer for U.  Therefore…

U is for… Uptempo (n: genre) Fast, distorted and in your face! Uptempo hardcore is becoming increasingly popular as some dedicated hardcore heads are starting to feel that 170bpm just isn’t enough. Artists such as Lady Dammage, Spitnoise and Destructive Tendencies are leading the charge, brutalising the eardrums of willing participants all around the world.

U is also for… UK Hardcore (n: genre) Hard but not angry, fast but not furious, UK hardcore can lift your mood and move your feet on even the greyest of days.  Darren Styles, Gammer, Scott Brown, Hixxy and friends spread the UK hardcore love at the world’s biggest events including EDC in Las Vegas, HSU in Sydney and closer to home at major UK festivals such as Summer Gathering and Westfest.

V is for… Viva La Frenchcore (n: track/anthem) In the crazy world of Frenchcore, life starts at 200bpm! Viva La Frenchcore is Cassi from AAN’s new favourite track and will forever remind her of that moment when she jumped on stage with Dr Peacock during the Frenchcore Silent Disco at Defqon.1 2016.

W is for… Whizzkid (n: artist) The godfather of UK hardcore MCs, all round legend and a big supporter of new talent in the scene.

X is for… X-Mind (n: artist) Frenchcore and industrial hardcore artist from Italy, with a background in drum ‘n’ bass and psytrance!

Y is for… You’re Shining (n: track/anthem) UK hardcore anthem by genre defining duo Styles and Breeze, who you may now recognise as solo artists Darren Styles and Mark Breeze.

Z is for… Dr Z-Vago (n: artist) Early rave alias of hardcore artist Negative A.

And…. that’s it!  We hope you enjoyed our A-Z trip through the hardcore universe!  

With so many diverse sounds on offer under the umbrella of “hardcore” of course not everyone is going to enjoy every style or subgenre; everyone has their own preference.  Hardcore may only be a relatively niche corner of the overall dance music scene  but we think the above list proves that, just like the wider scene, hardcore has got something to offer for everyone!