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Hardcore Tidbits from December 2013 - Hardcore Review Awards 2014 & More
Powerstomp Album sees big success, more albums out and on the horizon, and the Hardcore Review Awards are coming soon
With December being a hugely busy month, there simply wasn't the time to write any blogs for the month. I have listened to (and thoroughly enjoyed) 'This is Powerstomp' by Joey Riot & DJ Kurt, and will still look to post that review before the month is out. I try to spend a lot of time analysing the tracks I listen to and therefore need multiple listens and note-taking sessions and with all that has been going on it has been impossible. Rest assured though, the album is a beast with everything that has made Powerstomp so popular throughout 2013.
The Hardcore Heaven Awards also took place recently and some of the winners were a little controversial. Leading the way was Kutski winning Best Freeform DJ. I have heard many Kutski sets and shows and I think it's impossible to name a Freeform track that he has played. Kutski admitted he was surprised to win the award and has offered a genuine Freeform artist, Thumpa, a slot on his Keeping The Rave Alive podcast (after the axing of the Radio 1 Residency Hardcore slot, which is a shame but has been coming). The real issue here is that name recognition of one artist seems to have overcome an entire Hardcore sub-genre, but does this mean fans need to go away and do some research, or that the sub-genre itself does not have the popularity to appeal to a wider audience? The comments box is below... (and @HardcoreReview1 on Twitter or The Hardcore Review on Facebook of course..)
A sub-genre that did extremely well at the Awards was the aforementioned Powerstomp, nailing four awards (and three others for Lethal Theory as a whole), including best album for 'This is Powerstomp', best label for Lethal Theory and Hardcore Set of the Year for Riot, Kurt & MC Mayhem's gig at Westfest. Gammer & Whizzkid won the DJ & MC Awards for the fourth year in a row. Newcomer Alex Prospect won both Best Breakthrough Awards, which is testament to the sort of year he has just had. As a comparison, Al Storm won the Best Newcomer Award a while back after 12 years in the game.
For the Hardcore Review Awards (to follow very soon), I will give you my top 3 in a series of categories. As the whole concept of the Hardcore Review is about the music, I will not be reviewing events or live sets. Production, album sets and mixing will all be accounted for though.
On a personal note, as well as Christmas and New Year, I also planned and executed a proposal of marriage to my girlfriend of many years. I think she would have been pleased if I'd put a copper ring on her finger at this point, but as it was she said yes and the wedding planning has started already (jeez).
I'm convinced that 2014 will be a huge year for the genre, and with more albums on the horizon than at any other time for nearly a decade, Hardcore is on the rise once more.
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