OK another late 90's UK Happy Hardcore pure vinyl live mix, and all I can say is BOOM!
Love this stuff, big banging tunes that literally blew the roof the place each and every time!

This mix is not meant to be perfect, its meant to sound like a night out at a rave - if you listen to any of the sets back in the day, not many of them are perfect and contain all the well known bangers - this reminds me of when I went out, DJ behind the decks, sweating and dancing around just as much as the crowd! Bass rumbling through your body shaking your very core - BOOM! Love it :-D

Wherever you're listening, leave a comment in the area below its good to know where people are from!

The tunes here put a big smile on my face and make my body move without me even thinking about it.

The image is from the legendary Club Labrynth, Dalston Lane, London. I went to many a rave there and it was mind blowingly good every time. I was there for the last ever rave - really remember Ratpack playing in that big out door arena - that was something else.

OK, rambling on now - wherever you are from, I hope these tunes put a smile on your face and move your body around!

Track list to follow.....

Happy Hardcore 1996-1999 [5]

UK Hardcore of the 90's in my opinion is the best dance music ever created and massively under appreciated by the general public.

People bang on about the 60's and 70's (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones etc) but most people willingly ignore the rave era - saying that it was just for 'drugged up kids' - like everybody at Woodstock was over 40 drinking tea and eating cucumber sandwiches?

Let's give the music of that era the respect it deserves - it was massively euphoric, energetic, hugely innovative and all done by a bloke in his bedroom for him and his mates at raves - essentially music by ravers for the ravers! 

It wasn't done by corporations trying to manufacture a 'brand' to make as much money as possible out of endlessly recycled lyrics and themes.

UK rave music of the 90's had never been done before or since - it was a brief incandescent flash of creative brilliance - a truly remarkable period in dance music history, which spawned various off shoots of music still around today in various guises. 

There is something in rave music for everyone, something in there that we can all relate to. Don't just narrow your scope to the Happier side, or the Darkside - take it all in for all its glory and enjoy the lot.

That's the reason why I love it - and will continue to love it until the day I die.

-------------------------------------------

At a rave, the mixing style was not about seamless blending and building a 'mood' throughout a set, rather playing the best tunes you could, chop tunes in and out, and generally be a bit excitable on the decks. 

A good rave was more like a concert than a club. 

Think of it this way - if you're off to Glastonbury or Download Festival - do you want the bands to stand still and play songs one after the other exactly like they did on their album, or, do you want them to pick their best tunes, jump around scream/shout and be complete loons?

At most raves the DJ's had an hour slot, so fannying about building a 'mood' for 3 hours only to start playing some proper tunes later on - doesn't really work.

However, contrary to popular belief, ravers don't just want to hear the same 10 tunes played over endlessly. I think that some DJ's get a bit scared of playing less well known tunes for fear of emptying the dance floor - which is nonsense as some of the lesser known tunes are better than the bangers!

-------------------------------------------

I'm not a Pro-DJ (I don't think I'm good enough) playing around in the comfort of my own home and posting things here is about as brave as I get - I respect anyone who gets on stage to play in front of hundreds/thousands of people, digital or otherwise.

All the mixes on here are strictly Vinyl business only - no laptop help.
(I do have Traktor and a handful of digital tunes, but I barely use it. The look, smell & feel of real Vinyl is just ingrained in me - no hate against digital DJ's - it's just that my era of music was all vinyl, going out and hearing a DJ spin plastic with all it's frailties and mistakes is just what I'm used to. I still have CD's, and digital downloaded music - but the stuff I play is Vinyl ).

Anyway, I'm rambling on...get stuck in to the tracks posted here - listen to, and experience, what I was able to experience with hundreds/thousands of others in a hot smokey warehouse, dripping with sweat for hour after hour - but loving every second of it!

:-D
-------------------------------------------
Oohh, I must state that my current collection only stems from about '93 onwards, my '90 to '92 collection is woeful, but by the gads, there are some wicked top tunes from that period as well.

PeaOfTheHead