Hardcore Underground 7 Review- Disc 1: Fracus & Darwin

01. Bass Selective vs. Fracus & Darwin - Blow Out Part 4

A very common selection by Fracus & Darwin; Straight stompin’ yet melodic vibes. What makes the tune is the rave piano that drops in at 1:28.

02. Fracus & Darwin - Music's Hypnotising

“Mission Accomplished” & that’s exactly what the piano that starts the tune done. Ravey & almost happy vibes that leads into a modern lead that’s really catchy.

03. Chris Ross & Chwhynny - Fierce As Fire
My homeboy Chris Ross!!! The snappy as fuck snare really gets things going. Really cool acoustic guitar; a fitting vocal; ravey synths; a phat broken beat.  this is what Breakbeat Hardcore should sound like in 2015. Chris Ross is a boss!

04. Fracus & Darwin feat. Drew Flanagan - Only One Of Me (Hardcore Mix)
Hardcore Mix of a F&D EDM tune-Loved this track from the first time I heard it; It’s even better now that I’ve heard more of it! I expect this track for me to put on loop for a long time to come!

05. Jason Bouse & Amy Kress - Alive (Daniel Seven Remix)
This remix definitely has that “HU” sound. Really good tune. Daniel Seven continues to evolve everytime I hear a new tune of his.

06. Skinny - Yes Oh Yes
Stompin’ yet melodic vibes from Skinny. Really cool, interesting, different & forward thinking

07. RedMoon & Meron Ryan - Heavyweight (Fracus & Darwin Remix)
The follow up to the “modern anthem” Never Let Go Remix. Heavyweight delivers just as much! F&D continue to evolve & improve!

08. State - Breathe In
Decent vocal. The lead & bass are PHAAAAAAAAAT

09. Darwin & Obie - Futureshock (Gammer Remix)
Gammer needs to do more freeform is what I took away from this; Just like his UK Hardcore- Very people seem to be able to reach his heights in the term of production.

10. Chris Unknown, Re-Con & Klubfiller - Takin' Me Back
MASSIVE TUNE. Holy shit! Insane male vocal. The lead is HUGE. Just overall; A really solid tune.

11. Code Black & Atmozfears - Accelerate (Darren Styles Edit)
One of the biggest tunes of 2014 & there was a reason why. This is dope

12. Fracus & Darwin - Heart On Fire
Magical synths to run the trap to this is a fucking rave yo! Then back to the “magic” of an F&D tune!

13. JAKAZiD & Kendo - Bananas!
A lil “out there” tune in the sense of traditional UK Hardcore. It doesn’t take away that it’s a good tune tho. Using this term again; “Forward thinking”

14. Fracus & Darwin feat. Jenna - Air
Amazing vocal by Jenna! Phat synths and a light piano! The signature F&D feel style lead synth. Love it to death!

15. Joey Riot & Obie - In The Dark
Powerstomp-ish but a bit more something you can enjoy even when listening normally. It has reminisce of Freeform which is sick!

16. RS - Tip Of Your Tongue (Titancube Remix)
Ravey as fuck; Big room-core ish but solid.

17. Outforce feat. Katrina Louise - The 1 (Stu Infinity Remix)
Stu Infinity delivers like always! The bass is PHAT. Really showcases why Stu Infinity is something special.

18. DJ Fury - Lemonade Raygun (Transcend & Cyrax Remix)
The freeform duo that’s been tearing it up at the moment! That continue to do that with this tune! Really good stuff!

19. Gareth Emery feat. Christina Novelli - Dynamite (DJ Kurt vs. Gee, Atom & Mikey P Remix)

It’s pretty decent; Not sure what else to say

20. Ganar-True
Bangin! Love everything about this tune!

21. Dys7 - Starface (Fracus & Darwin Remix)
Fracus & Darwin bring their remixing magic to a really good up comers tracks & make a banger! boom!

22. Darwin & 3Star - Come And Find Me
I’ve been wanting to know what this tune is for awhile! Glad to finally know the name. TUNE & a half!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My thoughts taken away from this
-Well worth the wait & anticipation
-UK Hardcore is on the rise & really looking forward to what everyone does next
-Very inspired after listening. Really want to get back to making UK Hardcore ASAP

AoS-I Wonder(VIP Mix) out August 10th [Lucky Breaks Digital]

AoS bandcamp EP

https://aos-lorenzo.bandcamp.com/

Hardcore Summer Bash 2015

Lucky Breaks Promo Mini-Mix 2015

Fracus Interview

What's currently going on with Hardcore Underground? What's all planned for the rest of 2015?


This year is about doing what we *should* have done the second half of last year, and that's concentrating on pushing the boundaries of our own operation as a store and a label. The web store itself is already being re-developed in terms of what it can offer, and coupled with the various projects we have planned we're hoping to be able to take a further step away from being a label that just puts out CDs. We got preoccupied with our 'Live At Rehab' event for a large chunk of last year, mainly because we didn't want to just continue doing the same thing with the albums, but it was a massively time consuming project. We don't mind admitting it was an emotionally draining experience too, one that brought us to our knees on a couple of occasions to the point where we were absolutely ready to say "f**k this, lets go do something else". We've worked damn hard to dig ourselves out of the financial and emotional hangover it caused us and to get back on track, and that's why so far this year there haven't been any actual releases on the HU label itself. That will have changed drastically however over the coming months. 





Your sister label HU Breaks- will that continue? What's going to be happening with that?

It'll definitely be continuing, and indeed expanding over the coming twelve months. A second album is being refined as we speak, and we really would like to give the Breakbeat Hardcore sound a much needed reboot. We had some real momentum with it after the first HU Breaks CD came out in 2013 and we were supporting the music a lot at our events, but no other brands really joined in by putting their money where their mouth was, and the movement slowed. There are some hugely talented new comers pushing the style though, and a core of others (including ourselves) who will still always want to write it. For that reason HU Breaks will always be an active part of our output as a label I think.





You guys seem to have become a distributor in hardcore along with being a label- any albums you guys will be distributing that people should be looking forward to?


We've tried to keep the two things (the store and the label) as separate as possible really, as there's a lot of music available in store that isn't necessarily the same style you'd hear on the label itself. We don't really have any editorial control over what the third party labels we distribute release, beyond trying to keep the benchmark of overall quality as high as possible, but there's already a wide variety of stuff to look forward to no matter what peoples tastes are within Hardcore . It's going to continue to be a busy year for both the HU label itself and the other labels we work with.





When will the the 4th Fracus & Darwin album be happening? How will it be distributed? Will we see it also through HMV/Amazon? Will it just be a CD? Any other formats planned?


It'll be available everywhere again I think; releasing artist albums is what we like doing best of all really so we kind of want the reach to be as wide as possible. It'll almost certainly see a limited edition vinyl release too. It's something we wanted to do with 'Filth And Dumb Hatred' to be honest, but we ran out of time. It's slated for October release and ties in with some other stuff we're doing this year, so we're also filling the diary up with as many DJ dates as we can cope with to tour the new music, as we think it's still the best way to sell records. More info soon.   





What is the main difference between playing in various parts of the UK? What about the UK compared to the rest of the world?


Everywhere is different, even within one country, so it's hard to answer that without over generalising a bit. Visiting places you play less frequently always adds an extra zing to the atmosphere I think, but generally audiences globally seem pretty open minded to good music in all its forms these days. We've certainly never found it easier to experiment with what we play and still continue to hold the floor. People seem far less spoon fed than they used to, and the days of having to conform to some generic ideal, here or abroad, are fading. Really, the only major difference comes down to the actual line-ups themselves, and things like set times, the attitude of some promoters towards artists, stuff like that. Because people outside the UK don't necessarily have to endure years and years of seeing the same names in neon-lights at the top of every single flier, things are judged on a far more level playing field, like on the actual quality of an artists performances and their musical output. 
Fortunately they're few and far between these days, but there are still some UK promoters who seem to base everything they do on what happened in 2005, and that's kind of frustrating for the likes of us, especially when they're perplexed by their falling numbers. A large proportion of the limelight is still sometimes reserved for people who were instrumental in the stagnation of the Hardcore sound (and have contributed very little to it since) whilst more relevant and active acts are side-lined. I think that's why the international scene has grown so much quicker than the UK being honest. It is changing here too though, and people are starting to realise that they should be looking forward to grow the genre rather than back. 





What has been your favorite gig you have played?


Honestly, it'd be impossible to pick one. There are too many.





How did you Darwin & you start working together?

Through CDJay, with whom I co-run HU. He can be pretty abrasive and tactless at times, and that's earned him a few detractors over the years, but I don't think anyone has ever really done more for Hardcore in a truly selfless way than he has. He really does just love the music and the culture, and through his old RFU label, he tried to tether those of us kind of flapping in the breeze with regular production work and a platform to release more free-thinking music on. He encouraged Nick and I to write together some time in 2006, and from that point on really we never lost touch or a common interest in what we wanted to do musically. At the end of 2009, we deliberately paired ourselves as a DJ act with a view to not 'splitting the HU vote' and winning the 'Best Breakthrough DJ' category at the 2010 Hardcore Heaven Awards which we duly did. We were a bit naïve about the impact of such things even as recently as then, as it still made little difference to some of the promoters we were hoping would be a bit more supportive, but it was a great experience and one we'll never forget. By then anyway we'd travelled thousands of miles together, written an artist album together, and established quite an artistically positive way of working. Whether we're in the studio or on the road, we do just seem to manage to encourage and motivate each other into wanting to do stuff, Nick's one of the few people I find I'm actually happier to be around lol. We've never said we wouldn't ever go back to doing stuff on our own, and we do both still do things alone occasionally, it's just not something I enjoy as much any more and F&D is our main focus.

How did you get into production? What did you use(plugins/software etc)?

I was a DJ when I still at school and on pirate radio before I left college, so making music just seemed like the next logical step to take. In the early noughties there was a real drought of good quality new Hardcore records, so making the sort of things I wanted to play was the only way to do it really. Me and some mates acquired bits of kit as a consortium first of all, and slowly taught ourselves the process of making the music. Then I went on to study Music Technology at University, so that helped immensely with a lot of theory, and I spent most of my student loan on things like a Yamaha o1v digital desk, an Access Virus C, Cubase, V Station, Recycle, stuff like that. Initially I used engineers to take 'sketches' of tracks I'd / we'd written to for final production and that's where my first releases came from. Devastate, UFO and Force (of Force & Styles) were all people who engineered for us back when we first started, and we picked up as much as we could from them. People like Oli G who I met at Uni were also just getting into production and releasing music too, so he was also very helpful. I jacked it all in for nearly a year somewhere in the middle due to final year studies and wanting to spend every waking moment with my then GF, and that set me back a little bit too. I don't think I had an entirely self produced / engineered / mastered track released until about 2005 when I finally got back into it and decided it was still very much what I wanted to do. 

GTYM Album *Out Now*

http://www.hardcoreunderground.co.uk/store/product/id/81


CD1: Mixed By Squad-E

01. Squad-E Vs. Alex K - Heaven
02. Squad-E - Lucky Star
03. M&C - Magic Touch (Squad-E Remix)
04. Frontrunners - Anti-Gravity (Squad-E & MOB Mix)
05. Squad-E Feat. Katrina Louise - Make You Mine
06. Squad-E Feat. Lisa Marie - Closer
07. Squad-E & MOB - Be Mine
08. Squad-E - Lover
09. Squad-E & Technikore - Another Chance
10. Squad-E Feat. Katrina Louise - One Love
11. Ultrabeat Vs. Hypasonic - What Will It Take (Squad-E Remix)
12. Re-Con & Fluxx - Free Again (Squad-E Remix)
13. D:Code - My Direction (Squad-E Remix)
14. Squad-E & MC Storm - Hardcore
15. Squad-E - Dream Girl
16. Squad-E - Think About The Bass
17. Squad-E - Only For You
18. Squad-E & Wotsee - Rock This Joint
19. D:Code - Love Is For Real (Squad-E Mix)


CD2: Mixed By Outforce

01. Outforce - Jump
02. Outforce - Stars Collide
03. Outforce Feat. Katrina Louise - Cold As Ice
04. Outforce - Push The Tempo
05. Outforce & Joe Sweeney - Undone
06. Outforce - The Party Anthem
07. Outforce Feat. Hannah Stacia - Never Lie
08. Outforce - Future System
09. Rescue & Outforce - Break Me Down (vip rmx)
10. Outforce - Find Love
11. Outforce Joe sweeney - Never Let You Go
12. Outforce - Come On
13. Outforce & Project Shadow - Planet Love 2015
14. Outforce - Everybody Jump & Bounce
15. Outforce & Age-O - Turn Back Time
16. Outforce Feat. Katrina Louise - The One (Bananaman & Gisbo RMX)
17. Outforce & Keyes - Dancefloor
18. Outforce & Enemy feat Charli Brixx - Afterglow
19. Outforce & Ben X-Treme - Where Do We Go
20. Outforce - Take Me Away (Album Mix) 


CD3: Mixed By Rescue

01. Rescue - All Of Me
02. Rescue Feat. Chardé - Memory
03. Rescue & Ben X-Treme - Zoo
05. Rescue Ft Lil Bri - Best In Me
06. Rescue & Outforce - Freedom
07. Rescue Feat. Katrina Louise - Follow Me
08. Rescue Outforce - One Night
09. Rescue & Ben X-Treme - Latch
10. Rescue Feat. Chardé - Love Is
11. Rescue Feat. Wotsee - Paranoia
12. Rescue - Open Water
13. Rescue Feat. Keyes - Train Track
14. Rescue - Torn
15. Rescue Feat. Chardé - Rather Be
16. Rescue - Goodbye
17. Rescue & John Phaze Feat. Lil Bri - Feel Fine (R&X Vip Mix)

CD4: Full Length Tracks

01. Squad-E, Chris Henry & MC Storm Feat. Mandy Edge - Angel
02. Rescue & Outforce - One Night
03. Outforce & Joe Sweeney - Undone
04. D:Code - Love Is For Real (Squad-E Mix)
05. Rescue & Ben Xtreme - Zoo
06. Outforce - Stars Collide
07. Squad-E Feat. Katrina Louise - Make You Mine
08. Outforce - The Party Anthem
09. Rescue Feat. MC Wotsee - Paranoia
10. Outforce Feat. Katrina Louise - The One (Bananaman & Gisbo Remix)
11. Rescue Fear. Chardé - Memory
12. Squad-E Feat. Katrina Louise - One Love
13. Rescue Feat. Lil Bri - Best In Me
14. Outforce & Joe Sweeney - Never Let Go

Haze Interview

-The Sydney scene seems to be picking back up again; What has changed/happened as of recently?

In my opinion the resurgence has occurred due to new promoters and old coming together to put on more events and we also have a lot of new faces thanks to an unknowing group of people being drawn to the hardcore parties. Plus we have major events such as Defqon put on by Q-Dance whom had an entire stage last year dedicated to Hardcore and another promoter HSU who predominately supports Hardstyle will bring out a UK international DJ for their events. So far they have brought out Darren Styles, Hixxy and now Scott Brown at their next event in July.

In coincidence with these new parties the producers in Australia have also been pumping out new tracks and getting newer audiences involved. Don’t get me wrong we still have a long way to go but its doing a lot better than a few years ago.

-Obviously with the resurgence; there's producers doing things. What should we expect from Australian UK Hardcore going forward? Any producers to really pay attention to?

I think towards the end of this year it’s going to be huge we have Team Rocket doing a lot of collaborations with UK’s Rob IYF, we also have Technikore moving here in July whom will be working on a lot of new bits with JTS. I also have my label back again releasing new songs from Australian and UK artists. With my Cubase tutorials we have a lot of new producers coming into the scene such as Comrade  & Jozzi. Regulars as well such as Weaver and Essi are continuing to write tracks. Plus we also have Sc@r working on collaborations with myself so it’s looking very healthy.

-Last year; you announced the "end" of Executive Records. What made you want to get the label going again?

A few major reasons, the number one reason was I wasn't liking what was coming out and I wanted to push the sounds that I enjoy. Don’t get me wrong there was plenty of good music coming out if you knew where to
look such as the sounds from the Hardcore Underground guys but for me I just wasn’t feeling the new material coming out from the established producers. The second reason is I honestly missed running the label and being able to help support Australian artists and pushing my own productions. Executive was something I built over a long period of time and I felt I still had more to give after a long break.

-You also produce Drum & Bass. How's is that project going? Any cool things happening with that?

I love Drum & Bass as much as I love Hardcore however this year it has slowed down a bit due to the label being brought back. However, that being said I have still managed to work on a few tracks here and there. My latest track called “United We Stand” is a collaboration I did with Absence (Zander) which is dark and heavy sampling the famous “United we stand, divided we fall” speech from Winston Churchill. That should be coming out on Future Breakz. I have also just released my own track ‘Pilgrims Of Zen’ on Executive Records. I have a few bits I am waiting to finish as well. I wrote them all in the UK last year but haven’t had the time to completely finish them.

-What's your 5 favorite tunes at the moment? 

1. Technikore & Mob - Falling

2. Haze - Givin' It All I Got

3. UFO & Keileigh MacDonald – Untouchable (Scott
Brown Remix)

4. Impact - Closer Now (Transcend & Cyrax Remix)

5. Daydream – Galaxy (Haze & Sc@r 2015 Remix)

-What's your top 5 productions you've personally ever done?

1. Impact & Weaver - All My Life (Haze 90s Mix)

2. Luna-C – Fly To Heaven (Haze Remix)

3. D-Vide - Forgotten Memories

4. Haze - Impact

5. D-Vide - Vibe

Due to me being a production nerd; these are my favorite questions to ask.

- What gear/software did you use to start
producing? 

Cubase SX, plugins that Weaver, Antix and I got from UFO back in 2001. I also bought a Virus B rack back in the day with a slowish computer and soundcard. Did the trick. I wrote some of my first songs on that computer that got released such as “The Darkness” on Relentless and my remix of “Take Me Up” by Kevin Energy.

- What gear/software are you using now? 

Cubase Pro 8, Virus TI, Plugins: Massive, Fab Filter Package, Cableguys Curve 2, Blade, Padshop Pro, Predator, Kontact, FM8, Razor, Zeta 2, Zebra 2, Nexus 2, Sylenth 1, Albino 3, Tornado, T-Racks 3, Trackspacer, All the vengeance plugins such as the Multiband Compressor, Philta, Multiband Sidechain etc.

- What are your "go to" plugins for synths?

Massive, Sylenth, Zebra 2, Zeta 2

My other favorite questions.

- Advice to anyone looking to get into production?

The best advice I could give is stick at it and never give up. Lots of new producers want to be able to make something instantly that sounds like their top producers and easily get discouraged and give up if it doesn’t sound like it. You have to remember everyone started somewhere and of course your favorite producers have had years to get to where they are so don’t expect your songs to be perfect at the beginning they are going to sound horrible. I would recommend watching as many tutorials as possible on YouTube, ask advice from other producers and don’t be scared to write something that you feel is different to everything else. That is the beauty about being a producer.

Another tip is there is no shame in learning how sounds were made back in the day. I have often found old techniques have given me new ideas on how to approach anything from sound design to melodies.

- Advice to any up & comer?

Don’t be afraid if you don’t have any musical knowledge or background. A lot of successful producers have begun writing music with no musical background. Simply learning chords and what goes with what can easily
train your brain and ears on what keys to use. You can look up simple chord calculators on the net for free and that can help you with what direction you would like the song to take. In programs such as Cubase you even have something called a chord calculator which will assist you in choosing what chords you want to use. The
other tip is don’t be disheartened with the functionality of particular DAW's. Common ones such as Cubase look hard to use at first but once someone shows you the basics you will realize it’s not that hard to use or get around. They all have similar concepts just different ways of going about it.

- Advice to anyone producing in general?

Take time on your songs it is always tempting to release loads of songs but still quality is better than quantity. Make sure before you release something you are 100% happy or close to it. The other advice I would give is never mixdown a song and think it’s finished straight away. Have a day or two break and come back to it. If you are still happy with it sure consider it finished but chances are you will hear something you didn’t before and you will be glad you didn’t give it out. On the same tip send your song to your friends and piers whom are also producers and see if they can hear anything wrong before considering it finished and sending it off to more established artists.

The Hardcore Underground Show - Podcast 12 (Fracus & Darwin with Chris Unknown) - MAY 2015

https://soundcloud.com/hardcoreunderground/the-hardcore-underground-show-podcast-12-fracus-darwin-with-chris-unknown-may-2015

UFO & Keileigh Macdonald - Untouchable w/ Scott Brown Remix

Buy: https://pro.beatport.com/track/untouchable-original-mix/6506325




Buy: https://pro.beatport.com/track/untouchable-scott-brown-remix/6522417

The Best of KFA Vol 1 Mixed by DJ Saiyan

Buy:
https://pro.beatport.com/release/the-best-of-kfa-vol-1/1500013

Youtube Channel

Be sure to subscribe to keep up with the best tracks in UK Hardcore/Breakbeat Hardcore from the present & the past

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDSNXHP6UvRFL9_jY1upwrA

Darren Styles, Re-Con, Matthew Steeper - Rest of Your Life

https://pro.beatport.com/release/rest-of-your-life/1505406

Forthcoming Executive Records releases

DJ Gammer - HTID USA Practice (Studio Mix #?)