Hardcore techno

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Hardcore techno , usually just called hardcore in the relevant scene , is a harder techno / new beat music style and moves in a tempo range from around 160  BPM .

term

Initially, the term Hardcore Techno was used from around 1989 for a variety that emerged from Electronic Body Music . With the techno wave, the meaning of the term shifted, so that from the beginning of the 1990s "hardcore techno" specifically meant the aggressive form of techno . To avoid confusion, the term Hardcore Electro was used for the descendant of the EBM .

features

The focus on a "hard", distorted bass drum is characteristic of Hardcore Techno . Furthermore, sounds that are considered “hard” are often used. Samples and voices are mostly distorted or otherwise alienated and mostly come from horror, action and war films ( Hellraiser - Das Tor zum Hölle , Nightmare on Elm Street , Pulp Fiction , Full Metal Jacket etc.) or hip-hop - and gangsta- Rap songs from z. B. NWA , Public Enemy or DMX . Occasionally samples from metal songs ( e.g. Fucking Hostile by Pantera ) or classical pieces are used.

history

Marc Acardipane from Frankfurt is considered to be the inventor of hardcore techno with his publication We Have Arrived (under the pseudonym Mescalinum United , 1990), which is published on Planet Core Productions (PCP) , which he founded in 1989 with Thorsten Lambart (alias Don Demon / Slam Burt) has been. More hardcore techno tracks on PCP as well as foreign pieces such as B. Cactus Rhythm by Plexus (consisting of BBE member Emmanuel Top ) followed in 1991.

In 1992, the Dutchman Paul Elstak (alias DJ Paul) founded the Rotterdam Records label and possibly started with the Rotterdam act Euromasters and its first release Amsterdam waar lech dat dan? (Amsterdam, where is that?) Laid the foundation for gabber . This has not been proven, as there were quite a number of other Dutch (and foreign) hardcore techno / gabber releases in 1992 and exact release dates are not known.

The zenith was reached in the mid-1990s, when the gabber scene was still inextricably linked with the techno scene. Often the two scenes coexisted on the same major event, which (Engl. By two or more separate dance floors dance floors ) was realized. Initially, the main floor was mostly reserved for more conventional techno, while hardcore techno was present on its own hardcore floors . This arrangement contributed to the fact that countless new ravers from the techno camp came into contact with hardcore techno at such events, which contributed to a strong increase in demand. The organizers reacted and reversed the order, with Hardcore Techno conquering the main floor . The DJs and music producers like The Prophet , DJ Dano, DJ Gizmo and Buzz Fuzz (collectively known as The Dreamteam ) were considered stars. The New York DJ and producer Lenny Dee was still one of the most important representatives .

Hardcore techno compilations were produced and sold even by major labels (e.g. Arcade, BMG , edel Records and WEA Records ) - with names such as B. Thunderdome , Bassrave, Terrordrome or Shocker. The connection between hardcore techno and pop culture was achieved in 1995 by the Dutch DJ / producer duo Flamman & Abraxas with a remix of the track I Wanna Be A Hippy by the English duo Lee Newman and Michael Wells (under the pseudonym Technohead ) - in terms of sound reminiscent of happy hardcore, but has no "hard" bass drum - which became a worldwide success. It was released on the Amsterdam hardcore techno label Mokum Records .

In the mid-1990s, there was a significant mixing of two styles of music: The hardcore techno described here, popular on the European mainland, met Happy Hardcore , which is widespread in Great Britain , which, despite having the same name, goes back to other musical roots ( hardcore (breakbeat) ). While hardcore techno took up the melodic elements of its British counterparts at that time and thus also caused a happy hardcore wave in Holland and Germany for a short time, British producers liked to use the distorted 4/4 basslines of hardcore techno from then on . So there was a bidirectional influence on both hardcore scenes. The traces of this event are still present, especially in today's UK hardcore scene.

The widespread interest in hardcore techno quickly waned around 1996. Even at techno parties, hardcore floors were no longer a matter of course, but mostly only found in special clubs or at major events. While the fast hardcore techno sound dominated from 1995 to 1997 (often 170 bpm upwards), the BPM number of most hardcore techno tracks fell significantly in the following years, especially from 1998. Such slower tracks (which were nothing new, just a trend ) often contained heavier beats than the tracks of bygone days and melodies often sounded "squeaky" (also called squeaky core in slang ). This slower hardcore techno was finally given the name "Mainstyle" from 2002/2003 (the years before "Newstyle Hardcore"). Musical trends in the gabber scene became mainstyle as well as other (and also not new) sub-genres of hardcore techno such as industrial hardcore and Frenchcore from around 2001 . The "classic" (faster, not happy sounding and without SuperSaw tones) Hardcore Techno is still hardly produced.

Sub-genres of hardcore techno such as speedcore , terror , gabber , cybergrind etc. are still used today to express certain events such as the annual Berlin Fuckparade and the Frankfurt night dance demo.

Typical tracks

  • Mescalinum United - We Have Arrived (1990; mostly industrial hardcore )
  • Plexus - Cactus Rhythm (1991)
  • T-Bone Castro - Hilltop Hustler (I'm The 1 & Only) (1992)
  • 3 Steps Ahead - Stravinsky's Bass (1994)
  • Chosen Few - Name Of The DJ (1995)
  • DJ Buzz Fuzz - Take 'em Up (1996)
  • Party Animals feat. Rob Gee - The Nazi Scum (1996)
  • Neophyte vs. The Stunned Guys - Army Of Hardcore (1998)
  • Endymion - The Power To Forget (2001)
  • Wapper & The Ladykiller - Party Extractor (2001)
  • Promo - Your Mother Sucked My Cock (And It Was Hell) (2002)

Important representatives

Subgenres