Happy Hardcore

By Ben Liew  •  in Knowledge
Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

Enough of emo music and the likes of sorrowful melodies, dark, deep and depressing tunes, JUICE gets bouncy with Happy Hardcore!

WHAT IS HAPPY HARDCORE?
Elitism has always been an enemy of music and dance music is no exception. By the early 90s, the UK Rave scene had splintered into 2 separate factions. Artists who took their music seriously explored Jungle which later became Drum n Bass. “The others”, who were just there to party, started Happy Hardcore instead.

Happy Hardcore was typically fast (160-180 BPM) with solo vocal and sentimental lyrics. At best, it can sound like a hyper-speed Trance. But at its worst, it sounds like uber Ah Beng Feng Tau music. Many blamed Happy Hardcore for the commercialisation of the scene. During the late 90s, Happy Hardcore artists started doing Pop covers played with sped up drum loops. And that was when it all fell apart….

RELATED GENRES

• In 2002, the compilation series Bonkers was relaunched after a 3-year hiatus and became a hit, releasing 8 other compilations between 2002 and 2005. The 21st century sound was refreshingly good. Gone were the bouncy synths and irritating piano lines. The genre now had a more euphoric Trance feel, like a late 90s Ibiza at a higher tempo.

• Happy Hardcore now has more ties between mainstream dance music and genres such as Bouncy House than the original rave music that it grew out of. Recently, The Blackout Crew from Bolton, UK created a homebrewed genre called Donk, which is primarily Happy Hardcore given an Electro House and Bassline feel with Rap vocals thrown in.

• UK Hardcore is a broad term to describe the evolved United Kingdom rave hardcore lineage 4-on-4 kick drum sound, which emerged there around the start of the 21st century. It is the result of new producers entering the scene after the pseudo demise of Happy Hardcore. This current sound has similarly found followers from all over the world. However it still can’t come close to the good old days of the early to mid 90s.

HARDCORE ARTISTS
• Dougal
• Gammer
• Hixxy
• Scott Brown
• Styles & Breeze
• Stu Allan
• Sy
• Triple J
• VAGABOND
• Vibes
• Unknown
• Joey Riot
• Breeze
• Brisk
• Kevin Energy

HOW HAPPY HARDCORE CHANGED THE WORLD
• Jaded Ravers Blame Happy Hardcore for polluting the scene with cheesy dance music.
• Feng Tau! Ah Bengs blasting their version of Happy Hardcore from their modified car speakers.

HAPPY HARDCORE MATH

Glowsticks + Nike Airs + Smile = Happy Hardcore

Abandon Factory + Speakers + DJ = Rave!