USAO

USAO is one of the engines of Japan’s hardcore machine: Masaharu Kubota has been releasing since 2006 as part of HARDCORE TANO*C (the doujin collective at the heart of the J-core scene), and his catalogue on HDRR’s radar, at roughly 186 tracked releases, is among the largest we follow.

TANO*C and the doujin school

He debuted on the collective’s “TANO*C COREnival” compilation, spending his first years in frenchcore and tribecore before founding his own label, UOM Records, in 2007 and releasing his debut album “Kick’s For Liberation” in 2009. From there the style shifted toward hardstyle and jumpstyle (the lane where he’d produce his signature work), with side aliases handling everything else: Shandy Kubota for dubstep and vocal work, DJ Nanashi for hands-up material.

The Big Daddy effect

“Big Daddy” is the crossover story: a Japanese hardstyle anthem that spread through rhythm games (WACCA, maimai DX, PUMP IT UP) and introduced a generation of arcade players to the harder styles. That rhythm-game pipeline is J-core’s superpower, and USAO’s tracks are all over it. On HDRR’s tracking, “Big Daddy” leads, with “Azathoth” and “RAISE IT UP” behind it, and his scene runs deep alongside peers like DJ Myosuke and REDALiCE.

On the radar

Every new USAO release lands on the Hardcore Release Radar or Hardstyle Release Radar the day it hits Spotify, with standouts charting in the Hardcore Top 100. The full tracked catalogue is listed above.