UK Hardcore
Hardcore · 2000 · 170 to 180 BPM · also known as Freeform Hardcore, Happy Hardcore UK
UK hardcore is the modern continuation of British happy hardcore after 2000: polished trance-style production, supersaw leads, fully sung vocals rather than pitched-up snippets, and a tempo around 170 beats per minute. Artists such as Styles and Breeze and Darren Styles, and later the Monstercat label, have turned it into a surprisingly durable genre, sitting somewhere between rave nostalgia and accelerated pop. Kandi bracelets and light-up gloves come included in the price. It keeps happy hardcore's tempo and offbeat bounce but swaps its cheap piano stabs and chipmunk vocals for a bigger, cleaner, radio-friendly wall of sound.
13 reference tracks
- Hixxy: More & More (2001)
- Scott Brown: Elysium Plus (2000)
- Styles & Breeze: Heartbeatz (2005)
- Styles and Breeze: You're Shining (2004)
- Darren Styles: Save Me (2006)
- Ultrabeat vs Darren Styles: Sure Feels Good (2007)
- Darren Styles & Gammer: Superhorn (2021)
- Darren Styles: Us Against the World
- S3RL: Feel The Melody
- Darren Styles: Getting Better
- S3RL: Request
- Darren Styles: Come Running
- Dougal & Gammer: Don't Stop Go
At a glance
- Tempo: 170 to 180 BPM
- First appeared: around 2000
- Machines: FL Studio, Roland JP-8000, LennarDigital Sylenth1
- The sound: Supersaw trance, Kicks UK hardcore, Voix pop chantées, Production moderne léchée
- Labels: Monstercat, Evolution Records, Raver Baby, Futureworld, Lethal Theory, All Around The World
- Key artists: Darren Styles, Styles & Breeze, Gammer, S3RL (parenté)
Producing UK Hardcore
UK hardcore keeps happy hardcore's tempo, 170 to 175 BPM, usually at 172 with no swing, but applies trance-level polish: fully quantized, clean and wide. The real change from the original is the sound, a supersaw replacing the piano, a fully sung pop vocal replacing the pitched-up snippet, and a longer, more tuned kick with gentle saturation, between hardstyle and trance. Build clap and reverbed snare on 2 and 4, an open hat on every offbeat mixed lower than classic happy hardcore, alternating closed hats, and accelerating snare rolls into a crash on each drop. The bass keeps happy hardcore's offbeat placement but grows fatter, a detuned unison sawtooth following a four-chord minor progression, backed by a sidechained sub. The supersaw, detuned saws through a wide filter and reverb, carries the drops, joined by plucked arpeggios and the sung vocal.
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 UK Hardcore?
UK hardcore is the modern continuation of British happy hardcore after 2000: polished trance-style production, supersaw leads, fully sung vocals rather than pitched-up snippets, and a tempo around 170 beats per minute. Artists such as Styles and Breeze and Darren Styles, and later the Monstercat…
What tempo is UK Hardcore played at?
Between 170 and 180 BPM.
Who are the key UK Hardcore artists?
Darren Styles, Styles & Breeze, Gammer, S3RL (parenté).
