Breakcore

Breakcore is a style of electronic music that has been heavily influenced by hardcore techno , drum and bass , digital hardcore and industrial . Breakcore is characterized by concise kick drums , breakbeats and excessive sampling . The BPM number tends to be high and often over 160. In the mid- 1990s and 2000s , the genre emerged almost simultaneously in the Netherlands , Belgium , Germany and Great Britain . Rhythm 'n' Noise is a related genre.

Breakcore is also known as "Noisecore" in North America .

Characteristics

The most striking feature of all breakcore productions is the use of the drums. The rhythm is often based on the manipulation of the amen break and other classic jungle - and hip-hop - breakbeats at a high BPM. This style-defining use of drum samples can vary greatly from artist to artist; some prefer a mounting technique , while others distort the breakbeats heavily or use other effects such as delay or reverb.

The biggest differences between breakcore artists are in the use of melody . Classic rave samples - characteristic of acid and drum and bass - are common. However, breakcore is mostly known for cross-genre sampling . More and more musicians of the genre are also using instruments recorded live in their compositions - u. A. Istari truck driver , Hecate , Benn Jordan , Qüatros and Venetian Snares .

Rhythm 'n' noise

Power noise , also called "Harsh" is a breakbeat - musical style emerged in the mid-1990s, and elements of the post-industrial , drum and bass , noise and hardcore techno connects whereby it will sound easily confused with breakcore can. It differs from breakcore mainly in that more emphasis is placed on danceability and catchiness. Effects such as distortion and delay, as well as speech samples from films, radio and television news are often used. Among the most influential representatives of this musical style in the 90s and early 2000s were Iszoloscope , KiEw , Klangstabil , Mono No Aware , P · A · L , Stahlfrequenz , Terrorfakt and Xotox .

history

The first wave: the 1990s

In the 1990s, DJ Scud began to play very noise-oriented hardcore techno together with producer Aphasic - both of them at the London label Ambush Records . Many musicians from the first wave of breakcore published on Ambush, u. A. Christoph Fringeli , Slepcy , The Panacea and Noize Creator . Many style-defining elements, such as the high BPM number, crossover , various breakbeats , as well as elements of Jamaican music styles, are already consistently detectable in these early representatives.

Alec Empire was also relevant for the development of Breakcore , who also shaped the sister genre Digital Hardcore and also brought out some Breakcore releases on the label named after this genre.

The heyday, the second wave: the 2000s

In Belgium and the Netherlands a new style crystallized at the beginning of the new millennium, based on the developments in breakbeat music in Great Britain and Berlin ; the term "breakcore" began to develop into a generic term for the new style. Above all, the Internet fueled the consolidation of a new genre of music, which was now understood as a mixture of all musical styles, underlaid with a fast breakbeat; In addition, the Internet was an ideal source for samples and an exchange for breakcore tracks. Many Belgian and Dutch artists developed into established figures in the scene on the Internet: u. A. Droon , FFF and Bong-Ra . The first festivals used the new term: Breakcore Gives me Wood was born in Belgium, Breakcore A Go Go in the Netherlands and the Fuckparade in Germany, where breakcore was played more often.

The presence in online forums close to the scene , on YouTube and at festivals shaped the heyday of breakcore as a distinct style of music.

Features of the scene

While the scene was initially primarily active on the Internet , the activities of fans and musicians at festivals shifted parallel to the emergence of the Freetekno movement. At breakcore concerts you will mainly find people with a socialist , anarchist , libertarian or completely apolitical attitude. Showing nationalist or National Socialist symbols or shouting out corresponding content, on the other hand, is frowned upon. Analogies to network activism and the hacker scene, as well as the DIY ethic are striking. As is typical for other subcultures from the field of electronic dance music , the open consumption of illegal drugs such as marijuana , as well as synthetic drugs, especially amphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy), is not uncommon; apart from that, supporters of the straight edge movement can also be identified among breakcore fans.

In the 2006 documentary "Notes on Breakcore", Society Suckers say that breakcore emerged from the acid techno and rave culture of the mid-1990s and in contrast to the gabber scene, which was increasingly infiltrated by neo-Nazis .

The third wave: the late 2000s

A split in the scene can be seen at the end of the 2000s. New artists, e.g. B. Mochipet and Igorrr , placed more emphasis on more complex rhythms and melodies, as well as on progressive, less repetitive compositions , while other performers tried to revive the "dark" sound of the early days by increasing heavy metal and industrial - Let samples and heavily distorted drums flow into the tracks, especially drum corps , Otto von Schirach , Eiterherd and Hecate .

Still other artists went completely different ways and strived for a new sound and combined the established elements of the genre with other musical styles. For example, Venetian Snares has been combining breakcore rhythms with classical music since the album “Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett” from 2008 . It's similar with Igorrr. Shitmat and Drop the Lime , as well as the Japanese artists DJ Scotch Egg , Ove-Naxx and Doddodo mainly used happy hardcore and rave sounds to create a rather cheerful sound. The popularity of chiptune music on the Internet, from the end of the 2000s, influenced artists such as Sabrepulse , Hrvatski and Tamvred , through which 8-bit compositions also found their way into the scene.

Well-known artists (selection)

Web links

Commons : Breakcore - collection of pictures, videos and audio files