simon silverdollar said:
Hardstyle was one direction in which European hard trance developed, whereas newstyle was a way in which European hardcore developed. Basically, the change to newstyle within the hardcore field happened a while ago, maybe seven or eight years ago, while hardstyle only really came around within the last two or three years. Sonically they aren't so different these days, except newstyle tends to be faster (not always though, some hardstyle producers have upped the bpm's quite a bit from the standard 140 that European hard trance producers like DJ Scot Project and Shokk used). Also, hardstyle dj's will still play stuff that is quite trancy, whereas hardcore (which is really what newstyle is, being the main sound of European hardcore) is quite a bit darker.
I can sort out some representative sets on Yousendit if you want?
It went into a long lull, but there's been a revival over the last couple of years. I don't think it'll get back to the stage that it was at years ago (Bonkers 3 did over 100,000 copies) but there's a lot more going on than say three/four years ago. Happy hardcore in the traditional sense (diva vocals, offbeat stabs, massive piano riffs) doesn't really exist any more though, the main sound now is a kind of overblown (yet cheesy) trancecore. A lot of the old familiars are still at it (ie Hixxy with his Raverbaby label, Scott Brown is still going with Evolution), and even some who'd left have come back now that there is again a bit of cash to be made (like DJ Seduction, for one).
Best place for info on the UK hardcore scene is www.ush.net