aaron_shinn
Active member
Hey Dissensus,
Dubstep has gotten me thinking about hardcore lately. Cluekid and LD are doing these retro-themed tracks, Tubby from Newham Generals did a 1994 jungle set for his Rinse show a few weeks ago, and even the BPMs are starting to converge. As Dubstep creeps into the mid-140s, suddenly 155 bpm hardcore records are looking compatible.
All of this has prompted me to go back to my UK hardcore roots. This is the music that got me started as a deejay. When my high school classmates were listening to Guns N Roses, House of Pain, U2, or Boyz II Men, I would play some Nebula II for them and give them a good scare. I borrowed $500 to buy decks at age 15 and was playing out as soon as I could. I followed as hardcore became jungle, and jungle became DnB, and DnB became dreck, but I digress.
Now I listen to Rinse FM all day long and covet dubs and fantasize about making beats. Dubstep has plunged me back into the same musical mindset I inhabited in high school. So I thought it was high time to touch the old vinyl again, and really get back to my hardcore roots.
I've made a mix that I'm calling Endless Rush - UK Hardcore 1992-1994, and if you're interested in a little retro, please check it out. It's on my site at http://musicfornightclubs.com
The experience of making this mix has been wonderful, but also cathartic and cautionary. Hearing the technology of those old tunes (chipmunk vocals, no atmosphere, raw sound quality) makes me admire the way software has changed what's available to today's average raver. But at the same time, where is the substance in music that is fueled by novelty, constant innovation, and exclusivity?
Are there any of us here who have never heard UK hardcore before? How does it sound to you?
To those of you who were there, what did hardcore mean to you then, and what does it signify to you now? How does it sound 15 years on?
Dubstep has gotten me thinking about hardcore lately. Cluekid and LD are doing these retro-themed tracks, Tubby from Newham Generals did a 1994 jungle set for his Rinse show a few weeks ago, and even the BPMs are starting to converge. As Dubstep creeps into the mid-140s, suddenly 155 bpm hardcore records are looking compatible.
All of this has prompted me to go back to my UK hardcore roots. This is the music that got me started as a deejay. When my high school classmates were listening to Guns N Roses, House of Pain, U2, or Boyz II Men, I would play some Nebula II for them and give them a good scare. I borrowed $500 to buy decks at age 15 and was playing out as soon as I could. I followed as hardcore became jungle, and jungle became DnB, and DnB became dreck, but I digress.
Now I listen to Rinse FM all day long and covet dubs and fantasize about making beats. Dubstep has plunged me back into the same musical mindset I inhabited in high school. So I thought it was high time to touch the old vinyl again, and really get back to my hardcore roots.
I've made a mix that I'm calling Endless Rush - UK Hardcore 1992-1994, and if you're interested in a little retro, please check it out. It's on my site at http://musicfornightclubs.com
The experience of making this mix has been wonderful, but also cathartic and cautionary. Hearing the technology of those old tunes (chipmunk vocals, no atmosphere, raw sound quality) makes me admire the way software has changed what's available to today's average raver. But at the same time, where is the substance in music that is fueled by novelty, constant innovation, and exclusivity?
Are there any of us here who have never heard UK hardcore before? How does it sound to you?
To those of you who were there, what did hardcore mean to you then, and what does it signify to you now? How does it sound 15 years on?
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