As Hard As It Gets. Legally. (Hard House in general)

Name: Tcraze84

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Product:	Hard House in general
Date:	27/09/01 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots and lots of bangin'.

Disadvantages: Lots and lots of bangin'. What? It does get a bit boring, you know.

You say you don't understand dance music. And by saying that, I can understand you too, you know. I understand it when people say they can't see, can't understand, the deeper meanings so often encapsulated within Trance, or when they say that Happy Hardcore's just a big noise. Too loud, too much, too soon. That sorta thing. And I see that, I really, really do. I understand that. I don't understand it when people say that Trance music is mindless repetition, or when they say that Progressive's just as unimaginative as the rest of 'em. That's what's so great about music, but as a concept, something people too often don't grasp. I can take criticism, and intelligent argument's even better, as it gives me a chance to either prove them wrong or just air my opinion. If somebody were to say to me, "Tom, Trance music's fluckin' crap dude, how can you listen to that bleepy nonsense?", that's not worth saying. It's irrelevant. But, and it happens all too infrequently, somebody would say to me, "Tom; I don't understand Trance - or dance music in general - what's so special about it? I don't understand how electronic sounds can express/provoke emotion", I'd be happy. I'd love to explain that, face-to-face with someone. Really.

It doesn't happen though, because music is the great divide, over whatever else was meant to be, but your tastes in music reflect You, who you really are, who you make friends with, and what you do, even when you're alone. That's why music's so great, but constructive arguments from genre to genre from music fans are few and far between. You usually can tell just see which kind of music a person likes simply from how they style themselves, what they wear, what they're like. Goths, Punks, Trendies, whatever. I love both Dance music and Punk. Go figure. That's probably why people talk to me with a confused look on their face.
Whatever.

Dance has meaning. Trance, in particular, has loads of meaning. And besides the ignorant music "fans", and the rare occurence of an intelligent criticism of the genre, there's not much left. Key word: intelligent.

'Cause if somebody came up to me and said "Tom, don't ya think Hard House is just so, so, beautiful, man? Doesn't Nick Sentience's new tune just make you shed a tear?", I'd tell them to shut up, because they'd either be speaking tongue-in-cheek, or, worse, just as stupid as those who dismiss all dance music as noise. Trance has meaning. House has meaning too, but a lot less. The lovechild of the two, Progressive, has ever-so-slightly more meaning than House; less than Trance; but more than Hard House. You see, I understand dance music. I really do. I see the love people have for it, and how it influences them, makes them happy. But of all genres, I can't see a deeper meaning to Hard House. It might be the case that, y'know, there's not meant to be one; and if there is, then I apologise. That's not to say I don't like Hard House though, 'cause I do, but there's no soul to it, no heart, if you see what I mean. It's clubbing music, but you knew that already. So's Trance, but that's about a lot more than just dancing and providing background music within a club. Hard House has no other purpose but to make people dance. That's the difference. People who don't understand dance music must be pretty stupid if they can't understand this much-maligned genre, simply because there's really nothing to understand, you know. It does exactly what it says on the tin. It's Hard House - unsurprisingly, a harder form of House music. Hard House is dance music. It makes you dance. Mission accomplished. But wait: it can't be as simple as that, can it? Can it? And that's the bit that really intrigued me, at the time, about the mystique of
this newfangled breed of music: if there was no soul, no passion within it - if it were only there for monged clubbers world-wide to jump around a bit to - then where's the fascination? How could somebody truly appreciate the music, if, y'know, they didn't go and plead with the DJ to tell you the name of the track he'd just played, or if they didn't rush down to their record shop on a Monday morning to swipe the early-morning deliveries of the epic tune that'd blown them away the previous Friday, 2am? Surely, it's that - the unique perseverance, the interaction - the passion, from the fans that contributes so much to the culture of the music itself?

I was misled. Sure, no Hard House devotee that I've ever had the pleasure to meet has embraced the genre with such appreciation that, say, a Trance fan usually does, or a dedicated follower of a particular band or artist, but they usually do know their stuff. Just about, anyway. And if it's not the name nor producer of their favourite track that they instantly recognise, it's the hookline, it's the introduction, upon hearing it for the first time since that explosive Friday night that will grab them yet once again, only this time, completely sober and straight-thinking. But the important thing is that they got it in the first place. That's true music appreciation for you, in the most credible of circumstances.

I'm not sure if you've ever heard Hard House, because you've never told me. You might've heard mainstream stuff, possibly without even realising it y'know, but couldn't distinguish between Hard House and Trance if you tried. They're vastly, vastly different though. Think subtlety and you're already way off. Hard House isn't about subtlety, it's about dancing. No. It's about making you dance. There's rarely any choral breakdowns, no soulful vocals, nothing that embodies what Trance is all about. Trance
is patient, progressive by its very nature; Hard House is the consistent false-starter in a race. It can't wait to get going - 1-and go - you're into a plethora of deep snare beats and harsh electronica. Bang. Bang. Bang. Simple as that. That's not to say that Hard House, within the duration of any one tune - doesn't progress, doesn't mature - 'cause it does. But whilst Trance is gradual, slow-fast-slower-faster, Hard House is all about speed. Most sets speed up, considerably as they progress. Bang. Bang. BangBangBang. To put the sheer contrast between Hard House and Trance into further perspective, most Trance runs at 130-140 bpm. That's beats per minute, by the way. That's fast. But with Hard House almost crossing the line into Happy Hardcore territories at almost around 150-60 - if not more - that's one hell of a lot of bangs going on. Bang. Imagine that, 150+ times a minute. And if you can't work it out, that's roughly 2.5 beats in just one second. Not bad going for a fifth or sixth generation genre, then.

Ah yes, that brings us back to my trusty Mixmag genre chart. Fifth or sixth generation genre? Yeah. Before Hard House, way back in the days of Acid House (circa 1988), next came House. Techno. "Nu-NRG". And then Hard House. There's loads more, but that's just the basic route to where we lie now. According to Mixmag, the first ever real, monumental inspiration for the Hard House sound came five years ago in the form of DJ Misjah & Tim's 'Access' (1996). Read into that what will, particularly when they list the next milestone as 2000's 'Devil' by 666. And that, to the best of my knowledge, is way off, but it does at least bring us [almost] right up to date, anyway. For the veritable "Nu-Breed" of Hard House, with all its trademark swooshing hoovers and horns, and sirens, firmly in place, the future's looking good. Already, pioneering DJs such as Fergie -
the protegé of the late, great, innovator Tony de Vit, Lisa Lashes, Andy Farley and Anne Savage are earning much critical acclaim for pushing an entire genre up to where it currently stands. And yes, with the obvious similarity from Hard House to mid-1990s Happy Hardcore (R.I.P), it should come as no surprise then, that many DJs and producers - the likes of Slipmatt and Vinylgroover have switched "codes" to the rising popularity of Hard House. And even the labels - the likes of Tidy Trax - are doing very nicely indeed from the feverish rise of mainstream exposure.

Want more, or are all the multi-second bangs giving you a headache? Here, try some recommendations, from yours truly: I've tried to include a selection of tunes as a decent starting point for any potential fans out there:

• Rachel Auburn: 'Bass Keeps Pumpin'
• Fergie & BK: 'Hoovers & Horns'
• Lisa Lashes: 'Looking Good'
• Tony de Vit: 'The Dawn'
• Cortina: 'Music Is Moving'
• Bad Habit Boys 'Weekend'

Bang. Bang. Only quicker too, you know. And remember, conformity sucks. Dance music's not about that, uh uh. No way. In fact, Hard House is probably the most radical, rebellious subgenre of the lot. Quoting from the sleeve notes of Lisa Lashes' 'Hard House Euphoria' mix:

"...It's a sound that knows no boundaries. It's an uplifting forcible sound that drives the nation's clubbers to fist punch the air....no dress code, no speed limits".

There you go. Told you so. If you don't like Hard House, or don't want to like Hard House, then don't. Enough people like it already to worry about one more measly new fan. That said, I might regret saying that when the genre's on it's last legs, but hey. Do whatever the hell you want.

It's clubbing music. If you want easy listening, listen to easy
listening music. If you want to dance, you could do wrong than go for this. And if all else fails, there's Saves the Day. They're a bit different though. Try 'em all (but not the easy listening bit, unless you know your Solar Stone chillout sets from your Enya, yeah?). Bang. Bang. Get the picture yet?

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