There & Back 012: December, Early Happy Hardcore 1993-1995 (2024)
- Martin van Zeelandt / TCD
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Me being Dutch is quite obvious. The name of my blog might have a clue in it. It has a lot of benefits. Growing up in the Netherlands has given me a lot of benefits, and the main one being that it was the epicentre of the harder music. I am not stating Hardcore originated in the Netherlands, but we certainly gave the music a place to grow, and growing it certainly did. And all those sub-genres, they grew in the Netherlands too, but they did not start in this small country. When it comes to Happy Hardcore, I would even go as far as to state it came from the UK. Do you agree with that statement?
It was slightly different to the Happy Hardcore I grew up with. but the roots were certainly in the UK. That little country (bigger than NL though) was the birthplace for many music genres, and Happy Hardcore was certainly one they nailed from the start. It grew out of Breakbeat and Jungle, and even a bit of Drum & Bass. Techno influences? Of course. Even House has an influence in the Happy side of Hardcore. We took it at its peak and made it bigger than ever, but we've got our friends from the other side of the pond to thank.
Don't get me wrong, I do love European Happy Hardcore a lot. But over the years I've grown accustom to the UK side of Happy Hardcore, and some of the records from the UK have made their way into my top 10 of all time favourite records. And the producers from back in the 90s, they've certainly become my favourite ones too.
Pearsall's mix series did come to an end, and he decided that his last mix was going to focus on the ''early'' Happy Hardcore anthems. From 1993 to 1995, to be precise. And those were some glorious years, right?
Naughty Naughty - Rich In Paradise
DJ Mixmatt - R.P.T. (Rushin' Piano Track)
2 Croozin - Life
Heartless - Right Now
DJ Ham - And Higher
Higher Level - I Need You Now
Smith & Brown - Do It Now
DJ Force & The Evolution - Escape The Feeling
Happy Tunes - Pounding Beats
Kriston - Got To Get Up
DJ Seduction - So In Love (Vibes & Wishdokta Remix)
SMD - SMD1 (A)
Naughty Naughty - Never Felt This Way
DJ Red Alert & Mike Slammer - Feel So Real
Seduction & Dougal - It's Not Over
Billy 'Daniel' Bunter & JDS - Let It Lift You (Vibes & Wishdokta Remix)
Jimmy J & Cru-L-T - Take Me Away (Slipmatt Remix)
Oaysis - Incredible Bass (Slipmatt Remix)
Crowd Pleasure - Volume Three (Side B)
Billy 'Daniel' Bunter & D-Zyne feat Gem - Ride Like The Wind
I would say 50% of these songs made it to Dutch Happy Hardcore albums, the rest remained in the UK. Which is certainly a pity, because I would have raved in my bedroom like no one was watching, like a monkey on acid! There are some wicked anthems from back in the day, and you can tell that a few names were dominantly in charge of all the wicked tracks in the early 90s. Like Slipmatt, Billy Bunter, and of course Red Alert & Mike Slammer.
Pearsall always digs deep and finds the well known anthems, and crams a few obscure, underground anthems in too. And the result is a 59 minute long mix with tracks which will do some damage to your speakers and your eardrums. And you aren't careful enough, you will have blisters on your feet, as you can't control yourself, and start raving. That's cool, but do it safely.
There are too many to choose from, but I go with 'Ride Like The Wind', as that's the one that got me all excited in 1994/1995. I do believe it was on Happy Hardcore, the compilations released by Arcade, right?
It's yet another amazing mix, and we go from the unknown/obscure to the well known anthems that dominated the world. Oh, how the 90s changed music for everyone. And I'm glad to have sampled both the UK and the Netherlands. Back in the 90s I would have ONLY loved Dutch Happy Hardcore, but being older (and slightly wiser), I would consider both UK and NL to be equally as good. We would not have had a Happy Hardcore scene without either of them.
DJ: Pearsall
Genre/Style: Happy Hardcore, UK Hardcore, Rave
Mix Info: There & Back 012: December, Early Happy Hardcore 1993-1995
Length Mix: 00:59:30
Tracks: 20 (twenty)
Download/Listen (via Soundcloud): CLICK HERE
File Size: 136 MB
File Type: mp3
Audio: Stereo
Bit Rate: 320kbps
Release Year: 2025 (recorded 2024)
More Information: Pearsall - Soundcloud Channel
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