The meager years of "Mainstyle" and "Uptempo" seem to be finally over, the "Millennium" bullsh*t is finally being laid to rest. There is a wholly new generation on the block that is embracing hardcore, gabber, acid, doom, and all that comes with it - and this is very, very welcome, as there was a dire need for fresh sonic blood.
But these new artists and DJs do not merely copy the old - no no! - they twist it around and smash it apart and throw everything in the faces of old.
This is a very boundary-crossing activity, as hardcore now bleeds into former taboo territories such as pop, rap, punk... (i.e. beyond mere 'hardcore with pop samples')
And on the other side of the realm, artists and musicians from pop, rap, and all the other genres have begun using sounds and concept from hardcore, too.
Purists will say these hybrids are far from "pure hardcore", but who cares about purists anyway?
Embracing pop aesthetics and the capitalism that comes with it is not something that makes me very comfortable either, but I hope it's just one step on the way to real cultural subversion.
So, time to take a closer look at this and a few sonic examples, too.
Note: of course, not all these are gen z musicians - other people with fresh ideas are very welcome, too!
some of the things that are occurring are...
1) that new emerging scene of producers from a variety of backgrounds (techno, rap, punk, non-western music...) that is encompassing hardcore beats and sounds in their productions.
(date: from a few years ago-until the future)
Astrid Gnosis
Drop dead
https://youtu.be/d75AhaiB9S0
Titan
https://youtu.be/1_HN9S6ILR4
Astrid Gnosis
Drop dead
https://youtu.be/d75AhaiB9S0
Titan
https://youtu.be/1_HN9S6ILR4
Nkisi
Blacked Out
https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/track/blacked-out
A Path Appears
https://nkisi.bandcamp.com/track/a-path-appears
Gabber Modus Operandi
Jathilan Titan
https://gabbermodusoperandi.bandcamp.com/track/jathilan-titan
Melayu Boleh Neraka
https://gabbermodusoperandi.bandcamp.com/track/melayu-boleh-neraka-exclusive-bonus
2) these new young angry artists that drop a hardcore bass in their tracks now and then, but are usually closer to a weird mixture of metal, punk, or, gasp, hyperpop
(date: from a few years ago-until the future)
Poppy
Hard
https://youtu.be/_a75VfQC2s8
Spit
https://youtu.be/mD9xotOWQSk
encompassing various hardcore elements, including breakbeats and gabber drums
Ennaria - Show Off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xf5B5SNTQg
brutal! and hard bass.
Rebecca Black - Friday (Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCFOcqsnc9Y
hyperpop, yes, but obvious "happy hardcore" elements, too, including 90s style music video.
Charli XCX
Vroom Vroom
https://soundcloud.com/vroomvroomrecordings/charli-xcx-vroom-vroom
Trophy
https://soundcloud.com/vroomvroomrecordings/trophy-2min-edit-charli-xcx-4416
going rough in the sub bass and the noise.
Zheani
Spoils of war
https://zheani.bandcamp.com/track/spoils-of-war
Hollywood cult
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fLhnQiACVo
Parallels to oldschool Digital Hardcore / ATR / Hanin.
Maggie Lindemann, Siiickbrain - Deprecating
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P6DrRDHVLs
breakbeats, "digital hardcore" style ultra-aggressive screaming.
Siiickbrain - Psychopath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imsghpgKXWc
ebm, aggro-tech, horror rap? but going very hardcore, too!
3) new artists using various sounds i associate with hardcore and its sub-genres in their music (for example artists who use very oldschool - doomcore-like synths in some of their tracks), even though they are closer associated to genres such as witch house, dark ambient, synthwave, or gothtronica
(date: from a few years ago-until the future)
(date: from a few years ago-until the future)
Glaring - Children About Future (1966)
https://glaring.bandcamp.com/track/children-about-future-1966
nihilist / doomcore like feel, lyrics / sampled, and synths
Electric Dragon - The Oath
https://electricdragonuk.bandcamp.com/track/the-oath
like doomcore without doomcore beats!
Shirobon - Liar to the wire
https://shirobon.bandcamp.com/track/liar-to-the-wire
channeling oldschool rave / industrial elements into synthwave
Stoneburner - This machine kills
https://stoneburnerofficial.bandcamp.com/track/the-machine-kills
90% like oldschool Digital Hardcore and / or 90s rave-industrial, but with modern sounds.
Bound by Endogamy - Idly
https://tripalium.bandcamp.com/track/a3-bound-by-endogamy-idly
oldschool acid / techno / hardcore influences.
Dead Astronauts - B-Side
https://telefuturenow.bandcamp.com/track/b-side
99% like an early the horroist / hypnotizer / things to come track.
Bewitched as Dark - Long Time Dead
https://bewitchedasdark.bandcamp.com/track/long-time-dead
these synths and samples would work 100% in any doomcore track with a hard beat.
4) the killers artists of the early hardcore revival.
(date: you know the drill by now)
Biodome - Keep It Gangsta
https://soundcloud.com/illogicalness/biodome-keep-it-gangsta
Pardonax - The Nuclear Fire
https://soundcloud.com/paradonnie/pardonax-the-nuclear-fire-uga
Hellcreator - Heart Of A Dragon
https://soundcloud.com/hellcreator-official/heart-of-a-dragon
Kilbourne - Sunshine Terror
https://soundcloud.com/kilbourne/sunshine-terror
5) the occasional brand new experimental hardcore techno track or release.
(date: well...)
Turbine Trip - Denial Cataclysm
https://soundcloud.com/turbine-trip/denial-cataclysm
Cosmic Anarchists - No Place For Us In This World
https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/track/no-place-for-us-in-this-world
T.LenC.Phal.X - Ensemble de Nuit
https://speedcoreworldwideaudionetlabel.bandcamp.com/track/t-lenc-phal-x-feat-nat-ensemble-de-nuit
about the above music...
others might say "but this... this is not hardcore anymore at all!"
Yeah, maybe it isn't, maybe it is.
the whole point here is to show that hardcore is not an enclosed area.
it is fluid, divergent, and spills out into the world, into other genres, and vice versa.
maybe some of these artists never heard a hardcore record in their life. and came up with these sounds by other sources, or on their "own".
that's what parallel evolution is about. it was the same in the 90s. some people started doing tracks without even knowing about the rave / techno evolution, and it still sounded the same.
in the end, this does not need to be termed "hardcore" if you don't like this term.
because the power of this music should speak for itself.
others might say "but this... this is not hardcore anymore at all!"
Yeah, maybe it isn't, maybe it is.
the whole point here is to show that hardcore is not an enclosed area.
it is fluid, divergent, and spills out into the world, into other genres, and vice versa.
maybe some of these artists never heard a hardcore record in their life. and came up with these sounds by other sources, or on their "own".
that's what parallel evolution is about. it was the same in the 90s. some people started doing tracks without even knowing about the rave / techno evolution, and it still sounded the same.
in the end, this does not need to be termed "hardcore" if you don't like this term.
because the power of this music should speak for itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment