Frenchcore
Hardcore · 1998 · 190 to 210 BPM · also known as French Core, Frenchcore Hardcore
France hardened hardcore in its own way at the end of the 1990s: a punched, bouncing, almost melodic kick around 200 beats per minute, rooted in free parties and the Micropoint sound. Frenchcore has since become an international style in its own right, with Dr. Peacock as its ambassador, yet its particular groove remains a national signature that other scenes have never quite managed to fully copy.
11 reference tracks
- Micropoint: Neurophonie (2000)
- Radium: The Beat Is Coming (2001)
- Micropoint: Crackpipe (1998)
- Dr. Peacock: Trip to Ireland (2015)
- Radium: Oh My Core (2000)
- Dr. Peacock & Sefa: The Universe (2019)
- Sefa: Leven is Lijden (2019)
- Lil Texas: Die Young
- t+pazolite: Gumbarlzo!
- Angerfist: Solid Stigma
- Lenny Dee & Radium: Headbanger Boogie
At a glance
- Tempo: 190 to 210 BPM
- First appeared: around 1998
- Machines: FL Studio, Roland TR-909, Xfer Serum
- The sound: Kick frenchcore percé rebondissant, Basses saturées mélodiques, Screeches, Structures tribe héritées des frees
- Labels: Psychik Genocide, Peacock Records, Audiogenic, Frenchcore S'il Vous Plaît, Epileptik
- Key artists: Micropoint, Radium, The Speed Freak, Dr. Peacock, Billx (héritier)
Producing Frenchcore
Frenchcore runs between 190 and 210 BPM, most tracks around 200, close to uptempo and terrorcore in numbers but with a unique bouncing feel built into the kick itself, which carries an offbeat inside it, a legacy of the tribe sound sped up from its original bounce. Build the kick as a hit on the beat followed by its tail alone, pitched the same but quieter with a shorter decay, so the whole thing bounces as a single sample repeated on every beat. Add a dry snare on two and four, discreet sixteenth note hats, and rising pitch kick rolls before each drop. The bass is genuinely melodic, unlike the nu style: the kick tail follows a real line, root, minor third, fourth, fifth, often doubled by a separate saturated bass on the offbeats.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Frenchcore?
France hardened hardcore in its own way at the end of the 1990s: a punched, bouncing, almost melodic kick around 200 beats per minute, rooted in free parties and the Micropoint sound. Frenchcore has since become an international style in its own right, with Dr. Peacock as its ambassador, yet its…
What tempo is Frenchcore played at?
Between 190 and 210 BPM.
Who are the key Frenchcore artists?
Micropoint, Radium, The Speed Freak, Dr. Peacock, Billx (héritier).
