Terminology
4-beat
While ambiguous as a term, 4-beat only indicated that this style - unlike jungle music and its earlier breakbeat hardcore predecessor - used a common if somewhat insignificant four beats to the bar bass drum complementing the obligatory breakbeats. 4-beat does not mean it was void of breakbeats - a common error assumed by most.
Artists at the forefront of this style refused to call the style happy hardcore, rather they used the 4-beat term. DJ Seduction - a leading English producer since 1991 - said that, "House led to hardcore, which led to Drum N Bass and 4-beat (I hate calling it Happy Hardcore)" in a 1995 interview.
Several record labels including Impact, Techstep Records (London) and United Dance Recordings, displayed the 4-beat logo on their artwork alongside the "recognised form of 4-beat" slogan. This logo may also have been used on records to easily distinguish this and jungle music in record shops.
Happy hardcore
In England, hardcore was the terminology used to describe their breakbeat driven rave music style of the early 1990s, with happy being used to distinguish the happier variant of this breakbeat hardcore music, thus happy hardcore (i.e. happy breakbeat). This term was however less favoured by producers creating this music who instead used 4-beat or even just plain hardcore. Darkcore was the short lived counter movement to happy that occurred at the same time.
DJ Sy - another artist at the forefront of this movement - said, ""happy" hardcore (what a f***ing stupid name - always makes me think of "nappy" hardcore) of '94 onwards..."
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