Hardcore Vibes: UK Hardcore News & Views (March/April 2016)

Welcome to AAN’s semi-regular round up of the latest news, views and of course beautiful music from the wonderful world of UK Hardcore!

I’m going to start this article with a flipping brilliant remix by someone who isn’t even a UKHC artist per se, however I can really only describe him as a highly successful #fuckgenres artist who recently made a UKHC tune and did an amazing job of it. I’m indeed talking about the Jay Cosmic remix of “Need You” by Ember Island. I must ask this question however; does this mean anything for UKHC overall? I say yes, because it means a hell of a lot of new listeners have been getting their dose of 170BPM goodness over the last few weeks!

Now, I usually like to spend my time and energy just enjoying music instead of nit-picking about it, but sometimes it takes a bit of lively debate to make the internet go round. In this next segment I will try to summarise some of the recent discussions that have been going on around the UKHC scene.

The UKHC scene is in a great place at the moment and it’s getting even stronger with incredible new music from the new breed of artists and also from existing names. New music is getting plenty of exposure online via social media and via the various UKHC podcast series that are now available, including independent podcasts such as We Go Hard and The Bassline as well as label driven podcasts by the likes of Lethal Theory and Hardcore Underground.

However, despite the range of quality new music available, there seems to be a view that out in the clubs many DJ sets, at any level of the game, are made up of tried and tested classics, with perhaps the latest ‘safe option’ Darren Styles or Gammer releases thrown into the mix.

Speaking as a punter, I think a lot of the new tunes I’m discovering recently would rock a dancefloor on the very first play. The very nature of UKHC is that it’s not chin-stroking music – it’s upbeat music designed for dancefloors, often with catchy vocals. So my two cents on this is that I encourage DJs to play new music and elevate some of the amazing new tunes of this year to anthem status!

One organisation in the scene renowned for creation and promotion of new music is of course Hardcore Underground. As well as being a label in its own right, Hardcore Underground (hardcoreunderground.co.uk) is also the leading online store for all things UKHC related. Label heads Fracus & Darwin are celebrating 10 years of the label this year with a UK and international tour and while we can expect some anthems from the last decade to get a spin in those sets, their focus is always on bringing top quality new music to the market, as evidenced by the recent release of a new Fracus & Darwin artist album “Diversions”.

Moving on to a bit of powerstomp now with a new release named “Hybrid” from Japanese legend M-Project in collaboration with Sc@r and MC Vibrance. Something you will notice on this track – MC Vibrance is a woman! Yes I am going to make a big point about this because, as is the case with most of the dance music industry, MCing is a male dominated field so it is amazing to hear a female voice absolutely owning the mic. MC Vibrance is incredibly talented and I just know we’ll be hearing a lot more from her in the future as she continues working with Sc@r’s label, Scarred Digital. Sticking with the theme of girl power, Sc@r is one of the most successful female artists in the UKHC scene having performed all over the world in a career spanning more than a decade and now heading up her own highly successful label.

This track has a dark but energetic sound combined with an old-skool style breakdown – a “Hybrid” then of modern and classic hardcore elements in one absolute belter of a track!

I’m pleased to say yet another female artist is making waves in the scene at the moment – Lady Dubbz, a member of the Lethal Theory family, is making a name for herself with great productions such as “Werewolf,” which I have posted below:

Lethal Theory label boss Joey Riot has been keeping busy in the studio as always; some of his recent work has been on the harder side but this collaboration with Elov8 and Elite, “Blow Me Away” proves that he is also still very much at home making melodic UKHC music.

Producing a track that instantly makes an impression on the listener and stays in their memory after the very first listen is an art in itself. Two UKHC producers who have certainly mastered this art are Technikore and MOB, who have recently collaborated on a track for the first time in several years. “Fallen” has been a favourite in both artist’s DJ sets for a while now so while it’s not entirely new to those who’ve had the opportunity to catch either of them play out it’s now released on OneSeventy, the label run by Technikore and JTS, for everyone to own and enjoy.

Also making me smile and dance recently (at the most inappropriate times, such as on the bus to work) is “The Album – Session Four” by MOB and MC Enemy. As the name would suggest, this is the fourth instalment of a long-term project for these dedicated artists, the result being an outstanding collection of catchy, sometimes cheeky and always highly danceable tunes that perfectly the capture the spirit and the essence of the UKHC scene.

There are three CDs in the album, two mixed and one unmixed.  On the mix CDs, Enemy takes us on a lyrical journey through his years in the rave scene, sharing the story of the long slow process of building a career – the putdowns, the knockbacks and the incredible amount of hard work and perseverance that he and MOB have put in to get to where they are today.

Throughout his lyrics, Enemy’s never-ending love for the scene shines through. Harnessing the drive and ambition that has powered his career to date, Enemy has this week announced a new project entitled “Around The World In 80 Days.” Enemy will be collaborating with UKHC DJs from eight countries around the world to produce a mix series showcasing the music being created in that country. When the eight mixes are ready Enemy will release one mix online every ten days, hence the name, “Around The World In 80 Days.” Keep an eye out for the DJ names to be announced online very soon, with the mix series itself due towards the end of this year.

In the meantime, check out “The Album – Session Four” which is available now at hardcoreunderground.co.uk.

Talking of going around the world, UKHC fans from all corners of the globe are travelling over to the Balearic Islands this summer for HTID ITMS – for the uninitiated that stands for Hardcore ‘Til I Die, In The Magaluf Sun – an epic five nights of UKHC parties.

Suffice to say that the line up includes every UKHC artist you could possibly think of – so I won’t list them all here – but imagine everyone’s surprise to see a hardstyle name on the bill for the Wednesday night!  Yes, Da Tweekaz will be performing at HTID ITMS and I like to think it is no coincidence that they are appearing on the same night as recent collaborator Darren Styles.  We are yet to hear their co-produced track “Heroes,” but I am certain it will be rocking Magaluf that night.

In addition to the main parties, HTID ITMS also runs pre-parties in the early evenings which will feature the winners of the HTID Bootcamp competition.  The winners are all hard working artists on the brink of hitting the big time but I will especially mention one of them because even before the Bootcamp winners were announced his name seemed to be cropping up everywhere – that name being Callum Higby – and this new tune “Headshot” is one of the many reasons why he is one of most talked about new names in the scene.

One more thing to mention… whilst we still haven’t quite got modern UKHC onto the line up for Defqon.1 in the Netherlands, there will still be a welcome dose of classic European happy hardcore courtesy of Dune, who will be performing on the Gold (early rave) stage on the Saturday.

This column of course takes its name, “Hardcore Vibes,” from the absolutely legendary 1995 track “Hardcore Vibes” by Dune. Dune, we thank you for this amazing piece of classic hardcore music and we look forward to seeing you at Defqon.1!

The UKHC scene is stronger than ever this year and we can’t wait to hear what’s coming up next! Which UKHC artists are rocking your world right now? Let us know in the comments!