DJ Brisk*, DJ Demo, DJ Fury – Off Yer Nut!! 2

On the face of it, this should have been a pretty forgettable album. An obvious attempt to cash in on the success of the "Bonkers" series from a label outside of hardcore, right down to the artwork (like the fun caricatures from Bonkers with all charm surgically removed) and the title (presumably chosen after pasting "bonkers" into an online thesaurus). But in the choice of the DJs they somehow managed to create a wonderful album which highlights all the best parts of the late 90s happy hardcore scene.

The Brisk mix covers the dominant happy hardcore sound. But back in 1998, Brisk was the one keeping the more exciting, ravey side of the music alive, when many of his contemporaries were playing a more bland, toned-down version of the style. There's still plenty of pianos and vocals, but there's also enough of a rawer, rave music feel to keep it from being full on saccharine fluff. The first 5 or 6 tunes in particular are about as good as old happy hardcore gets.

Then on disc 2, the Demo mix. This is back when Demo was one of a few producers trying to bring back the breakbeat side of hardcore. Some tracks sound like they could have been released in 94 - some like more contemporary d&b, but with a bit of extra happiness added. But the real gem is the unreleased remix of "You're Mine", which manages to turn a bland cheesy anthem into something much deeper, with a glorious piano and a lovely deep reese bassline. This was one of my first introductions to any kind of breakbeat or jungle, and it's a shame this sound wasn't more appreciated at the time.

And then finally, the Fury disc covers the sound which would become known as freeform. Although this sound had come from happy hardcore producers trying something a bit more underground, as this mix shows it became a style that had little in common with happy hardcore other than tempo. Fury's own style is close to old free party hard trance and acid techno, all mashed together and pitched up, and it builds wonderfully to some harder tracks at the end. Looking back it's a shame this sound didn't get more exposure outside of happy hardcore, and no wonder when it appears on CDs with artwork like this!

At the time I played this probably more than any other compilation I had...and looking back it's a great sign of how interesting happy hardcore could have been if it hadn't been so dominated by the same big names playing it safe.

I'm not a fan of the cheesy happy core sound any more but i must comment on the 3rd cd of this release.

Dj Fury always stood out for me in the late 90's as he was bringing a deeper acid sound at a time when the Uk's more mainstream hardcore djs were opting for teeny pop two dimensional drivel.

This Fury mix is structured excellently, starting a little slower (160 ish) with some of his own and Helix's tribal acid productions on the xy2 label, then gradually getting harder and faster as the mix progresses. After the spine tingling "More Understanding" it continues to build until he drops an unexpected breakbeat track (Slam & Helix - Sikkakiks) in the middle, which works perfectly to set the listener up for the second half of the mix. He then takes it considerably harder, levelling out at the end with "Saviour", "Death By Stereo" & Sharkey's "Product Of Society" which are banging but very euphoric emotional tracks.

If you are into underground hard dance mixed with real vinyls that are more at home in a woodland free party than Ministry of Sound then buy this on sight. This cd was a massive influence on my musical journey. Do not be put off by the cartoon cover!!