Si Thompson - Happy Hardcore Mix Session (11-4-2025)

Martin van Zeelandt / TCD
Apr 26
3 min read

I started today with a nice oldskool rave/Hardcore mix, and now I'm listening to a Happy Hardcore mix by Si Thompson. Why did I pick this mix? Well, Si used a picture of one legendary Happy Hardcore icon, one of the ''Devils''. As I bought all the Happy Hardcore CDs by Arcade back in the day, I instantly knew the Devil and what it represents. Of course did I look at the title of the mix too, but the Devil persuaded me. And that's a weird phrase to state today, when it's the Pope's funeral....

I adore Happy Hardcore, and whenever it's the early stuff or brand spanking new stuff, I love it all. My love for Happy Hardcore runs deep, very deep. And it will never go away. Not even when I'm 100 years old, sitting in my armchair, watching the world go by, behind my geraniums, drinking a lovely cup of tea with a biscuit, and blasting out Happy Hardcore at max volume, as I'll probably be deaf at that stage in my life. And I would still reminisce to the glorious days, those precious days when Happy Hardcore was everywhere.

And it seems that Si's mix is filled with a nice mixture of well known tracks and a few forgotten gems. And even remixes I've not heard before. So it might be a trip down memory lane, but there will be new memories made today, hopefully. That all depends on the tracks selected and the mix itself. Is this going to be devilishly good, or not?

Bang! - Sailaway (Mellow Mix)
DJ Hixxy & MC Sharkey - Toy Town '97 (Unreleased Bootleg Mix)
4 Tune Fairytales - My Little Fantasy (Happycore Bootleg)
DJ Revive - Secrets
DJ Demo - You're Mine (Slipmatt Remix)
Interactive - Forever Young (Merlin's Dubplate Mix)
Demo & DNA - Wildstyle
Ragnarok - Quadrafuzz
DJ Ham - Are You Ready?
DJ Demo - Deaf Toad
Slippery Project - Closer To All Your Dreams
DJ Demo - Musik (DJ Ham Remix)
DJ Evo - Starting Over (Keep On Trying)
Mickey Skeedale - Come Find My Love

A trip down memory lane, that's for sure. And new memories were indeed made. Si's selection is really cool. And it's another mix that shows me that Happy Hardcore was, and still is amazing.

It is as cheesy as you want it to be. And if needs must, it will bring you rays of sunshine. That's what I'm currently experiencing. Happiness is all around, and this mix has certainly made me happy. Also kind of sad, certain records used in this mix are great, but maybe not the versions used. ''Sailaway'' is such a great HH record, and this mellow mix isn't the best version of that song. Same with ''My Little Fantasy'', although a good effort. But Bass-D & King Matthew's version remains the dog's bollocks.

But the tracks that got me hyped up the most, and got me dancing, are ''Secrets'' by DJ Revive, and ''Starting Over (Keep On Trying)'' by DJ Evo. These are truly great songs, and I'm guessing they are fairly new records? Not heard them before, but will have this mix on repeat. So much so, these songs will be etched into my brain.

A great mix, and it has made me happy. Couldn't ask for more! And you couldn't ask for more either: I haven't even mentioned that the song ''Toy Town'' is in this mix (which I truly dislike)! It must be a great day!