Darkcore (also referred to as darkside hardcore) is a music subgenre of

breakbeat hardcore Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave, oldskool hardcore or simply hardcore) is a music genre that spawned from the UK rave scene during the early 1990s. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from ...

in the UK

rave scene A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

, that emerged from late 1992. It is recognised as being one of the direct precursors of the genre now known as

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

Origins

By late 1992,

was beginning to fragment, and darkcore was one of the subgenres to emerge, in contrast with

4-beat Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or " hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s. ...

. Darkcore is often characterised by dark-themed samples such as

horror movie Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include monsters, apocalyp ...

elements, cries for help, sinister sounding stabs and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

notes, along with syncopated

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...

s in addition to 4-to-the-floor beats and low frequency basslines. It also saw the introduction of effects such as

pitch shift Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval ( transposition) are known as pitch shifters. Pitch and ...

ing and

time stretching Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compa ...

to create mood.

Notable releases

Notable releases include Top Buzz's "Living in the Darkness" (Basement, 1993), DJ Hype's "Shot in the Dark" ( Suburban Base, 1993), Origin Unknown's " Valley of the Shadows" (

RAM Records RAM Records is an independent record label established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of his friend Ant Miles. It specialises in drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance m ...

, 1993),

Ed Rush Ben Settle, known by the stage name Ed Rush, is a drum and bass producer and DJ. Rush has been releasing records since 1992 primarily with Optical (Matt Quinn), his musical partner since 1997. Along with Optical, he is also the co-founder of ...

's "Bloodclot Artattack" (No U Turn, 1993),

Rufige Cru Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is an English music producer, DJ, and actor. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musi ...

's "Terminator" (

Reinforced Records Reinforced Records is a British breakbeat hardcore, jungle, and drum and bass record label, first founded in 1989 by 4hero and based in Dollis Hill, London. Reinforced is one of the groundbreaking record labels of the genre.Reynolds, S. (1998) ...

, 1992), Doc Scott's "Here Comes the Drumz" (Reinforced Records, 1992),

4hero 4hero (sometimes referred to as 4 Hero or 4-Hero) are an electronic music group from Dollis Hill, London, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Denis "Dego" McFarlane. 4hero are known for being pioneers of breakbeat hardcore, jungle/drum ...

's "Journey from the Light" (Reinforced Records, 1993), and Omni Trio's "Feel Good" (

Moving Shadow Moving Shadow is an English breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum and bass record label which was founded in 1990 by Rob Playford. History The label began in 1990, operating from Playford's Stevenage home. Playford had become a focal point for ...

, 1993).

Origins

Notable releases

See also

References

Further reading