- Hardbag
Hardbag was a
genre ofelectronic dance music popular in the mid 1990s. Having evolved out of thehandbag house scene in 1993-1994, the genre enjoyed massive, albeit brief, popularity, with several hardbag releases achieving positions in the upper echelons of the UK chart. It was at the time sometimes confused withNu-NRG yet the styles were discernibly different.Don't You Want Me byFelix is largely considered to be the track that launched the hardbag explosion. Produced byRollo Armstrong ofFaithless ,Red Jerry andFelix , "Don't You Want Me" was released in 1992, scoring a Top 10 placing on the UK singles chart.The popularity of the hardbag genre reached its zenith in 1995 with releases by
Candy Girls ,Rollo &Sister Bliss andMrs Wood all crossing over into the mainstream. Indeed, the sound began to meld withhappy hardcore , evident on tracks such as Forever young by Interactive and Rainbow islands - Seb.The two most influential exponents of the sound were Dutch producer
Patrick Prins (who, recording a variety of aliases, scored several large UK club and chart hits such as "Bits + pieces" - Artemesia) and the lateTony De Vit , whose hardbag composition Burning Up is still considered one of the definitive examples of the genre. Another great presence in the hardbag scene wasRed Jerry , former head ofHooj Choons . Other influential producers includeSister Bliss andPaul Masterson , the latter of whom diversified hardbag remixes to incorporatehi-nrg elementsBy early 1997 the hardbag craze had died down, and the sound began involving into what was to eventually become
UK hard house . Labels such asTripoli Trax expounded this sound via releases such as Bells of revolution byLemon 8 and Raise your hands byKnuckleheadz The following releases are considered classic examples of the genre:
*1992: Don't you want me - Felix (Deconstruction label, UK #8)
*1994: La luna - The Ethics (produced by Patrick Prins) (Effective label, UK #12)
*1994: Crayzy man - Blast (Media label, UK #32)
*1994: The ultimate - Antic (Hooj Choons, UK #71)
*1995: Burning up - Tony De Vit (:VC: label, UK #32)
*1995: Hooked - 99th Floor Elevators feat. Tony De Vit (Labello Dance, UK #30)
*1995: To the limit - Tony De Vit (:VC: label, UK #44)
*1995: Play this house - BB Club (Positiva label, UK #65)
*1995: Bits + pieces - Artemesia (Hooj Choons, UK #75)
*1995: Let's whip it up - Sleaze Sisters feat. Vicki Shepard (UK #48)
*1995: Listen to the rhythm flow - Diva Rhythms (Tripoli Trax)
*1995: Fee fi fo fum - Candy Girls (:VC: label, UK #23)
*1995: Wham bam - Candy Girls (:VC: label, UK #28)
*1995: What a world - Sister Bliss (Go! Beat label, UK #34)
*1995: U girls - Nush (:VC: label, UK #16)
*1995: Passion - Amen UK (Deconstruction label, UK #14)
*1995: Joanna - Mrs Wood (React label, #34; Joanna was remixed by Sash! in 1997, peaking at #31)
*1996: Access - DJ Misjah & DJ Tim (:VC: label, UK #16)
*1996: Forever young (Red Jerry remix) - Interactive, UK #32)
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