Back catalogue: UK Hardcore

Review: A rippin' piece of hardcore choonage with Raverbaby superstars Breeze (aka Breeze and Styles) with MC Storm (Hardcore Heaven/Slammin Vinyl) plus two stompin' mixes from Gammer (Essential Platinum) and new comer Reese from the USA. Featured on "Clubland X-treme Hardcore 2" which attained Number 1 position on the Compilation Charts (UK). Breeze (aka Breeze and Styles), the UK Top 10 Charter with numerous releases and hits to his name, teams up with MC Storm, an MC that performs at nearly all hardcore events.

Review: The first massive release on audio knowledge! These tracks are already played by all the major jocks at Sensation, Decibel, Defqon1 and many.

Review: Rupture takes us to Uranus with this new various artist and special blue marled 12" featuring the don Tim Reaper as well as Double O, Dwarde and Mani Festo. It's an Escher remix of 'Straight 98' that kicks off and traps you in unresolved, tense and atmospheric drum loops with a subtle sense of funk. Reaper and Dwarde then combine for the dark and all-out breakbeat assault that is 'Mendoza'. Last of all is Mani Festo's 'Caving In', another heavy one with fizzing electronics, crunchy percussive textures and prying bass that is not in a hurry to go anywhere and instead keeps you trapped in the moment.

Review: Dougal & Gammer are a massive name in hardcore, headlining all the biggest raves and mixing albums like "Bonkers" and "Helter Skelter United In Hardcore". Production wizard Alf "Technikal" Bamford super charges vocal driven hardcore anthem "Heaven On Earth" into a high energy hard dance bomb. The original is featured on "Bonkers" albums and has been supported by all massive DJs and played at all the biggest raves. Technikal, now a Frantic DJ, has been producing the cream of hard dance music for the last few years including the massive remix of Stu Allan's "A Feeling" which is now signed to one of the biggest record labels in the world. On the flip Andy Whitby joins forces with Matt Lee (aka Gammer) on his debut release as a hard dance producer. The result is literally "Mindblowing". Massive rolling basslines, stomping kicks and cut-throat riffs just waiting to be unleashed for dance floor mayhem. When Mixmag labeled Andy Whitby "The Saviour of Hard House" they weren't wrong. His brand of high energy, full vocal, big riffs, plus energetic basslines alongside his incredible DJ Mixing prowess has made him a legend in the scene, regularly headlining events. Andy is also riding the wave of huge publicity having recently mixed two Frantic Euphoria albums for Ministry of Sound which both sold in excess of 50,000 copies.

Review: The 2Fresh label owners are arguably the most sought after producers in the scene. Here they hit us with what has to be the biggest tune of the year! "No More Tears" combines heartfelt female vocals with uplifting piano breakdowns, catchy riffs and d&b basslines to create a track that has "anthem, anthem and anthem!!" written all over it. Enzyme & Malice can do no wrong.

Review: Launched mid-2005, Hardcore Projektz has gone from strength to strength and is now recognised as one of the biggest and most successful labels catering to the darker side of hardcore breaks. Enzyme, one of the scene's leading producers, tears up the A1 with "Screwface" - a brilliantly hard and dark production which perfectly captures the essence of what this hardcore label is all about! Using the vocal from the 80's classic "Warriors" and featuring a wonderfully rich and warm bassline, "Our Turf" has been produced by leading hardcore breaks producers Vinyl Junkie and Darkus.

Review: Tornado Record step up their game with their strongest and best sounding release yet! Reckless makes his first appearance on 12" alongside Malice and both hit us with the anthemic "Life On Mars" - a track that perfectly sums up the very essence of rave. This combines old skool breakbeats with uplifting piano's, dark drum & bass basslines and powerful female vocals. On the flip Prove Correct brings "Friday The 13th", a superb tune that features gorgeous strings and female vocals.

Review: Malice - 'On & On': One of the biggest names in the scene, and co-owner of 2 Fresh Records, Malice has a unique style that has become his trademark. Rolling beats with intricate feels and super fast lyrics combine with a warped bass line to keep this track tearing along. Old skool stabs and slick synths, build up to create a solid slab of liquid hardcore. Running Man - 'Blackboard Jungle': Unsocial Audio's number one drum and bass producer has been making big waves in the hardcore breaks scene. Pounding breakbeats build, whilst reggae lyrics and dubbed out piano's create a soul soothing ambience that carry this tune to the break. A truly dark bassline and fierce amen combine on the drop, to make 'Blackboard Jungle' a dance floor slammer! Amnexiac - 'Go!': Spain's number one hardcore breaks producers are on form for this white knuckle ride. The main vocal is complimented by hard edged drum programming and heavy synth leads that become even more intense in the breakdown. Funky, rolling breaks and hefty sub-bass pull together with the synth to create a very new sound on the drop. Darkus vs The Phantom - '4 Elements': Hardcore Projektz main man, and a pioneer in the scene, Darkus, teams up with The Phantom. Tumbling beats kick the track off, with faint synths and fx to make rolling intro. An old skool rift on the breakdown, creates dark hands in the air moment, and rolls through the drop getting phatter on its way. The 4 elements vocals on the second drop separate the track nicely, and introduce more of a reggae feel to the second half.

Review: Widely acclaimed as one of the UK's hot new hardcore microphone controllers, the man they call Keyes delivers his debut release for Blatant Beats in fine style.

Review: More badman badger business as Iain Clifton digs deep back to 92 for more foundation essentials. "2020 New Sound By VIP" is fast paced and loaded scratch samples and paranoid sounds. A classic breakneck ruffneck hardcore design that was big for the likes of Randall in the day. "2020 Sellout VIP", meanwhile, pokes fun at the air piano playing happy hardcore massive with its euphoric riff and positive thrust. Both are fronted with VIPs with Syko joining Clifton at the controls to add a little extra oomph in the beat department and a few twists along the way. Timeless. Don't sleep on these.

Review: Jack Michael has contributed plenty to garage's rich recent years on labels like One, Body Movement and Sub: Conscious. He now returns to Orbital London for four more tasty bangers. 'Mr Nice' has a low end wobble and watery synths that make for a nice sub-aquatic sound. 'South East Vice' is more skeletal and rude, with a razor sharp hi hat but silky chords bringing the vibes. There is a sci-fi menace to 'Rampage' that will make for a more edgy dance floor experience while 'The Grotty Choir' rounds out with pulsing minimal drums and kinetic kicks that are primed and ready to make you move.

Review: For those of a certain age, listening to this white label outing from debutants Millie may result in giddy flashbacks or serious pangs of nostalgia. You see, Millie's inspirations mainly revolve around jungle-era hardcore, a time when sped-up breakbeats, pitched-up chipmunk vocal samples and hammered out piano riffs were all the rage. There's a certainly a rushing "back to '94" feel about A-side "So High", where "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" style piano riffs, bonkers synth stabs and a variety of cheeky vocal samples ride a galloping, high-octane breakbeat. "Back II Reality" works with similar inspirations, peppering another bombastic breakbeat with razor-sharp rave samples, rumbling sub-bass and choice snippets from Soul II Soul's most celebrated tune. Dennis Sulta will love it.

Review: Get ready for the Moondance NYE celebrations! There's gonna be the best in old skool - Rachel Wallace (an exclusive midnight Live P) performing, Ratpack, Slipmatt, Billy Bunter, DJ Trix, Snypa, DJ Twista, MC MC (Direct from the USA for 1 night only!) and more.

Drum & bass acts include - Andy C, Friction, Kenny Ken (Midnight Classic d&b Set 2000-2007 plus a surprise Special Guest MC), Nicky Blackmarket, Sub Focus, Clipz, Hazard, Bryan Gee, Marcus Intalex, Artificial Intelligence and many more.

The breaks line-up includes - Shut Up & Dance (PJ & Smiley 'Great British Public' Album Showcase), Apply The Breaks (5 decks + FX showcase feat. MC K.I.D.), Swifty-B, Redeye-Dee and more.

The hardcore artist list features - Demolition Cru, DJ Flashback & MC Strict, The Vibes & Livelee Show, DJ Upfront & MC Spenno and so much more.

This NYE celebration is set to be the best Moondance bash ever. From 8pm to 6am, this is going to be one hell of a night. Get your ticket now!

Review: Get ready for the Moondance NYE celebrations! There's gonna be the best in old skool - Rachel Wallace (an exclusive midnight Live P) performing, Ratpack, Slipmatt, Billy Bunter, DJ Trix, Snypa, DJ Twista, MC MC (Direct from the USA for 1 night only!) and more.

Drum & bass acts include - Andy C, Friction, Kenny Ken (Midnight Classic d&b Set 2000-2007 plus a surprise Special Guest MC), Nicky Blackmarket, Sub Focus, Clipz, Hazard, Bryan Gee, Marcus Intalex, Artificial Intelligence and many more.

The breaks line-up includes - Shut Up & Dance (PJ & Smiley 'Great British Public' Album Showcase), Apply The Breaks (5 decks + FX showcase feat. MC K.I.D.), Swifty-B, Redeye-Dee and more.

The hardcore artist list features - Demolition Cru, DJ Flashback & MC Strict, The Vibes & Livelee Show, DJ Upfront & MC Spenno and so much more.

This NYE celebration is set to be the best Moondance bash ever. From 8pm to 6am, this is going to be one hell of a night. Get your ticket now!

Review: Old Skool Room: Moondance (Old Skool Classics / Jungle & Ravebreaks) Billy Bunter & Slipmatt Snypa & Squirrel Ellis Dee Sence & Twista Smitty b2b Trix Nicky Blackmarket & Phantasy Vinyl Vera Devious Dee b2b Food Junkie Danish Mike & Friller TC b2b Sike & Red Eye Dee MCs Charlie B, Live Wire, Freeflow House Room: In association with Hot & Spicy [Dirty House & Electro] Seamus Haji Rob Blake Philgood & Ram Jay C Liam D David Penn Jordan Brown Danny Ryan Nick Hudson Son of Dance [Upfront Drum & Bass] DJ Die & DJ Krust Mampi Swift Fabio vs Grooverider Clipz Sub Focus vs Red One (Ram Records Special) Simon Bassline Smith TC Spice MCs Fearless, IC3, Flux Essence of Chi [Liquid Drum & Bass] Commix Artificial Intelligence Nookie Zero Tolerance & Alix Perez Subterra Wilsh Healing Crew MCs Lowqui, Five Alive, K Eye, Master X Nearest Tube: Elephant & Castle Ministry of Sound operates the door. Over 18s only. Photo ID may be required.

Review: MsDos is a drum & bass legend but a debutant on the Amen Brother label. He brings all his considerable know how to this new party-starting EP. It blends a wide range of rhythms and styles into explosive cuts designed for maximum impact. 'Rave Land' is exactly that with its saw tooth synths and kinetic drum tumbles. 'Break It Down' brings a deeper bass sound but still high energy and great old school samples. 'Lazers' is an all out piano banger and last of all is the 4am pumper with its subtly euphoric chords, 'Dope Rhythm.'

Review: New to Cargo, taking a trip back in time, 'Athema', this double-a-side release from mid-2007 is the first
in the long series of limited re-issues of some of the biggest old-school tracks in the Reinforced catalogue.

Review: Whether this is a new label with big plans to make its mark in the world of drum & bass, or one throwaway new release just for funnies is not yet clear. What we do know is that this is a mysterious EP of bootleg jungle and happy hardcore remixes of smooth 80s pop singer Carly Simon's pop hit 'Why.' It's utterly bonkers but just as brilliant. Rufkraft goes first and layers up crashing drums and a flurry of percussion and only the hint of soul from some subtle synths. The M27 version is more obvious fun, with the recognisable chords dropped over big, silly beats and mad scratching then DJ Please closes with a reggae version that is big on attitude.

Review: Diosis Decibel roll out another techno D&B fusion affair with the bossman Sam C once again at the controls. 'Under The Radar' sets the scene. A pummelling 165BPM 4x4 / breakbeat swagger, it punches holes in every wall of your house before it even comes out of the sleeve. These vibes persist across the 12" as Sam goes deep on the hypnotic 'Electric Flow' and euphoric on 'Eternal' while Italian-in-Romania Madmatik lays down some psy gold on 'Lacrima'. Exceptional.

Review: Shadow Child and Mark Archer are two titans of the UK underground who have also very much made their mark on the world stage, though with quite different sounds. Here they find some sweet middle ground with a fierce new three tracker on Food Music. It opens up with the throwback rave energy and belting diva vocals of 'I Know U' and gets even bigger with 'Chinwah (Big DJs)', a cantering big room house cut with throwback stabs. The best of the lot is saved for last when 'I Know U' (Swankout Ready 2 Rave mix) erupts on waves of flappy drums and rich rave synths.

Review: Just when you thought it was safe to enter the dance floor, Vagabond attacks with yet another awesome double header on the uber-cool Blatant Beats imprint. With typically tight production, "Flowing Free" offers a slammin vocal based number loaded with cool raps, riffs and melodies - all underpinned with rock solid beats. "Realm Of XTC" adopts an instrumental flavour making great use of killer riffs, synths, acid and a massive rap and breaks work out mid way through featuring MC Casper. This has been kicking the dance floor to bits with early support from the key players.

Review: Nukleuz are on a role with the release of their massive "Hardcore Nation" album series with Warner Music. The "Hardcore EP" series is now renowned for releasing the biggest records in one great value package - offering 4 full club tracks on 1 vinyl. A strong hardcore fanbase has been developed through the series - as seen from 12" sales of previous Hardcore EPs. Stu Allan mixed CDs on both "Hardcore Nation 1 & 2" - which have now sold in excess of 50,000 CDs each. Stu also hosted the legendary Key 103 radio show which was the only dedicated hardcore show on FM radio, and also more recently on his hugely popular Pure Dance Radio show broadcast on Sky Digital and over Internet. Stu Allan's massive "A Feeling" record has just been signed to one of the world's biggest major record labels. Visa takes on the mighty James Bond 007 theme - and as expected of the original hardcore masters - adds the unique 'main-room' style twist. Frantic Resident and HTID favourite Andy Whitby teams up with Gammer (aka Matt Lee) to drop their own heavy hitting version of Rozalla's "Everybody's Free" with Stu Allan providing the remix. The Nukleuz Kollective team up with production power house Sparky to create an instant-hands-in-the-air anthem remix of DHT's "Listen To Your Heart". King Ace drops their call-to-arms track, asking everyone on the dancefloor to "Put Your Hands Up For Hardcore".

Review: Ben Xtreme and MC Ortie deliver their awesome debut for Blatant Beats, with serious dance floor consequences. Having already featured on the huge "Hardcore Heaven 3" compilation, DJ Kurt injects a healthy helping of Scouse Hardcore in his own unique style. Label mates Brisk & Vagabond crank up the tempo and turn up the heat with a scorching rendition complete with mid point hardstyle trickery. Whatever your flavour, this vocal anthem has been ramming the raves across the nation and beyond.