21-408: " Toy Town " is a happy hardcore track by British duo Hixxy and Sharkey . Released in 1995, the single was a hit in the UK clubbing scene, peaked at number 24 in the UK dance singles chart, and had a pivotal impact in the UK rave music scene with a move away from breakbeat towards the newer happy hardcore "cheesy" sound. The track, written and produced by Hixxy and Sharkey , was inspired by
42-556: A club "anthem", and following release on the Essential Platinum label in 1995 it peaked at number 24 in the UK Dance Singles official chart and sold c. 5,000 copies. The reception of the track was divided, with both support and detraction. MC Magika stated it "was a fork in the road" that "almost destroyed the scene in its current form". On the one hand it was considered a "breath of fresh air" due to
63-735: A passion for music. He spent many nights mastering his ability on the keyboard and developing his own style, inspired by dance music. In February 1992 in Clacton-on-Sea , Styles had his first "hands on" experience of the underground rave scene in "Oscar's Nightclub" on Clacton Pier . This event lead to him wanting to be a part of the dance music community. His first records were as part of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & The Evolution (with Paul Hobbs, James Broomfield and Paul Hughes) released in 1993. The group signed to hardcore record label Kniteforce and many of their tracks were played by Carl Cox . The group also produced tracks using
84-525: A record for Nukleuz and other labels. He has also released many records on Raver Baby and his first solo single was " Save Me " released on All Around the World . In 2005, Styles partnered with Hixxy to follow up the Bonkers series by initiating a popular compilation mix series called Clubland X-Treme Hardcore , several releases of which attained BRIT Certified Gold status. Fellow artist MC Storm claimed
105-452: A result, Hixxy and Sharkey were signed to the label to create the Bonkers hardcore compilation series, which went on to have at least 19 releases from 1996 to 2009, achieving both chart and sales success even if not attaining the critical cachet of "cooler" sounds. "Toy Town" was the first track on the first compilation. In a 2011 retrospective article BBC Radio 1 DJ Kutski stated that
126-513: A solo artist, Styles has released two studio albums, the gold-selling Skydivin' (2008) and Feel the Pressure (2010). He has also frequently collaborated with several other artists such as Hixxy , Ultrabeat and N-Force . Styles was born as Darren James Mew in Colchester , Essex , England. He was encouraged to play music from an early age by his father, a blues fan, and always had
147-459: Is an English music producer, DJ, singer and songwriter from Colchester , Essex. Originally a member of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & the Evolution, Styles found success during the 1990s as one half of Force & Styles . The duo were pioneers of happy hardcore and wrote several well-known songs such as " Heart of Gold ", " Pretty Green Eyes " and " Paradise & Dreams ". In
168-452: Is that happy hardcore tends to have breakbeats running alongside the 4/4 kick drum. The breakbeat hardcore rave scene was beginning to fragment by late 1992 into a number of subsequent breakbeat-based genres: darkcore (tracks embracing dark-themed samples and stabs), hardcore jungle ( reggae basslines and influences became prominent), and 4-beat also known as happy hardcore where piano rolls and uplifting vocals were still central to
189-646: The UK, as well as touring Australia, North America, and Ibiza on a regular basis. The two also held residencies at various events including those by Slammin Vinyl, Helter Skelter and United Dance. By 1997, they had produced some of the biggest happy hardcore tracks of the time, many of which went on to be covered by commercial dance artists, including singles " Heart of Gold ", " Paradise & Dreams ", " Pretty Green Eyes ", " Pacific Sun " and " Field of Dreams ". Force & Styles picked up many awards at this time and they were
210-457: The UK. His follow-up single to "Discolights" with Ultrabeat was the song "Girls Like You", released 2 February 2009. Styles owns Junkbox Records which has released a number of singles. In June and July 2009, Styles and Ultrabeat embarked on a ten-date UK-wide co-headlined tour, accompanied by Breeze, Infextious, DJ Frisco, MC Domino, Rebecca Rudd (Ultrabeat) and N-force. Starting in Sheffield,
231-452: The alias A Sense of Summer for another hardcore label Universal Records owned by Slipmatt . In 1995, he and Paul Hobbs set up their own label UK Dance Records so they could quickly release more material and have complete artistic licence over their records. They began producing using the alias Force & Styles and released many 12-inch records on UK Dance and by 1996 their popularity had grown so that they were DJing every weekend up and down
SECTION 10
#1732794622393252-530: The earlier "toytown techno" phase characterised by tracks such as " Charly " by the Prodigy . It starts with a chopped amen break , and goes on to feature "sugar sweet" vocals, a "bouncy kick" and an "ultra-cheesy stab pattern". It has elements of hip hop , house , gabba and techno . Playing at the high tempo characteristic of the "speedrush" of the genre, by the end of the track it has been described as going towards "unstoppable mania". In 1994, it became
273-508: The early 2000s, Styles began producing more trance -influenced records with Mark Brady as Styles & Breeze . The duo released two hit singles " You're Shining " (2004) and " Heartbeatz " (2005) which both reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart . They have been involved in all volumes of the popular Clubland X-Treme Hardcore compilation series. Darren Styles also has a collab alias with Stonebank called "Zero Hero". As
294-495: The first ever hardcore DJs to do a guest mix for Pete Tong 's Essential Mix radio show on BBC Radio 1 . Force & Styles released three albums: All over the UK (1996), Simply Electric (1998) - a compilation of tracks by DJ Force & The Evolution and Force & Styles - and their greatest hits album Heart of Gold (2000). Styles' first solo record was " Feelin' Fine " which was released as Unique in 1998. His solo career as Darren Styles started in 2002 after releasing
315-631: The genre included " Heart of Gold ", "Pretty Green Eyes", "Cloudy Daze", "Sunshine after the Rain", "Above the Clouds", "Discoland", "Love of my Life", "Techno Wonderland", and "Hardcore Fever". Throughout the mid-late 1990s, the compilation series Bonkers would be commercially popular and showcase the latest happy hardcore music. Bonkers only really came into being due to the record label React showing interest in Toy Town , and Hixxy and Sharkey convincing
336-546: The label to do a compilation album deal instead. In the UK, the scene received its own special on BBC Radio 1 called John Peel Is Not Enough (named after a track by CLSM) in 2004. The scene continued to expand, with compilations such as Clubland X-Treme Hardcore , and an evermore youthful audience. In 2009, DJ Kutski hosted a show featuring hard dance and hardcore on Radio 1. Notable happy hardcore compilation albums include: Darren Styles Darren James Mew (born 23 May 1975), better known as Darren Styles ,
357-459: The lack of breakbeats, that appealed to a newer generation, but on the other many found the sound to be "cheesy". The "juvenile" hardcore sound, being high tempo with pitched vocals and catchy choruses and samples, had been expected to herald the "death of rave" but the success of the track was cited as opposing evidence. The "cult" success of the track led to interest from the React record label. As
378-498: The series to be "another massive turning point for hardcore". Styles has released singles collaborating with other artists on tracks such as " Sure Feels Good " and " Discolights " with Ultrabeat and " Right by Your Side " with N-Force . In 2008, he released Skydivin' . The album was a collection of old and new hardcore and commercial songs. This album reached No. 4 in the UK, # 41 in Ireland and has since been certified Gold in
399-751: The sound. DJs such as Slipmatt , DJ Sy, DJ Seduction, Wishdokta , DJ Dougal , and DJ Vibes continued to play and put out music of this nature throughout 1993/94 – notably Slipmatt through the SMD releases, Wishdokta as "Naughty Naughty", and Seduction on the Impact label. The sound of happy hardcore changed in the 1990s, with tracks increasingly losing their breakbeats towards a stomping distorted 909 4/4 kick drum pattern, with more original vocal leads and stab patterns. DJs and producers that began to come through included Hixxy , Breeze , Force & Styles , DJ Sharkey , and DJ DNA, and tracks that started to define
420-414: The tour went to Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and London. In late November and early December 2009, Styles was part of Clubland Live 3 which toured through England, Scotland and Ireland. Styles' most recent album Feel the Pressure was released on 23 August 2010, and features the singles "Outta My Head", "Sound Without a Name" and "Holding On". Styles
441-417: The track is a "classic" and "the definition of the UK hardcore sound". Happy hardcore Happy hardcore , also known as 4-beat or happycore , is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or " hard dance ". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene , and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s. The thing that makes happy hardcore stand apart from Gabber ,
SECTION 20
#1732794622393#392607