Tag Archives: Industrial

Upcoming Party Announcement: International Hard Dance Meeting

Looking for something to do the night before Defqon? Looking to hang out with other Americans?

Join us for International Hard Dance Meeting (The Official QSA Meet up)

27 June 2019

Facebook info: https://www.facebook.com/events/300685847499305/

*A five minute walk from Amsterdam Central Station

*A portion of the proceeds from the party will go to Musicians Without Borders

Seven Hardcore Tracks That Changed My Life

Some tracks hit you harder than others. They go beyond conventions, challenge boundaries, explore
new sonic terrain. They change your whole perception of music. These are seven tracks I considered
groundbreaking on first listen and after.

Inferno Bros. – Slaves To The Rave

The internet was not nearly as big as it is now in the mid 90s. You couldn’t find easily information about
“Underground Hardcore” on it. So which tracks, which music you knew was mostly defined by CDs or
Records you bought in a record store. And these were mostly defined by the Dutch Gabber market –
ID&T, Mokum, if you’re lucky you’d find a release by Ruffneck or K.N.O.R…. So I didn’t know what I
was in for when I bought a new double-CD by the Raver’s Night series, compiled by Ruffneck Records.
The beginning track was Slaves To The Rave by Inferno Bros. I had heard of PCP before, and listened to
some sounds, but barely knew anything really about this label. This changed with this track. It was just
so different from the standardized “Hardcore” and Gabber. There was so much in it, so many elements,
emotions, it picked you up and took you on its own vibe, so far away… what is not to praise about this
track? The intro, the breakdown, the main synths… a true classic.

Wedlock vs. Comababy – Void Sector

When I listened to this track I was still very much in “Dutch Gabber” territory and didn’t know about
labels like Fischkopf, Blut, Anticore yet. I found this track on an “Earthquake” compilation by ID&T. But
it stood out from the common Gabber arsenal. It had a “Spiral Tribe” sample, cold, industrial drumming,
a futuristic atmosphere… but the main thing for me was the synths that were used in this track.
Something I did not hear before, so otherworldly, so “out there”, like you were walking another planet…
I had to listen to this track on repeat for a lot of times. In my opinion, this track is a kind of “missing
link” between Experimental Hardcore and the more Dance-orientated Dutch Gabber productions.

Atari Teenage Riot – Into The Death

So I broke free from the “Supermarket Gabber” CDs I consumed and finally found a real record store
in the midst of Hamburg – “Container Records”, which was, amongst other things, the home of Fischkopf. One of
the first things I bought was “Harder Than The Rest”, a compilation with Digital Hardcore Records
artists. The tracks were all very nice to me, but when I came to “Into The Death”… I was blown away.
There was so much action packed into this track. Pure aggression. An endless onslaught of screams,
noise and beats. I got goosebumps and once the track was finished I had to listen to it again. To this
day this track is an example for me of how you produce a sound that is crammed with excitement.

Somatic Responses – Umbrella

I knew the music of Somatic Responses from the now defunct c8.com website, the main central of Experimental
Hardcore in the 90s and beyond. I got to know them personally on a mailing list, and we decided to exchange our
demos. So in the cold autumn of 1998 I opened a parcel with a demotape by the Somatix. And once I
put the tape in the player, I was gone. The opening synths of Umbrella… I never heard something like
this before. It changed my outlook at music forever. I know another artist who also listened to this track
described the sound by Somatics as “feeling as if you walk through a dystopic world of burned out
industrial building and cyborg wars”. Couldn’t agree more. This track is still amongst my favorites by the
Somatix. It had a huge influence on my own productions too, and I would suppose on a lot of other artists as well.

Frederik Schikowski – Ring My Bell

This gem was hidden on one of the infamous Irritant tape compilations. A mean, dirty little track.
Unusual for Frederik, it reminds of an Acid-Techno-Electro track, something that could’ve been on Mono
Tone or Force Inc. But the thing for me were the synth sounds, oddly squealing and distorted. The track
just sounded so exotic and different. A mental atmosphere, and a mind trip. A huge influence on my own track “Urban Uprising”.

Disintegrator – In The Sun

This track was actually one of the first Hardcore tracks I heard, as it was on the “Industrial Fucking
Strength” mix CD that I bought in the Gabber section of a chain store. But it wasn’t after 2000 that I
I first listened to the track in full length. It is a masterpiece in dystopic Techno. Wailing choirs like an air
raid warning, a voice muttering “Defcon, Defcon”, sounds like heavy vehicles moving, a killer
bassdrum… what else do you need. A true definition of “Hardcore Techno” and it shows how far ahead
even “older” sound could be. This track set me on a journey to discover the more Techno side of
Hardcore again, after the Breakcore “hype” of the late 90s.

303 Nation – Seis

Oh yeah. This track. A cryogenic nightmare on an outer space colony. Something went wrong but you
can hear the humming of the machines in the distance…
This is a very simple track really, just a drum and a bassline… but so effective in its simple ways.
Words can’t praise this track, and the whole “6 Tracker” release, enough. It’s just so peculiar, so much
there, so special… 303 Nation were true masters of Techno, and this was the high point of their art.

So these were some tracks that made an impact on me, and I hope there are much more to come.

‘Blaster – You Don’t Like Me’ Review

Blaster is a name in our community that I’m surprised more people haven’t mentioned, but with his newest release, ‘Drop the Bomb’ out on New York’s Industrial Strength Records, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw this man roaming the states very soon. Right away, the title track is going to catch you off-guard with its groovy, all-over-the-map sound design, odd-numbered (161?!) BPM, and with a trap-like breakdown, and a hard re-entry, this track is far more atypical in this genre. The b-side, ‘You Don’t Like Me’, is much more typical of this artist (and hardcore in general), however again Blaster keeps things interesting by incorporating other styles of electronic music and keeping his sound design original and edgy regardless of the dated, overused vocal sample.

 

Catch up with Blaster on:

Soundcloud

Facebook

Release Review: eDUB – Right Behind You EP [OBLIVION 006]

Making a debut into some slower industrial, the uptempo monster eDUB shows that he sits right at home at any tempo with his latest release on Oblivion Underground Recordings.

“I’m Not The Only One” – This beauty features screaming synths that sit ominously in the background with upfront 2/4 snares that fit in the mix perfectly. Not that it really needs mentioning but that characteristically brutal eDUB kick is there and rocking.

“Industrial Meat” – The track that initially got me interested in this release definitely delivers. The slowed down eDUB kick with it’s hard nose and tone heavy reflexive tail does well creating a dirty yet bouncy slow industrial monster. Effective kick edits and vocal sample use drive the track and the ominous break in the middle do service to add feeling to the track.

“Right Behind You” – The title track of the release does not disappoint. We have some of the screaming screeches in the back with good spacial effects much like first track in the release but with eDUB’s drum and bass influence and uptempo speed. The break and sample use of “Right Behind You” keeps up with eDUBS overall vibe of ‘electronically creepy’.  If you do uptempo, this ones for you.

“Primitive Technology” – This track featuring Alexander Head turned out to be the one that I didn’t see coming and, despite there being a 150 BPM banger, my favorite of the release. The kick is fat and ultra noisy and seems to incorporate all the other sounds of the release nicely into one gnarly track; ominous synths to fill the background, the 2/4 snares sitting nicely above the kick, the break has movement and motion to it rather than being dull and limp, the 4-4 snares after the break really ramp up the energy after the drop. Out of a whole release of nasty, dirty, rough, and noisy industrial tracks, this one tops it for me.

-CAP

Fight Interview: AZHC XX

We have an audio interview featuring Fight, all the way from France talking about AZ Hardcore Scene, Uptempo, and The Future of Hardcore.

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