In the UK, the breakbeat hardcore rave scene was beginning to fragment by late 1992 into a number of subsequent genres: darkcore, hardcore jungle, and 4-beat also known as happy hardcore where piano rolls and uplifting vocals were still central to the sound. DJs such as Slipmatt, DJ Sy, DJ Seduction, Wishdokta, DJ Dougal, and DJ Vibes continued to play and put out music of this nature throughout 1993/4 – notably Slipmatt through the SMD releases, Wishdokta as Naughty Naughty, and Seduction on the Impact label. In Scotland, a fusion of happy hardcore and gabba would emerge as bouncy techno, played by the likes of Scott Brown. In mainland Europe, new beat and hardcore techno from Belgium had both an influence on the early 1990s on the UK rave scene, but also Germany and the Netherlands, such as Praga Khan, Human Resource, and Frank De Wulf. In Germany, producer Marc Trauner, and in the Netherlands, Paul Elstak would also be early influences.
1990s growth
In the UK, happy hardcore as it had become known was starting to gain popularity alongside jungle by 1995, often being hosted in the second arena at major raves such as Dreamscape and Helter Skelter held at the Sanctuary Music Arena. In London, the pirate radio stationDream FM would become the primary champion of the genre. The sound was also changing, tracks increasingly losing their breakbeats towards a stomping 4/4 kick drum pattern, and more vocally-led. DJs and producers that began to come through included Hixxy, Breeze, Force & Styles, DJ Sharkey, and DJ DNA, and tracks that started to define the genre included Heart of Gold and Above the Clouds. Throughout the mid-late 1990s, the compilation series Bonkers would be commercially popular and showcase the latest hardcore music.
In the UK, after a brief decline including the closure of labels such as Freeform and the Nu Energy Collective, and DJs such as Kevin Energy and Sharkey announcing their retirements, the rise of digital labels has helped to both re-energise both classic releases as well as new and upcoming artists including Fracus & Darwin. Hardcore has also started to take many different directions, with influences from dubstep, electro, techno and oldschool rave once again becoming popular in many modern productions.
