In a video From a recent performance at WOMB in Shibuya, Tokyo, throngs of exhilarated attendees raise their arms upwards. The melody builds up peacefully until machinery rumbles and an alarm wails. Then, the bass detonates, propelling waves through the venue. Another post depicts a throng gyrating to Jane Remover’s intense "dancing with your eyes closed," which then explodes into an even higher-energy mix-up by their alternate persona Leroy. Throughout the various clips captured at the event, it’s difficult to tell who’s playing or even what genre is the focus. It’s a vortex With ice-cold traps, devilish tempos, samples, chopped vocals, Jersey club beats—chaos ensues from electrified energy.
This marked the third edition of Car Crash & Siren, a series initiated by Lost Frog Productions , Japan’s most senior netlabel. The event held on March 30 attracted more than 700 participants and was the largest one organized by Lost Frog so far. Its theme Was Dariacore, also referred to as Hyperflip, the ballistic mashup phenomenon initiated by a teenager? Jane Remover in the early 2020s. While Jane once disavowed the microgenre, it took on a life of its own online. It’s mostly been an underground phenomenon outside of a few moments in the spotlight, like when iShowSpeed jumped on a Leroy beat along with Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA took inspiration For "Fentanyl Tester." Currently, this style is gaining traction as an underground sensation in Japan, largely due to Lost Frog, which has released numerous albums and compilations over the past two years, garnering thousands of downloads. The titles of their compilations and events—"Car Crash" and "Siren"—were directly influenced by the intense sounds of actual car crashes and sirens frequently employed in daricore tracks.
Last month, Lost Frog marked its 33rd anniversary with a compilation release. Complex Numbers Centered around dariacore-hyperflip artists, it was somewhat perplexing to learn that the individual striving to sustain this unbearably intense, mind-bending genre is 52 years old. However, artistic preference knows no age boundaries. The label owner, Haruo Ishihara, stumbled upon dariacore through breakcore artist Breakchild and instantly fell deeply into fascination. "While there’s undeniable technical brilliance," he shares via text, "I believe the crucial element is passion." He elaborates, stating, "The music encapsulates all their interests and cherished memories. It feels as though you're witnessing your entire existence flash past!"
The most thrilling dariacore sounds as chaotic as a computer retching up bile infected with E. coli: a dizzying gush from remixed clips and seismic bass drops and electrified thrills. This is heart-pounding music tailored for those who only start feeling alert after downing four cortados, a party soundtrack for a cohort that never truly experiences full wakefulness. YouTube Poop Addicts. However, the finest tracks are incredibly intricate, showcasing a talent for geeky beatmaking and mischievous sound design that most commonly found EDM hits and meme-inspired remixes lack. Visual style plays a crucial role as well: Since Leroy’s main project, dariacore whose art was stolen the ‘90s TV show Daria , DJs within this community have centered their content around particular elements of pop culture that are short-lived or transient. Arthur , The Fantastic Universe of Gumball , Blue’s Clues Each track represents a fresh "chapter" within a larger "series" (album), featuring quirky names such as “ The Elon Musk SoundCloud purchase. "Steej, who is 20 years old and hails from the Chicago region, refers to her take on the genre as “ giratinightcore, A take inspired by the Pokémon Giratina combined with ultra-fast nightcore music. They mentioned being captivated by dariacore’s spontaneous, electrifying vitality, and how the oddlysyncopated beats maintain a jarring yet cohesive balance throughout the track.
Ishihara mentions that the strong emotions and earth-shattering energy of the music remind him of his initial experience with drum'n'bass and gabber in the 1990s. During that period, he frequented places such as the long-gone Milk club in Ebisu and played with the band Surfers of Romantica, known for blending different styles. ear-stinging noise blasts with all sorts of cosmic and insect-tinny textural experiments He created Lost Frog as a platform for releasing his own albums and those of his friends, starting with distribution via cassettes and CDs. After getting online in 2000, he began seeking out international artists he respected, such as Luke McGowan from the critically acclaimed band Five Starcle Men. Lost Frog then released a compilation featuring this duo. Gomba Reject Ward Japan In 2007, the music was peculiar—filled with unusual instruments and distorted sounds, accompanied by stories suggesting the band had experienced "alien drug torture" and were part of "deadly cartoon culture governments." Ishihara continues to have sporadic communication with McGowan, who currently lectures on psychology at CSU Fullerton.
Ishihara mentions that he senses a comparable spirit coming from Dariacore and Hyperflip, reminiscent of outsider music and noise collages, though he struggles to articulate it precisely. The initial compilation he released, which took him a full year to assemble, was goodbye dariacore, you WON'T be missed . After that came Hyperflip Overture , which he describes as the most influential tape in the Japanese scene, overloaded with beats so kinetic it’s like you’ve jammed your finger in an electrical outlet. The Lost Frog compilation tape from last fall, FLUXCODE It features some of the most exhilarating parts. mashup music I’ve heard in ages: Billboard hits mutilated Through murderous drumbeats; intense hardstyle music so powerful it elicits both laughter and stunned disbelief; a track that begins with a mechanical voice declaring they will decline offers for backshots as they aim to reach their professional aspirations.
As Lost Frog gained momentum, the American part of the scene began to decelerate. Jane Remover ceased releasing music under the alias leroy, and the core dariacore magicians like carbine and Dashie (who showed up in my last column The focus drifted away from the original sound. The Discord server named "Snare Society," which served as an online gathering place for this community, closed down. One can hardly blame these artists for moving away from what others view as a mere "silly meme sound"—after all, many of them are just experimenting with their capabilities and pushing boundaries at such a young age. Steej mentioned feeling a palpable sense of unease within the scene due to ongoing debates regarding categorization and how outsiders perceived the genre. Although the electronic artist has begun shifting towards different styles beyond dariacore, they continue to hold admiration for the sound itself, recognizing its significant impact despite being underappreciated by most. As stated by Steej: “I wouldn’t want it to fade completely; I’m glad it’s still kicking around somewhere.”
Amidst this downturn, Ishihara continued to track what he refers to as dariacore’s "second wave," featuring artists such as reali, cluli, and dj twinturbo. Currently, numerous new producers have emerged, each bringing more unusual and eclectic styles to the genre. insular aesthetic elements, similar to pages centered around " the dress ” and computer screenshots There’s an increase in Japanese dairycore musicians; the 47 participants in Lost Frog’s CAR CRASH AND SIREN compilation are all Japanese, and there's a group called JPDH , or Japanese Dariacore Hyperflip. According to Ishihara, this sound gained popularity in Japan partially due to the nation’s culture of song remixes and OtoMAD meme Culture, and since pioneering scenes incorporated well-known anime and J-pop tracks (such as the pixelated excitement of Perfume, and sparkling Vocaloid tunes like Hatsune Miku’s track "Tell Your World"). It includes numerous high-energy moments; particularly notable is the galactic attack in curren’s “ Accelerate and even busier INTERNET_IRIS It feels almost cleansing, as though powerful hoses were drenching my mind.
It has been delightful seeing the influence grow internationally, with inspiration spreading much farther than the originators anticipated. As far as I know, there haven't been many—or perhaps even any—dariacore-specific events in America. However, now you have Tokyo clubs filled with teenagers enthusiastically jumping around to the music. xaev , steej, and Grave Robbing cuts CCS’s upcoming event will take place in Osaka, and Ishihara plans to host a Twitch show in June featuring Japanese DJs alongside producers such as Elwood and Marshall4. This could potentially mark the beginning of a resurgence in the scene, elevating the genre to greater prominence.
The most extreme form of dairy core is not just "meme remix" music trapped in nostalgia. It transcends sampling to become akin to voodoo possession, transforming the genre. Doja Cat into the singer of a wicked hardstyle-pop act, lacerating Charli xcx in a cyclone of blades , imagining what Big Time Rush would sound like If they joined forces with PC Music to create the ultimate aggressive love track. Each line introduces a different style, a fresh sequence, and a novel concept that could stand alone as its own complete piece. This composition is the antithesis of anhedonia— all-hedonia? — an incapacity to experience emotions but pleasure.
It’s especially refreshing, in this moment of stifling megaplatforms and shallow copy-paste genres, to see a community of artists striving not to rule the algorithm but to impress and one-up each other. Lost Frog, with their live shows and pay-what-you-want Bandcamp ethos, is helping facilitate the style’s small-scale growth. It’s one of a network of netlabels like Dismiss Yourself Those acts function more as digital explorers rather than commercial entities, scouring the vast depths of the internet for unconventional brilliance with just 50 streams.
After 33 years at the helm of the label, Ishihara views his involvement with dariacore-hyperflip as one of his most significant accomplishments. "At 52, I realize time is becoming increasingly limited," he shared with me. "If my health permits, I'd love to uncover numerous undiscovered talents and share their work with a wide audience." He added, "Another aspiration is ensuring these recordings remain accessible online for future generations. Imagine how intriguing it will be for individuals a century later to hear today’s dariacore; just thinking about it excites me!"