top of page
Writer's pictureMartin van Zeelandt / TCD

Hardcore To The Bone Best Of Bonkers Mix (2024)


It is Friday, and it's hot. Very hot. You know what else is hot? UK Hardcore from the golden years. That shit is indeed hot. And I love to hear mixes that have that focus. The best years of UKHC. Everyone can agree that those are the awesome years, and Bonkers as a whole has been around since the mid 90s, and funnily enough, they are still doing a lot of damage, be it on a different scale. It started with a small CD back in 1996, and went on to remain on top of the world, until 2009 happened.

That wasn't a great year. You might have a certain opinion on what caused the downfall of Bonkers, but what I can't believe is that it's 15 years ago since we saw a Bonkers CD. I simply cannot believe that! I have other memories linked to that CD, as it was Chris Unknown's CD that caused my shoulder to dislocate. Well, not Chris himself or the disc, but I was listening to it after purchasing it, and I sneezed. Voila, shoulder dislocated. So the last Bonkers CD remains one with a bit of history.


Infrasound made a mix, dedicated to Bonkers. And within a split second did the first anthem take me back to the golden years. I felt young again, and happier. Not really wanting to dance, as it's too hot to do so, but some body movement did occur. But just looking at the tracklist and hearing these songs again made me go back to my hometown, Heerlen (The Netherlands) and stand in my local record store, waiting the news that a new Bonkers CD was coming all the way from Australia to the Netherlands. And hearing it for the first time always made me happy.


Making me happy is key. And I hope this tracklist is going to make you happy too!


  1. Quest - Images Of You

  2. Hixxy & Bananaman - Forever

  3. Dr. Who - Love Of My Life

  4. Innovate - Invincible

  5. Dougal - Sky High (DJ Storm Remix)

  6. Darren Styles - Takin' Me Higher

  7. David Pamies & Ceser Benito - Torn (Breeze & Styles Remix)

  8. Scott Brown & Cat Knight - All About You

  9. Eclipse feat Melvina - 24/7 (Breeze & Styles Remix)

  10. DJ Bee & Overflow feat Vision vs Dougal & Gammer - Sunrise (Dougal & Gammer's Mix)

  11. Breeze & Styles - You're Shining

  12. Dowster & Uprise - Steps Ahead

  13. Scott Brown - Elysium Plus

  14. Scott Brown - Neckbreaker (Sy & Unknown Remix)

  15. Sy & Unknown - Rock It Like This

  16. Scott Brown - The Saga Continues

  17. Scott Brown - Commence

  18. Interstate - Hardcore Hustler

  19. Dougal & Gammer - 3000 Cycles

  20. Neophyte vs Evil Activities - Alles Kapot

  21. Tommyknocker - The World Is Mine

  22. Scott Brown - Boomstick

  23. Brisk & Vagabond - Punchdrunk


Wonderful looking tracklist. Just like a fairly newer kind of Bonkers, right? The early stuff had a lot of 'cheesy' Happy stuff, but the later compilations also gave the harder European sound a chance.


This brings back a lot of memories. So many great tracks in here by so many great artists. The first half of this mix is more a Dougal & Gammer + Darren Styles showcase mix, and then it turns into a Scott Brown appreciation mix. But all these artists have been important to the scene. Still are to this day though.


Based upon my own personal experience with Bonkers, I do love this mix. Not all tracks are great. 'Torn' is one of those tracks that should be hidden away forever, and not be looked at for at least another Millennium. But that's the only one I could find that was dull as fuck.


To pick a favourite is difficult, hence why I've split it into two sections: one UKHC anthem, and one Gabber track. The UKHC track is an obvious choice: ''Takin' Me Higher''. Wish that kind of UKHC was still made. Darren was on top of the world! But then the Gabber side of life. You would think I'd choose ''Boomstick'', seeing as I'm a massive Scott Brown fan. You are wrong, it's ''Punchdrunk'' for the win.


A very cool mix. It won't certainly cool you down, your body temperature will remain high. But is that a bad thing? The Summer has arrived, and will leave by the end of the weekend. Enjoy the heat for as long as it lasts!


One last side note: ''Torn'' is really a crappy song. Sorry, but not sorry.


DJ: Infrasound

Genre/Style: UK Hardcore, UKHC, Happy Hardcore, Gabber, Hardcore

Mix Info: Hardcore To The Bone Best Of Bonkers Mix

Length Mix: 01:37:57

Tracks: 23 (twenty-three)

Download/Listen (via Soundcloud): STREAM HERE

File Size: unknown

File Type: unknown

Audio: Stereo

Sample Rate: unknown

Release Year: 2024



Comments


bottom of page