It's been a year since I last reviewed a Claxton mix. And his previous mix was the first instalment of the 2000s vocal power anthems. And only a day ago did he upload the second instalment, filled with vocal anthems from 10-20 years ago. It doesn't happen very often that he uploads stuff onto his Soundcloud channel, so you have to be patient and keep your eyes peeled, just in case he does upload something: it might be worth your time and effort. And this time it's yet another wicked mix, an hour and a half long of the finest UK Hardcore anthems from a era we sadly have to call our past.
What he's done is simple: get the finest vocal anthems from our rich UK Hardcore past, and made a mix. It's that simple. But it has to work well, and leave that to Claxton: he surely delivered yet another amazing mix. It's got tracks by the finest producers, like Brisk, Darwin, Storm, Breeze, Dougal, Gammer, Sy, Unknown, Squad-E, Entity, Darren Styles, and the list goes on and on.
Just looking at the tracklist gives me goose bumps. It takes me straight back to the noughties, and it makes me happy. It was around 2003-2004 when I discovered UK Hardcore, and I got bitten by the bug. I knew instantaneously that this was made for me. Not many people in NL did appreciate it, but I couldn't care less. I was living the dream, with the finest music I could find. It was made for me, and I still hold it close to my heart. Why, you might ask? Well, because the music was (and still is) great. Not as cheesy as Happy Hardcore and not as hard as Gabber music. Nicely in between both styles, and that's basically what I was searching for, all my life.
I've been to a few raves in the UK and Belgium so far, not that many, but they are still precious memories that I will hold close to me forever and ever, and the music will remain one of my favourite styles to have ever been created. Sadly so underrated, but also a bit niche, which makes it more appealing to me.
The vocal songs were always 100 times better. You can fight me in the comment, but it was just much better than anything else. And that's a fact. But which vocal anthems did Claxton select for his mix? Are you intrigued? Don't you worry son, I've got you covered:
Virtue & Slammer - Don't Go (Gammer Remix)
Breeze vs Squad-E feat Justine - Another Smile
N-Force vs Darren Styles - Right By Your Side (Re-Con Remix)
Dougal & Gammer vs Hixxy - Dark Skies
Velvet - Fix Me (Squad-E Remix)
Impact & Weaver - All My Life (Weaver Remix)
Breeze vs Barley feat Taya - Falling (Breeze Remix)
Ham & DMO - Every Single Day
Mark Breeze vs Unique - Sometimes
Dougal & Gammer feat MC Whizzkid & Jenna - All My Life
Storm & Euphony feat Danielle - Breathe
Frisky & Hujib - The One
Sy & Unknown feat Lou Lou - I Just Can't Get Enough
Brisk & Vagabond - The Only Ones
Darwin feat Pearl Blue - Don't Be Lonely
Cube::Hard feat Jennifer Bolton - Show Me A Sign
Impact - Beautiful
Scott Brown & DMO - Just Walk Away
Darwin & Aquamendez - Coming Off The Wall
Sy & Unknown feat Lou Lou - Right Here (Squad-E Remix)
Darren Hotchkiss & Stu Infinity - Last Goodbye
Route One feat Jenny Frost - Crash Landing (Darren Styles Remix)
Breeze vs Barley feat Taya - Feeling So Alive
Dougal & Gammer feat Jenna - Lose Me Forever
Brisk & Ham feat Lisa Marie - Your Angel (Eclipse Remix)
CLSM & Lisa Abbott - Timebomb
Access 3 - Promised Land (Squad-E Remix)
Dougal & Gammer - Fires In The Sky
Spenno & Jess - Find Ur Way (Petruccio & Modulate Remix)
Fracus feat Andy L - When We're Together
Entity & Darwin - I Know Where I Stand
Sy & Unknown feat Lou Lou - Caught Up In Your Love 2007
DJ Seduction feat Alison Wade - Open Up (Chaos Remix)
Insight - Only Your Love (Scott Brown Remix)
Darren Styles feat Daniel Sherman - Sound Without A Name
What happened to this kind of music? Why did time just move forward and not let us enjoy this for much longer? I know that progression is always a good thing, but if there's one style I was hoping for to stay the same for as long as possible, it would be the Millennium UK Hardcore sound. Nothing can compete with it, and it still much doper than anything currently on the market.
I do feel something in my belly, whenever I hear these classic songs. Maybe butterflies? It could be, who knows? I do still love it, and maybe I'm still falling in love with it, over and over again?
The music makes me happier and cheerful, and I'd much rather listen to this than anything else right now. The euphoric sound that was created around the Millennium was just so damn great. And timeless too. Just put any of these songs on at a present day rave, and crowds will loose their minds. The tracks themselves are great, but add a perfect vocal bit to it, and it becomes something special. And there's too many to choose from, to name my favourite. Just too damn many.
But if I had to, it's got to be 'I Know Where I Stand'. Those vocals... just breathtakingly beautiful!
A wicked mix. I hope we don't need to wait another year for the third instalment, but if needs must, we just have to be patient.
DJ: Claxton
Genre/Style: UK Hardcore, Happy Hardcore, Freeform
Mix Info; Claxton - 00s Vocal Power Anthems 2 - The Sequel
Length Mix: 01:27:54
Tracks: 35 (thirty-five)
Download/Listen (via Soundcloud): CLICK HERE
File Size: 201 MB
File Type: mp3
Audio: Stereo
Bit Rate: 320kbps
Release Year: 2023
More Information: Claxton - Soundcloud Channel