What is Happy Hardcore?

Until recently, at the base of every Happy Hardcore track was a breakbeat - a fast, complex, flowing, synthesised drumbeat. The drums used do not sound like real drums and are not meant to. There is always a bass drum, usually distorted, every beat (4 beats to the bar, hence Happy Hardcore's alternative name of 4-beat). Over this breakbeat can be a variety of things. There can be pianos, strings, stab patterns (sequences of quite hard synthy sounds), uplifiting female vocals, bass (anything from an acid squelch to a deep rumbling sine wave), etc. Most Happy Hardcore tracks are around 160 to 180bpm, but 175bpm seems to be the most common speed. Any faster and it starts becoming Gabba, and and slower and it starts becoming house.

Happy Hardcore is played at clubs and raves (big parties with several thousand people, sometimes outdoors) by DJs. The DJs mix one track into another on a pair of turntables (nearly always Technics SL1200s), thus making a continuous set where it is impossible to hear where one track finishes and another starts. There is a group of DJs who have become famous throughout the country and are guaranteed to attract crowds to whereever they play. These DJs often make tracks too, though as most come from a non-musical background (i.e. they don't play any instruments) they work with others to create the tracks.

Hardcore History

In the early 90s, the predominant form of rave music was known as hardcore. It was based around breakbeats with lots of samples over the top. This developped, sped up, the breakbeats became more flowing and complex and it split into two divisions, jungle and Happy Hardcore. Jungle has far much more emphasis on the breakbeat, with it constantly moving and changing, while Happy Hardcore has more emphasis on the stuff on top and has a four on the floor kick drum. Initially Happy Hardcore and Jungle DJs would play side by side, but this has become less and less common - whether this is good or bad depends on who you speak to. Over time breakbeats have become a lot less predominant in Happy Hardcore tracks, with many tracks now being made without them. (There are breakbeat-type tracks still being made, however, by labels such as Kniteforce). Vocals have become more and more popular. Initially a lot of the vocals on Happy Hardcore tracks were just short snippets taken from sample CDs or other tracks, but now original vocals are very common.