| Breakbeat Hardcore | |
| Stylistic origins | Breakbeat, Acid House, New Beat, Techno |
|---|---|
| Cultural origins | UK, Belgium |
| Derivative forms | Darkcore, Happy Hardcore, Jungle |
| Subgenres | |
| Hardcore Breaks, Rave Breaks | |
Breakbeat hardcore (also known as old-school hardcore and hardcore rave) is a style of electronic music, specifically hardcore. It got widespread play in the early 1990s at raves in the UK and Belgium and is the genre that also started rave culture. The genre is the first hardcore genre to popularize the style and led to many other subgenres after. Breakbeat hardcore is a mixed form of acid house, new beat, and techno with breakbeat drums played at high speed. It incorporates hoovers which are wide frequency synths made from typically three oscillators, a kind of fast energetic piano riffs, and female vocalists. The genre started roughly around 1989 but declined as early as 1993. By 1995 most producers had already moved on to other subgenres of hardcore. The genre would lay dormant until the 2010's where hardcore breaks and rave breaks would revive the sound with modern production techniques and new influences from UK garage, breakcore, and juke.