Thumpa - 90s Euro Happy Hardcore Classics Vol 2 (2026)

Martin van Zeelandt / TCD
2 days ago
4 min read

The weekend has landed, and it's time for some fun! Let's go back to the 90s, and listen to some Happy Hardcore. And obviously, I am on board with this, as I'm a true lover of the Happy sound. I grew up with it, and seeing Thumpa's image, having the legendary devils in them, that just fills my heart with joy. Legendary icons from the Happy scene, especially from Arcade's 'Happy Hardcore' CD collection. Not sure if they ever played football for the England team though?

Thumpa really made my day. I woke up this morning, not knowing what to listen to. And then I remembered: I had a mix saved to listen to later, which is the one you are about to listen to. And it's already had a lot of positive feedback, and for good reasons. Deep down, everyone loves Happy Hardcore, even those who think it's God awful. And I understand all views on it, as not all Happy tunes are great: there are some horrible tracks made. But surely the majority are great anthems, still loved by many.

I don't think I've seen the first instalment of this mix series? It took Thumpa 4 years to release the second one, but hopefully not another 4 years. We need more of these Happy mixes, they make our lives better. Who can ignore these glorious anthems from the 90s? And it's a nice blend of UK and the rest of Europe. That distinctive sound, you cannot recreate it, it belongs to the 90s. So happy, so cheerful. Maybe that's why I'm a miserable sod in 2026: in the 90s I was happier, as the music was happier. I found the reason!

Let's see which records Thumpa picked:

01. Habegale - I Want Your Mind (Alt Mix 2)

02. Nakatomi - Free! (Tokyo Dome Edit)

03. DJ Paul Elstak - Life Is Like a Dance (Forze DJ Team Remix)

04. Interstate - Don't You Worry

05. Sense of Summer - Around the World

06. Deejay Kaos feat Vickie - Died In Your Arms (Rhythm Station Remix)

07. Love Child - All Out Of Love (DJ Weirdo & DJ Sim Remix)

08. Bass D & King Matthew - Dance!

09. Revolution Team - The Officer

10. Chronotrigger - Mammamia

11. DJ Paul - Luv U More (The Stunned Guys Remix)

12. DJ Isaac & Pagan - 2 Definitions

13. Ham & Demo & Justin Time - Here I Am (DJ Brisk Analogue Remix)

14. Infernus - 7 ways

15. Michaelangelo - Pump The Bass

16. 4 Tune Fairytales - My Little Fantasy (Bass D & King Matthew Mix)

17. DJ Demand - Stay With Me

18. Happymen - Love Is You (The Stunned Guys Remix)

19. I2U - Euro Stomp

20. Prezioso - Feel The Rhythm (The Stunned Guys Hardcore Remix)

21. DJ Skorp & DJ Pila - Oohh God Damned I'm Great

22. Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Your Smile (Happy Hardcore Mix)

23. Tiny Tot - Discoland (Placid K Remix)

24. Scott Brown - Rave Generator

25. Active Force - Hit Like A Pacman

26. Profound - 4 O'Clock

27. Supreme, Billy Bunter & D-Zyne - Outside World

28. DJ Rob & Tim B - Loud And Proud

29. 4 Tune Fairytales - Take Me 2 Wonderland (Hard-Tune Mix)

30. DJ Mystic - All That She Wants

Christ, this takes me back! In a split second, I felt 20-30 years younger again! And that's a scary thought: the 90s ended 26 years ago. How did that happen, and why did Happy Hardcore disappear? Certainly NOT deserved.

The mix brought me some happiness. Those smiles for miles. I'm sitting here, smile from ear to ear, loving the vibes. These are the tunes which I listened to a lot. But I have to be honest: the extremely cheesy stuff, like 'Mammamia', 'All That She Wants', 'I Want You Mind', that was even too cheesy for me. Horrible songs. And that's exactly what Happy Hardcore was: you had some epic anthems, like '4 O'Clock', 'Pump That Bass', 'Your Smile', and at the same time, you had those three I mentioned before.

It's a nice mix, and maybe I should have checked the first mix, to see which one had the bigger tunes? But so far, it is a solid mix, with a few harder Happy tracks. And 'Feel The Rhythm' is my favourite of this mix. Always been a fan of The Stunned Guys, and this mix certainly works well.

Let this mix take you back to the 90s, when we were all young, happy, and couldn't give two shi*ts about anything. We only cared about the music, and it made us as happy as Happy Hardcore. Bring back these golden years, and please make more of these mixes.

Happy weekend all!