Happy hardcore is a funny one - a byword for the cheesiest dance music known to man, with the tackiest aesthetic. Whistles, white gloves, glowsticks. Saucer-shaped eyes, rictus grins, pumping fists. Hi-vis vests, cycling masks full of Vicks vapo-rub, tracksuits. As hardcore split into jungle and happy hardcore, and jungle went on to become drum n’ bass to critical plaudits, happy hardcore continued on its defiant path, not cool in the slightest and happier for that.

For the final mix in my There & Back series, I've delved into the early days of happy hardcore to deliver a mix of massive tunes. These tracks are so good, so much fun, and they just lift my mood whenever I slap on this mix (which is a lot in the last month since I made this). Instant sunshine. Enjoy!

Read more about this mix: https://sonicrampage.org/blog/2025/02/pearsall-presents-there-back-012-december-early-happy-hardcore-1993-1995/

More mixes in the series: https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/sets/there-back-2024-crate-digging

More hardcore mixes: https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/sets/hardcore-rave

Recorded in Berlin, December 2024
100% Vinyl
(59:31, 140 MB, 320 KBPS MP3)

Tracklisting:
01. Naughty Naughty - Rich in Paradise [Naughty Naughty]
02. DJ Mixmatt - R.P.T. (Rushin' Piano Track) [Man from UNCLE]
03. 2 Croozin - Life [Remix Records]
04. Heartless - Right Now [Heartless]
05. DJ Ham - And Higher [Kniteforce]
06. Higher Level - I Need You Now [Zodiac]
07. Smith & Brown - Do It Now [Homegrown]
08. DJ Force & The Evolution - Escape the Feeling [Kniteforce]
09. Happy Tunes - Pounding Beats [Happy Tunes]
10. Kriston - Got to Get Up [Just 4 U]
11. DJ Seduction - So In Love (Vibes & Wishdokta Remix) [Impact]
12. SMD - SMD1 (A) [SMD]
13. Naughty Naughty - Never Felt This Way [Naughty Naughty]
14. DJ Red Alert & Mike Slammer - Feel So Real [Slammin Vinyl]
15. Seduction & Dougal - It's Not Over [Impact]
16. Billy 'Daniel' Bunter & JDS - Let It Lift You (Vibes & Wishdokta Remix) [Just Another Label]
17. Jimmy J & Cru-L-T - Take Me Away (Slipmatt Remix) [Remix / Kniteforce]
18. Oaysis - Incredible Bass (Slipmatt Remix) [Formation]
19. Crowd Pleasers - Volume Three (Side B) [Crowd Pleasers]
20. Billy 'Daniel' Bunter & D-Zyne - Ride Like the Wind ft Gem [Universal]

There & Back 012: December, Early Happy Hardcore 1993-1995

This is an old track that I made with my friend Jamie, aka K-Tech, in his home studio in Barnet, North London, in the summer of 2003. It was then lost for over 20 years until Jamie recently found it on an old external hard drive ... which was a big score! I was very excited to hear it again, because I've always had fond memories of it. It's fast-paced acid trance mayhem, just as the doctor ordered!

K-Tech was a live hard trance / hard nrg project that performed at various London clubs in the period from around 2003 to 2006 - if there's enough interest, I can put together an EP of his solo productions and put them out.

Download this on Bandcamp at https://pearsall.bandcamp.com/track/pearsall-k-tech-firestorm-sonicr003

Pearsall & K-Tech - Firestorm (recently rediscovered 2003 acid trance banger!)

The 11th edition of my Squat Rocking series — dedicated to the sounds of the London illegal raves of my youth — is a special tribute to an obscure but brilliant label: Organgrinder Records. Run by Zebedee and Lawrence, Organgrinder never had the name recognition of labels like Stay Up Forever, Routemaster, or Smitten, but it played a vital role in the scene’s ecosystem. Every label mattered! I've always loved their uncompromising, no-nonsense releases, so I thought it was time to shine a little spotlight on them. Enjoy!

Read more about the mix: https://sonicrampage.org/blog/2025/04/pearsall-presents-squat-rocking-11-organgrinder-records-1997-2001/

Check out the other mixes in the series: https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/sets/squat-rocking-free-party-music

Recorded in Berlin, October 2024
100% Vinyl
(65:59, 151 MB, 320 KBPS MP3)

Tracklisting:

01. Gizelle - Does The Fire Burn [Organgrinder]
02. Geezer - Morally Diminished [Organgrinder]
03. Underground Sound - No Mirror, No Line (Geezer Remix) [Organgrinder]
04. DJ Orange Peel - Chemical Warfare [Organgrinder]
05. Dogs on Rope - Prozak Nation [Organgrinder]
06. DJ Orange Peel - Citric Acid [Organgrinder]
07. Skank - Fly Squatter [Organgrinder]
08. Geezer - Gurning [Organgrinder]
09. Underground Sound - Us & Them, U & Me [Organgrinder]
10. Geezer - Fat Freddy [Organgrinder]
11. Geezer - Resistor [Organgrinder]
12. DJ Orange Peel - Crackhead [Organgrinder]
13. DJ Zebedee - Weirdo Magnet [Organgrinder]
14. Dogs on Rope - Buzz Saw (Kids on Drugs Remix) [Organgrinder]
15. Skank - Da Killer Weed [Organgrinder]

Blog

Squat Rocking 11 - Organgrinder Records 1997-2001 (A tribute to a key old skool London acid techno label!)

This year I'm kicking off a new mix series to celebrate the first 25 years of this century: 21st Century Music! Each mix will contain only music from this century. To kick things off, here's a mix of proper techno music from the beginning of the century. This is very personal for me, as this is a point at which I was really engaged with techno - listening to it, dancing to it, thinking about it, and playing it. This is the point when I was a student at Edinburgh University, and I was visiting the (sadly no longer with us) Studio 24 on Calton Road practically every weekend with friends to enjoy techno clubs like Dogma, Pillbox, Apex, Subtle Logic, and more. 

This was a time when techno was really fun and interesting, the time of 'hard grooves', of funky techno, of high impact, danceable music, before the walls of minimal closed in and techno got really, really boring for a while. There's been a revival of this style in recent years (see my Stranger tribute mix, for instance), which is not surprising, because this style of techno is just so much more fun than minimal.

Enjoy!

More techno mixes: https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/sets/techno-mixes

Read more about this mix (including my essay Edinburgh Techno Daze): https://sonicrampage.org/blog/2025/05/pearsall-presents-proper-techno-2000-2005-21st-century-music-001/

Recorded in Berlin, March 2025
100% Vinyl
(79:53, 183 MB, 320 KBPS MP3)

Tracklisting:

01. John Selway - Acid Morning [Aciieeed!]
02. Bryan Zentz - D-Clash (Slam Remix) [Intec]
03. Black Odyssey - The Stand [Blackflag]
04. Joris Voorn - Shining [Sino]
05. Eric Borgo & Dani Konig - Konetic [GoodLife]
06. Umek - Voices of Africa (Voice 2) [Primate]
07. Co-Fusion - 6 Angles [Pro-Jex]
08. Dave Clarke - Before I Was So Rudely Interrupted (Part 1 for the Floor) [iCrunch]
09. Sterac - Sinosphere (John Thomas Remix) [Sino]
10. Andrew Richley & Ryan Rivera - Backbiting [Primate]
11. Sonic Perverts - Slag [Punish]
12. Robert Hood - Outlast [M-Plant]
13. Technasia - Nebula Dance [Technasia]
14. Umek - Beroxan [Consumer Recreation]
15. Steve Rachmad - Zero ID 2 A1 [Zero ID]
16. Christian Smith & John Selway - Giant [Bugged Out!]
17. DJ Misjah - Nova [Zync]
18. Mike Wade - Evolution [Archetype]
19. Punisher - Seduction [Seismic]
20. Sonic Perverts - Strip City [Punish]
21. Pounding Grooves vs DJ Jerome - Scratch [Fine Audio]
22. DJ Misjah & Groovehead - Trippin' Out (DJ Steph K & K-Drive Remix) [X-Trax]
23. Lochi - Acid Junkies [Routemaster]
24. Technasia - Acid Storm [Technasia]
25. The Advent - Ice Planet Theme [Kombination Research]

Proper Techno 2000-2005 [21st Century Music 001]

Very excited to present the next mix in the 21st Century Music series, where I dig into my collection to pull out some gems from the first 25 years of this century. With this edition, I decided to have some fun with dubstep from the last decade - heavy bass, dread vibes, deep atmospheres. One for the eyes down crew!

Read about the mix: https://sonicrampage.org/blog/2025/06/pearsall-presents-modern-dubstep-2014-2024-21st-century-music-002/

Check out more dubstep mixes from me: https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/sets/dubstep-mixes

Recorded in Berlin, April 2025
100% Vinyl
(50:46, 116 MB, 320 KBPS MP3)

Tracklisting:

01. Nomine - No Teardrops [Nomine Sound]
02. Kodama - Sparkalus [Rarefied]
03. Rareman - d20 [Juan Forte]
04. WZ - 3 Strikes [Innamind]
05. J:Kenzo - Shijima's Revenge [Infernal Sounds]
06. Kaiju - Fear No One [Deep Medi Musik]
07. Hebbe - Industry Standard Dub [Basskruit]
08. Sepia - Music Box VIP [Gourmet Beats]
09. TMSV - Complex Flashback [Perfect]
10. Distinct Motive - Therapy [Sub Merchants]
11. RDG - Born and Grow [WAR]
12. Kromestar - Lion and Thunder [Lion White]
13. Akcept - Deflecting [Juan Forte]
14. Dominus & Daffy - Warlord ft Riko Dan [ec2a]
15. Truant - Bank Holz [Juan Forte]
16. Truth - Questions [Artikal]
17. Commodo - Deft 1s [Black Acre]
18. Mantra - Schemes & Dreams [System Music]
19. Quartz - Abstract [Hotline]
20. Om Unit - The Canopy (Armageddon Style) [ZamZam Sounds]

Modern Dubstep 2014-2024 [21st Century Music 002]

When my friend Vali from @parallaxrecordings asked if I wanted to drop another Yaman Productions tribute mix for @peoples-station I was all over the idea! Last time around I did a tribute to the 1993 crop of mixes, pulling together tracks from that year's selection of mixtapes. This time around I've focused on the 1994 mix sets, taking four tracks from each of the five dj's that featured that year, and running through them sequentially, like this: Micky Finn -> Randall -> DJ Hype -> Peshay -> LTJ Bukem

A super fun selection, and one for all the true heads; this is a great crossover between hardcore and jungle, right as that whole transformation was happening. Enjoy!

1993 Yaman Hardcore: https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/pearsall-yaman-1993-hardcore

Hear the whole show: https://soundcloud.com/peoples-station/65-yaman-tribute-pearsall-vali-nme-click

Read more about the mix: https://sonicrampage.org/blog/2025/06/pearsall-presents-yaman-1994-hardcore-jungle/

Mixed in Berlin, June 2025
100% Vinyl
(66:35, 153 MB, 320 kbps mp3)

Tracklisting:
01. DJ Ron - Mo Musik (African Chant) [Rough Tone]
02. Micky Finn - D-Pressed [Dee Jay Recordings]
03. DJ Dextrous & Rude Boy Keith - Lovable [King of the Jungle]
04. Q Project - Night Moves (The Alliance Remix) [Legendary]
05. The Noise of Art - Rollin' Deep (Andy C & Danny Breaks Remix) [Suburban Base]
06. DJ Gwange - Motionless [Legendary]
07. DJ Crystl - Inna Year 4000 [Freakout]
08. Unit 1 - Theme [Creative Wax]
09. The Full SP - Raw Basics (Tango Remix) [Face Recordings]
10. Grooverider - Sinister (The Influence Remix) [Reinforced)
11. Sound of the Future - The Warning [Formation]
12. Jim Polo & Neil Vass - Energy (2 Sinister Remix) [Dark Horse]
13. Manix & Rufige Kru - You Held My Hand (Mark Mac & Goldie Remix) [Reinforced]
14. Johnny Jungle - The Devoted Drummer [Suburban Base]
15. DJ Crystl - Your Destiny [Dee Jay Recordings]
16. DJ Crystl - Warpdrive [Dee Jay Recordings]
17. The Rood Project - Thunder [White House]
18. System X - Mindgames (Dub Mix) [Entity]
19. Studio Pressure - Resolution [Photek]
20. Peshay - Piano Tune [Looking Good]

Yaman 1994 Hardcore Jungle (Mix for People's Station)

I'm back in Edinburgh this weekend to celebrate my dear friends Andy & Lizzie's 25th anniversary, and to celebrate I've put together this mix to look back at Rampage, the Edinburgh club might where I first met them. Rampage was a great if not spectacularly successful club night that I co-promoted in the early 2000's with my flatmate Rob Dinsdale and the dj Phil Zero, with Aberdeen's DJ Skelp as the other resident dj alongside Phil and I. We met Andy and Lizzie at the very first party, when they joined us at our Dalkeith Road flat for the afterparty ... many years later, that friendship is still strong! 

With this mix, I wanted to capture some of the energy of that era and the ethos of Rampage, taking in everything from funky techno to acid techno to European hard trance to UK hard / acid trance to full-fledged freeform hardcore. It's a journey!

Enjoy!

Check out the first Rampage Revisited here: 

https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/pearsall-vs-skelp-rampage-revisited-vintage-hard-dance-mayhem

Read more about Rampage here: https://sonicrampage.org/blog/2010/07/pearsall-presents-rampage-audio-2/#Pearsall

Tracklisting:

01. Technasia - The Force (Technasia Arpeggio Mix) [Technasia]
02. Woody McBride - Off the Ceiling (The Advent Remix) [Communique]
03. Extek - Muvvafucker [Primate]
04. Wilko - Tek Nine [Pimp]
05. The Pump Panel - Ego Acid (Thomas Schumacher Remix) [Primate]
06. JvA - Foxy Acid (Crashes & Shares Mix) [Bang On]
07. Ant - Get Infected [Infected]
08. Rebel Yelle - Acid Nights [Stay Up Forever]
09. DDR - Splinter [Smitten]
10. Pharmacy - The Law [Havok]
11. Stormtraxx - My Acid Dream [Byte Progressive]
12. ASYS - Acid Nightmare [Tracid Traxx]
13. Parasonic - 1-2-3-4 [Voltage Controlled Remixes]
14. Angel of Death - Angel of Death (Hennes & Cold Remix) [Tracid Traxx]
15. DJ Scot Project - O (Overdrive) [Overdose]
16. Steve Blake - Get A Rush (Impact 2002 Remix) [Impact]
17. Billy 'Daniel' Bunter & Jon Doe - Mind Games [UK Hard]
18. Baby Doc & The Dentist - Mantra To The Buddha (OD404 Remix) [TeC]
19. VG2000 - Cyber Sex [Red]
20. DJ Misjah & DJ Tim - Access (KY Jellybabies Remix) [Tripoli Trax]
21. RR Fierce - Just Begun [White Label]
22. Karim - Wet n' Wild [Do Not Bend]
23. Lab 4 - Place Go Boom [Fragile]
24. Daniel Ro & Pepi - Remedy [Peroxide]
25. Neuron - The Past for the Future (Kevin Energy Remix) [Dynamix]
26. Rez - Rez Out (Raved Up Mix) [Nu Energy]
27. Tazz & Concept vs Impact - Hypnotizing Music [Electronic]
28. Kevin Eneregy - Vertigo [Nu Energy]
29. Kaos & Ethos - Technorocker [Blatant Beats]
30. Sharkey, Energy, K-Complex & Rich - Visions of Infinity [Bonkerz]

Pearsall presents Rampage Revisited 2 [Early 2000's Hard Dance!]

One of the best jungle / drum n' bass labels of the last decade has been Hertfordshire's @repertoiresound. I love how fearlessly label bosses @drumtrip and Ben Repertoire have curated the label's sound, putting out everything from murky halfstep to powerful rollers to lush atmospherics to full-scale face-ripping tearouts. Something for all the family! This mix is my tribute to their great work, pulling together 30 different tracks from across their catalog. So many good tunes! 

Check out their Bandcamp here: https://repertoire.bandcamp.com/

Read more about this mix here: https://sonicrampage.org/blog/2025/09/pearsall-presents-repertoire-records-2015-2024-21st-century-music-003/

More drum n' bass mixes: https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/sets/drum-n-bass-jungle-mixes

Mixed in Berlin, April 2025
100% Vinyl
(102:31, 235 MB, 320 kbps mp3)

Tracklisting:

01. Necrotype - Priam's Treasure [Repertoire]
02. Eusebeia - Spiral [Repertoire]
03. Concealed Identity - Faultline [Repertoire]
04. Concealed Identity - Embers Fade [Repertoire]
05. Modal - Thieves (Double O Remix) [Repertoire]
06. Overlook - Motif [Repertoire]
07. Artilect - Lost [Repertoire]
08. Mani Festo - Next 2 U [Repertoire]
09. Law & Wheeler - Early Reflections [Repertoire]
10. Ricky Force - Everything [Repertoire]
11. Law - Untitled Destiny [Repertoire]
12. Blu Mar Ten - Titans (Law & Wheeler Remix) [Repertoire]
13. Law & Wheeler - Absolute Proof [R-Whites]
14. Law - Half Life [Repertoire]
15. Tim Reaper - Sunrise [Repertoire]
16. Ricky Force - Get On Up [Repertoire]
17. Double-O - The Centre [Repertoire]
18. Law - Emptiness is Form (Outer Heaven Remix) [Repertoire]
19. Senses - The Rumbling [Repertoire]
20. Ricky Force - Make It Right [Repertoire]
21. Law, Ben Repertoire & RUNDR - 36 Views [R-Whites]
22. Law - 1 4 Me [R-Whites]
23. DJ Trax - For the Soul [Repertoire]
24. DJ Levi - Majestic Intelligence (Law & Wheeler Remix) [Repertoire]
25. Law & DJ Sofa - More Bells [R-Whites]
26. Law & Wheeler - Natural Resource [Repertoire]
27. Law & Kola Nut - Cleanest Gun [R-Whites]
28. Tim Reaper - Second Chance (Sonar's Ghost Remix) [Repertoire]
29. Cycle-One - Divination [Repertoire]
30. Tim Reaper - Lanterns [Repertoire]

Repertoire Records 2015-2024 [21st Century Music 003]

This is a re-recording of a set I played at my friends' Andy & Lizzie's 25th anniversary party back in July. I first met Andy and Lizzie when they came to our first Rampage night at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh all the way back in February 2001, and we've been great friends ever since! This set was a throwback to the kind of high-impact hard house / hard trance sets I used to play at Rampage, and I played at the party on digital, using recordings I made from my record collection ... then I got home and re-recorded it on vinyl! Anyways, enjoy ...

Rampage Revisited 2: https://soundcloud.com/sonicrampage/pearsall-presents-rampage-revisited-2-early-2000s-hard-dance

Tracklisting:

01. Dream Plant - The Mighty Machine (Kinki Roland Remix) [Prolekult]
02. Ian M - Dreamer [Tidy Trax]
03. DJ Misjah & DJ Tim - Access (KY Jellybabies Remix) [Tripoli Trax]
04. Dynamic Intervention - Bigger Kicks [Cannon]
05. DJ Choci - Can You Feel The Force? [Voltage Controlled Frequencies]
06. Lectrolux - Baloney (Baby Doc Remix) [TeC]
07. DJ Choci & The Powder Front - Just Feel It (Freaky People '99 Remix) [Public House]
08. Phil Reynolds & Steve Blake - Weekend in Oz [Impact]
09. Mark NRG - Don't Stop (Baby Doc Remix) [Tripoli Trax]
10. A10 - Unlucky For Some [Mind Over Matter]
11. Lab 4 - Close Encounter (Choci & Mark Sinclair Remix) [Choci's Chewns]
12. Max & Amino - Pump the Funk [Alien Trax]
13. RR Fierce & DMF - Rock Da Spot [Recharge]
14. Karim - Begonia [Kaktai]
15. Commander Tom - Are Am Eye (Pants & Corset Remix) [Noom]
16. S-J - Estrella (Baby Doc Remix) [Arriba]
17. The Combat Force - Combat Assault (Dawn Raid Mix) [Triebhafte]
18. Storm - Time to Burn (Nick Sentience Remix) [Data]
19. Ironik - Slave [TeC]
20. Geezer & Choci - Silver Box [Voltage Controlled Frequencies]
21. Karim & Phillip Walsh - Technomove 3 [Tuff Trax]
22. Chris C - Adastra [Nile]

(Not Really) Live In Edinburgh (Old Skool UK Hard House / Hard Trance)

This is a re-recording of a set I played for the Seshington crew in Kreuzberg, Berlin in October 2025. It was a daytime party so I brought along a selection of (mostly) UK Funky and just had some fun! In fact, I enjoyed it so much I decided to re-record it and throw it online - I hope you enjoy it too!

Tracklisting:

01. Cooly G - Love Dub Refix [Hyperdub]
02. DVA - Ganja [Hyperdub]
03. Hard House Banton - Zulu Form [Spoilt Rotten]
04. Untold - Just For You (Roska Remix) [Hotflush]
05. Roska - Love Tonight Feat Jamie George [Rinse]
06. Beneath - Blonde [Keysound]
07. Photek - UFO (Addison Groove Remix) [White]
08. Lil Silva - Shutter [Night Slugs]
09. DJ Zinc - 128 Trek [Bingo Bass]
10. Roska - Squark [Rinse]
11. Doc Daneeka - Electric Sandwich Rhythm [PTN]
12. Emvee - Glitch Dub [Wireblock]
13. Lil Silva - Night Skanker [Night Slugs]
14. Mosca - Bax [Numbers]
15. Deadboy - U Cheated [Well Rounded]
16. Blackdown - Halcyon Skies (Rollage Mix) [Keysound]
17. Walton - 808 Vybzin [Hyperdub]
18. T. Williams - Analog Tour [Local Action]
19. Contakt - Not Forgotten [Local Action]
20. Lone - Pineapple Crush [Magic Wire]
21. DJ Zinc - Wile Out feat Ms Dynamite [Bingo Bass]
22. Walton - Cool It VIP [Keysound]
23. MJ Cole - Volcano Riddim [Prolific]
24. Sticky - Look Pon Me ft Natalie Storm [Mixpak]
25. Lil Silva - Different [White]
26. Ikonika - Idiot (Altered Natives Remix) [Hyperdub]
27. Emvee - Windrush [Shifting Peaks]
28. Champion - Bongoshot [Cargo]
29. Girl Unit - IRL (DVA's Hi Emotions Remix) [Night Slugs]
30. Cooly G - Phat Si [Hyperdub]
31. Roska - Holograph [Fantastic 4]
32. Doc Daneeka - Like A Fool [PTN]
33. Redlight - What You Talking About feat Miss Dynamite [MTA]
34. Wen - Play Your Corner ft Riko (Kahn & Neek Remix) [Keysound]
35. Dizzee Rascal - Strings Hoe (Wen Remix) [Keysound]
36. Kingdom - Dreama [Night Slugs]

(Not Really) Live in Kreuzberg [UK Funky Set for Seshington]

American in Berlin! I've been a dj since 1997, playing across a wide range of dance music genres, as you can see from the variety of mixes. I love it all! 

Want recommendations? Drop me a DM and I'll hook you up. 

I sometimes play at Berlin clubs, but mostly I am a hardcore vinyl collector and bedroom mixer. Check out my blog at www.sonicrampage.org/blog

New tracks tagged #pearsall