The Current State of Hard Dance

[LittleMissLoud]

I feel a lot of people have jumped on the hardcore bandwagon cos it's fashionable. How many people that give it 'hardcore til I die' has ever even heard of 4 hero's 'Mr Kirk's Nightmare', Jonny L's 'Hurt You So' and 'Lock-Up' by Zero B? Probably very few of the 18 year-olds in the clubs claiming hardcore is the 'freshest' music around.

 

And Chris, regarding the Nu-Energy label, yes, they have put out some good releases, but to me, it's Hard Trance at a hifher BPM and a more manic sound. Good, yes, but nothing revolutionary.

[Chris Hutchinson]

LittleMissLoud said:

And Chris, regarding the Nu-Energy label, yes, they have put out some good releases, but to me, it's Hard Trance at a hifher BPM and a more manic sound. Good, yes, but nothing revolutionary.

 

dont really agree with that when you hear stuff like the vinal+devotion remix of 'crazy styles' - dont really get anything like that in hard-trance at all which is a huge shame :-(

 

to be honest, the only hardtrance producer who has ever tried pushing a new sound is dom harding (aka weirdo) - stuff like 'devils plaything' and 'got 2 b funky' are incredibly well produced - why do very few other hardtrance producers bother to put as much effort into their work

 

THAT I believe, is the reason so many are following the new wave of "core" sounds - the actual music is produced to a much higher standard then most current forms of hard dance - the fact that there is very little money in the scene seems to push every release into being a true "labour of love" for the producers, rather then a case of "how can i churn out 40 tracks in a week to make some quick cash?"

[Guest]

Chris_Hutchinson said:

 

to be honest, the only hardtrance producer who has ever tried pushing a new sound is dom harding (aka weirdo) - stuff like 'devils plaything' and 'got 2 b funky' are incredibly well produced -

 

[Jimmy]

miss_diddy said:

Chris_Hutchinson said:

 

to be honest, the only hardtrance producer who has ever tried pushing a new sound is dom harding (aka weirdo) - stuff like 'devils plaything' and 'got 2 b funky' are incredibly well produced -

 

 

dont forget k90 hes got a very unique sound

[Guest]

Yes but I must admit I prefer the acidy edge of weirdo over the bouncy happy K90!!

[Jimmy]

yeah me too i really want to see weirdo live

[Chris Hutchinson]

Captain_Cunted said:

miss_diddy said:

Chris_Hutchinson said:

 

to be honest, the only hardtrance producer who has ever tried pushing a new sound is dom harding (aka weirdo) - stuff like 'devils plaything' and 'got 2 b funky' are incredibly well produced -

 

 

dont forget k90 hes got a very unique sound

 

not really.... just bog-standard trance....... good trance, but not especially different - would say Nuw Idol is more original then K90 music-wise

[LittleMissLoud]

Chris_Hutchinson said:

why do very few other hardtrance producers bother to put as much effort into their work

 

Do you think they believe that that they put very little effort into their work? I myself have been in studio to make tunes, and it is so much harder than it looks - even with a huge amount of work, you might only pull something off that sounds second rate.

 

I really fail to see how the Nu Energy label is that different to others - I agree it is a good label, but even some of the riffs and piano sequences used can sound a bit cheesy.

 

Maybe you like this label so much as it is classified as Freeform or Trancecore, as opposed to bog standard Hard Dance, which is not as fasionable as anything with 'core' on the end.

[Guest]

Captain_Cunted said:

yeah me too i really want to see weirdo live

 

well we will have to keep our eyes peeled hon visit to twist after yeh

[Chris Hutchinson]

LittleMissLoud said:

I really fail to see how the Nu Energy label is that different to others - I agree it is a good label, but even some of the riffs and piano sequences used can sound a bit cheesy.

 

this isnt a discussion about whether tracks are cheesy or not...

 

LittleMissLoud said:

Maybe you like this label so much as it is classified as Freeform or Trancecore, as opposed to bog standard Hard Dance, which is not as fasionable as anything with 'core' on the end.

 

Maybe I just like labels that consistantly release good tunes?? Dynamix and Synthetix are 2 of my fave labels at the moment, and neither are anything to do with hardcore.... fair enough, they are both run by Kevin Energy through the Nu Energy Collective, but then maybe they just have a knack for releasing good stuff??

[Phil B]

depending on the person and their musical preferences the 'current state of hard dance' will be different for everyone. just because a few people don't like a certain style of music doesn't in fact mean there is anything wrong with the scene at all.

 

these comments....'the hard dance/trance/house scene is [censored]' are only based on personal feelings towards the different styles. everybodys tastes in music change but i do fail to see why these people then have to announce that the music they once liked is '[censored]'

 

it may be for that individual but there are many people who will disagree. personally, i feel no-one is right or wrong in a discussion like this....its all very individual

[Phil rr]

well at the moment every other record they play on radio 1 at the moment is rap or hip hop shite (i REALLY, REALLY hate radio 1 at the moment) , so personally, i think dance/hard dance is bobbing along quite happily doing what it's doing...

[LiquidEyes]

Chris_Hutchinson said:

Captain_Cunted said:

dont forget k90 hes got a very unique sound

 

not really.... just bog-standard trance....... good trance, but not especially different - would say Nuw Idol is more original then K90 music-wise

I saw K90 once, I think it was a live PA at the Fridge. I thought it was nonsense (too-fast, derivative trance).

 

Nuw Idol is a completely different kettle of fish! A nice fusion of techno, trance, etc.

[LittleMissLoud]

Chris_Hutchinson said:

this isnt a discussion about whether tracks are cheesy or not...

 

Well, I thought it was quite apt that it was pointed out, as I feel people are implying that Trancecore et al are much more 'cool', yet they have elements that are just as cheesy as the hard dance these people slate.

 

The thing is Chris, you spend a lot of time slating Hard House/ Hard Trance, and branding it 'generic', when I do see not a huge difference between that, and what you play, apart from a tredier genre name.

 

Chris_Hutchinson said:

Maybe I just like labels that consistantly release good tunes??

 

Says who? You - that is personal opinion, not fact.

 

I'm really sick of this snobbery and elitism in the 'Hard Dance' scene - this is what is killing it (along with some peoples' drug over consumption).

 

Hard House and Hard Trance are branded 'generic' or 'shite' by those who are actually playing the music - although under a different name, and feel they are superior to those who play the same style, but with a few less acid lines.

 

 

I like Hard House, and even some (vocal) garage, and I really don't feel the need to try and make myself look more credible by dressing my music up as something other than it is.

 

[Chris Hutchinson]

LittleMissLoud said:

The thing is Chris, you spend a lot of time slating Hard House/ Hard Trance, and branding it 'generic', when I do see not a huge difference between that, and what you play, apart from a tredier genre name.

 

wouldnt say 'core' stuff is trendier at all..if anything, it has a far worse reputation from the 'whistles and white gloves' era. Usually, I get strange looks when I mention hardcore - there is still a ridiculous amount of [censored] that gets released in the genre.... and whether you see the difference between the 2 other then bpm is irrelevent really isnt it? This thread is about the future of the scene.... hardcore and freeform are becoming more then just a 'background style' again, whilst harddance events are struggling to hit capacity with loads of events failing - even sundissential are playing hardcore now ffs!

 

 

LittleMissLoud said:

I'm really sick of this snobbery and elitism in the 'Hard Dance' scene - this is what is killing it (along with some peoples' drug over consumption).

 

I disagree..... snobbery and elitism have nothing to do with whether any style of music succeeds or fails - if people act like snobs against a style, thats their loss... it wont damage the scene one little bit!

 

Nobody knows why the scene is becoming smaller all of a sudden, and that is a fact - maybe people are just getting bored of the 'faze' (it happens pretty often with all styles of music...). The fact is, clubs are closing due to decreasing numbers - way I see it, if the scene doesnt try and adapt, it will kill itself off...

 

 

LittleMissLoud said:

Hard House and Hard Trance are branded 'generic' or 'shite' by those who are actually playing the music - although under a different name, and feel they are superior to those who play the same style, but with a few less acid lines.

 

not at all - as you know, I play hardhouse and hardtrance.... doesnt mean I dont think a large majority of it is [censored] though, because it is! There are some amazing harddance tracks out there, but they are being constantly drowned by complete [censored]