Genre comparison
UptempovsHardcore
Uptempo is not a rival to hardcore, it is hardcore with the tempo pushed to the edge. Mainstream hardcore usually tops out around 200 BPM; uptempo starts there and keeps going. Here is what separates the two in speed, kick design and feel, and how uptempo grew out of the hardcore scene.
The short version
Hardcore techno usually runs 160 to 200 BPM with a heavily distorted kick. Uptempo hardcore is its faster, rougher extreme, typically 185 to 220 BPM and often past 200, with overdriven, mid-forward kicks that dominate the whole track and almost no melody. Uptempo is a subgenre of hardcore, credited to Dutch DJ Partyraiser, so the difference is mostly speed and kick character, not lineage.
Side by side
| Uptempo | Hardcore | |
|---|---|---|
| Relationship | A faster subgenre of hardcore | The broader genre |
| Typical BPM | Around 185 to 220 (often past 200) | Around 160 to 200 |
| Kick | More overdriven, mid-forward, dominant | Distorted, four to the floor |
| Melody | Minimal, samples and stabs | Present across many of its styles |
| Mood | Extreme, relentless, dark | Raw, ranges widely |
| Took shape | From hardcore B-sides, early 2010s | Rotterdam, early 1990s |
| Founder figure | Partyraiser | The wider Rotterdam scene |
| Even faster | Speedcore | Uptempo, then speedcore |
Uptempo is hardcore's fast edge
Uptempo hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore, not a separate genre. Mainstream hardcore sits between 160 and 200 BPM; uptempo starts where that ends and pushes past 200, with kicks overdriven and pitched further until they dominate the whole frequency range. The melody thins out and the samples get darker.
Born on the B-sides
The style is credited to Partyraiser, the Dutch DJ known for playing the faster, rougher B-sides of hardcore records pitched up and sped up further still. In the early 2010s that habit hardened into a production style of its own, and "uptempo" stuck as the name. Around 2019, artists like The Dark Horror widened the formula with new kick pitches, lower frequencies and even slower passages.
Where uptempo sits on the map
Below uptempo is mainstream hardcore; above it, past its upper limits, is speedcore. Its 200 BPM neighbour frenchcore shares the tempo with a bouncier, more melodic temperament, and the euphoric Deutscher Krach wave grew from the same fast-hardcore roots.
The artists on each side
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Questions,answered
What is the difference between uptempo and hardcore?
Uptempo is hardcore's faster, rougher extreme. Mainstream hardcore usually sits between 160 and 200 BPM, while uptempo starts there and pushes past 200. Uptempo kicks are more overdriven and mid-forward, the melodies more minimal and the samples darker.
Is uptempo a type of hardcore?
Yes. Uptempo hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore techno, not a separate genre. It shares hardcore's distorted kick and Rotterdam lineage but runs faster and harder.
What BPM is uptempo?
Uptempo hardcore typically runs from around 185 to 220 BPM and frequently pushes past 200. At its most extreme it approaches terrorcore and speedcore territory.
Who invented uptempo hardcore?
The style is widely credited to Dutch DJ Partyraiser, who became known for pitching up and speeding up the B-sides of hardcore records. That habit hardened into its own faster style, and the name stuck in the early 2010s.
What is faster than uptempo?
Speedcore. Past uptempo's upper limits, speedcore and terror push the tempo even higher, into the fastest corners of the hardcore family.