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Even Furthur 2017: A Techno Pagan Ritual for the Ages

Last summer, Drop Bass Network pulled Even Furthur out of the foggy memory banks of the collective conscious of the Midwest, providing a fresh opportunity for newcomers and old-timers to gather together and let their freak flags fly. It was a mad weekend of fresh discoveries and random reunions, all underscored by the inimitable sound of underground techno pounding the earth hard enough to ripple the waters of Lake Superior.

This year found us back in the same region. That’s right. Much like last year’s festival, this one took place up in the Mellen Mountain Meadows of Northern Wisconsin. It was quite a trek to get there from most of the major centers in the Midwest, but one of the new developments at this year’s installment was a limited number of early entry passes that allowed people to arrive on Thursday afternoon. Early birds were not only able to get on the bus a day earlier, but it also meant that they could set up their camps well ahead of the pack that would cram themselves into the space over the weekend. It was a nice gesture that gave weary travelers a chance to unwind before the party really got going on Friday.

I hitched a ride with select members of The Northern Hardcorps. We rolled down from Canada, and arrived well after sunset on Thursday. As we approached ground zero, we tuned in and turned on to the Free Radio Furthur FM broadcast, and successfully resisted the impulse to race to the main gate.

Photo by Tonya.

After clearing the checkpoint, we parked and struggled to orient ourselves in the darkness. After a bit of exploration we connected with our crew and pitched our tents within the heavily fortified confines of Camp Blood. And by fortified, I mean our own fence and a front gate fitted with flamethrowers. A good party isn’t just about whiskey and kisses—at Camp Blood security is serious business. We even had a series of safety meetings over the course of the weekend.

Photo by Tonya.

There had been a storm earlier in the evening, so the ground was muddy and soft. The only firmness around was the distant thunder of Gabber Jihad on the main stage, which drifted through the woods and helped us settle in for the night. After a dozen hours on the road, the warm fuzz of distorted kick drums saturated the night with the constant reminder that we have arrived.

The activity slowly ramped up on Friday morning. Camp Blood sat at the top of the ridge overlooking the rig run by Speaker Kreatures /M.E.L.T. /Mobcore. The stage sat in the center of an immense pit, and had been named Land of Sunshine. That stage and a few of the other DIY sound systems had been set up the day before, but the rest of them started coming alive as the day began. Soon the sounds of the countryside were quickly replaced by a wide range of electronic music. As usual, crews had been invited from across the Midwest. They had all programmed their own lineups, and lugged their gear up north to keep people entertained during the daylight hours. There were eight DIY stages strewn across the festival grounds, with each one catering to a slightly different audience.

One of the highlights of the Friday DIYss (Do-It-Yourself sound systems) was an unscheduled hardcore set by Bombardier that closed out the afternoon at the Children of the Corn stage. If you recall, at last year’s event Bombardier had demonstrated his ability to drop a mindblowing set at a moment’s notice by stepping up and filling a headlining slot on the main stage. This year a last minute opening on the Iowa crew’s DIYss presented him with another opportunity to do the same, and he produced a raw and brutal assault on the senses that ripped through many of his hardest offerings. It was one of those surprising Furthur moments that requires being in the right place at the right time, and it left an exhausted crowd begging for more.

Bombardier’s raw and brutal assault on the senses. Photo by Tonya.

Of course, with DJ Dan behind the decks at Déjà Vu, and Decontrol tearing up the Land of Sunshine it seems like just about every stage must have felt like the right place to be. The DIY sound systems all did impressive jobs bringing in headlining talent, but when they shut down at 6 p.m., it was time to freshen up and make the trek down to the main stage.

It’s hard to believe that a gang of miscreants from Wisconsin has now been droppin’ bass across the whole planet for 25 years. It’s even more difficult to figure out how they have managed to constantly reinvent themselves without ever straying from the type of event that they’ve become internationally known for curating. This year’s main-stage lineup contained an exceptionally well-programmed mix of more recent discoveries alongside established legacy acts. Friday night featured an old school vinyl set by TJR sandwiched between captivating performances by Jlin and Black Asteroid. The showstopper, however, came early in the evening via a live PA by Prototype 909.

The trio of Dietrich Schoenemann, Jason Szosteck, and Taylor Deupree laid down a phenomenal set that reached deep into the core of my being and reminded me what electronic music is capable of doing. Sometimes we lose sight of what connects us to this scene, and P909’s masterful offering was exactly what I needed to hear. It simultaneously erased my regret at not having been present for their legendary ’95 appearance, and made me more aware than ever of what I had missed.

It was a relentless and flawless display put on by three skilled performers well versed in the capabilities of their gear and the intricacies of getting the most out of their equipment. Toward the end of the set a problem with the generator interrupted things momentarily. It disturbed the flow, but it also afforded those in the audience a chance to catch their breath.

As the sun came up on Saturday morning it was time for Hardcore Breakfast with Tim Shopp, with a special guest appearance by the original Drop Bass Terror Unit DJ—Mr. Bill. The tireless DBN Support Squad tapped a keg of PBR and made pancakes for the hungry masses. Eventually the plates ran out, and famished partiers resorted to making Canadian Tacos by drenching the food in maple syrup before folding them in half so they could be more easily devoured.

Hardcore Breakfast montage. Photos by Tonya.

At Furthur, there is no rest for the wicked. The night may have been over, but the day was just beginning. Unlike last year, which featured designated quiet times that provided some opportunity to rest, there was no downtime this year. Hot on the heels of Hardcore Breakfast came Mobcore Chicago’s Breakcore Brunch at the Land of Sunshine. Tooth_Eye, Common Dominator, and Sir.Vixx served up Milwaukee’s Best and threw down a few hours’ worth of broken beat brutality to round out the morning.

The nearby Psychosis stage delivered an entirely different sort of breakbeat mayhem, and had a stacked lineup of their own on Saturday afternoon. Hidden away in the woods, their camo tent featured sets by RP Smack, Easyrider, and the Ghetto Safari veteran—3D.

Elsewhere, there was chaos in the air at the Free Beer stage, which boasted Michael Wenz and the inimitable Dan Efex. Niki Kitz, Diva D, Idiom and Mr. Bill made damn sure that things never got quiet in the Land of Sunshine, but most people appeared to be drawn to the Children of the Corn stage where Mark EG held court for an extremely energetic 90 minutes. Bombardier then made an encore performance to wind down the day with a gritty techno set.

Mark EG holding court. Photo by Tonya.

One of the most anticipated main stage performances of the weekend for me was Ancient Methods. The “In the Mouth of the Wolf” collaboration with Cinder (aka Bambule from the Praxis label) is one of my favorite techno records of last year, and this was the one set I was determined not to miss. Ancient Methods administered the required dose of dirty and menacing techno that managed to fill the main tent with a foreboding darkness, despite the fact that the sun was still blazing away in the evening sky.

When it was over, the sun had set and the stage was ready for the oozing, penis-faced depravity of Anklepants. The theatrical and performative nature of his stage show laid waste to the idea of the electronic artist as a laptop jockey as he engaged with the audience in ways that delighted the crowd and made it one of the most talked about sets of the weekend.

The flyers for Even Furthur contained a reminder to be prepared, and it seems that there’s always something unexpected that goes down. This year was no different. A last minute cancellation resulted in an open slot on the main stage, and this time around the void was filled with the impressive stamina of two veteran DJs.

The lineup promoted in advance of the show promised a three-hour set by Josh Wink and an epic five-hour journey hosted by Tommie Sunshine. Instead, this pair stepped up and stretched things out to cover nearly 12 hours! Wink’s set spanned an encyclopedic range of styles over nearly five hours, before Tommie rose to the occasion and kept things going until well after sunrise on Sunday morning. It was exactly the kind of magic that DBN’s faithful followers have come to expect.

Once again, the DIY sound systems began to fire up as the main stage was shutting down. Dan Bell kicked off a stunning Sunday lineup on the Communion stage that also featured Centrific and a jaw-dropping set from Dustin Zahn. Meanwhile, the noisy degenerates were still at it over at the Land of Sunshine. Bits of my afternoon have been blurred by sleep deprivation and the mini-keg of Newcastle that we tapped at Camp Blood, but it certainly seemed like a good time was had by all. The Hermit reared his head and dropped a solid set of hard techno, which offered some respite from the unrelenting hardcore that dominated the crater.

It served as a nice starting point for my own set, which kicked off with vintage tracks from Underground Resistance, Circuit Breaker and AFX—before picking up the pace and racing toward the more extreme forms of speedcore. Dica took over from there and dropped an entertaining set accompanied by MC Spade One.

The Demix closed out the day at the Land of Sunshine, but there wouldn’t be peace in the valley for long; Furthur had other plans for the evening. Adam X and Perc had been slated for a three-hour AX&P performance that was supposed to run out the clock on the main stage, but a delayed flight pushed Perc’s arrival time to well after the main system was scheduled to shut down.

Adam X wound up dropping a mind-bending three-hour set that had the crowd dancing their way through a comprehensive lesson spanning the history of underground techno. At the end of his set he thanked the crowd and announced that the party was going to relocate and continue.

Earlier in the day a contingency plan had been put into place that would allow Perc to perform. Communion moved their sound system and set it up in the Land of Sunshine; Joe from Light Fantastik brought over his lasers; bonfires were lit around the edge of the pit to help people navigate the uneven terrain… and then, Perc took center stage for the kind of magic that surpassed the expectations of even DBN’s most faithful followers.

It was an uncompromising block of hard techno that elevated the energy levels of a group of tired ravers that had been partying for days. People dug deep and found their hidden reserves. No one wanted it to end, and Perc satisfied the crowd with an extended set that stretched well into the wee hours of morning.

By the end of it we were all exhausted. Everyone crashed out late, and woke up early to find that the tireless Tommie Sunshine’s set at Domeland was the perfect soundtrack for loading up the cars and waiting for the eclipse to blot out the August sky.

The tireless Tommie Sunshine. Photo courtesy of The Headspace Collective.

It truly was a techno pagan ritual for the ages.

And if you weren’t there, then you fucked up.

Acidcorefest.Moscowedition – Report by Teknoaidi

qpkkw8clc4qLiving in Finland, on the north-east edge of the EU, I have the chance to travel to my eastern neighbour Russia easily and I have been doing so since 2010 playing gigs there in various places. Acidcorefest.Moscowedition was held between 23rd and 24th of September and it was my second gig in Moscow. Acidcorefest has its roots in Russia’s culture capital St. Petersburg and the concept was now visiting in the country’s business capital.

Contrary to what the name suggests, these fests have very little to do with the acidcore subgenre itself. The fests are more like a celebration of the diverse underground hardcore techno styles and breakcore and speedcore representing both local talents as well as interesting international artists. The mainstream hardcore scene hasn’t been completely excluded from the equation either, but what became clear to me from the very beginning was that this party was not going to limit itself in terms of speed and intensity.

Acid Blood dancefloor
Acid Blood dancefloor

The party venue was Aglomerat Club, a building that used to be a cinema in the Soviet times and had been recently refurbished into a techno club. The interior was like an abandoned warehouse, so the event definitely had the feel of a proper underground rave. I initially thought that the event would be split between 2 nights, but it was actually a 15 hour party from 9PM till 1PM! 46 artists and dj’s were on the lineup for 2 dancefloors: Acid Blood, which was the main stage, and Acid Jam, the “chillout”.

Since my first visits in the country I have noticed that Russians like their core music fast and this night was no exception as people went totally mad from the chaotic distorted breaks and bassdrums starting to run around the dancefloor. Mashup style hardcore and breakcore seemed to be especially popular, but many dj’s also played more darker tones of crossbreed, dnb as well as more minimal, but very effective oldschool sounding hardcore. So I said that the Acid Jam dancefloor was the chillout, and it kind of was when jungle and hardtek dj’s were playing, but many times I would enter there and intense as fuck breakcore and hardcore comparable to the main stage was blasted there as well.

KlitoriX playing at Acid Blood stage

Definite crowd favorites of the evening were the hardcore/breakcore artists Klitorix from Spain and M1dlet from Lithuania, whom I especially remember of his speedcore releases in the past. Local favorites were especially the Action Agenda duo and the metal, core and dnb fusing Sa†an, who has received wider international fame in recent years for his music and shows. A more bizarre local speciality and exception of the night was XS Project, a duo producing pumping house and hard bass – styles popular among squatting Slavs in tracksuits. For me personally, the most interesting set of the night was by Quinta Essentia who delivered straightforward, relentless and at times quite hypnotic hardcore beats. After her Extremest, a touring artist from Scotland, played some mashupcore madness of varying tempos. There were still survivors left when it was my turn to play my shamancore music as Teknoaidi before 8 in the morning. The shamancore shaking rituals went down very well and the crowd demanded me to play some extra.

It was a pleasure meeting many old and new people, fellow international artists from Europe and I was also surprised to meet Jüps from as far away as Seattle who was travelling and visiting parties in Europe and Russia. It was unfortunate that the party could have had more visitors.. Gotta give the organizers lots of respect for taking the risk to put this party together! In a time where the powers that be are creating apparent divisions between people, music is a great way to step out of the geopolitical games and bond us together.

Trauma One Year Anniversary: All My Expectations Were Broken

It didn’t feel like it we attended Trauma Oldschool for the Headstrong just this time in August 2015. However just this past Saturday marked the one year anniversary for Trauma’s return (formally TR-99) and saying we celebrated accordingly would be an understatement. I started my night off early already knowing what to expect, well at least I thought I did….

The night began with a unique set from LA’s own Deadly Buda,whom played a hard electronic set for his first hour. This would be my first time hearing it live, but when guy’s like Lenny Dee are pushing this style, I guess I couldn’t ignore it. The best way I could explain it would be “Subground style with an industrial soul”. It wasn’t easy to get into at first, but the industrial heaviness paired with the clashing effects of modern electro is definitely up and coming. The doors opened and kids dressed in their handmade fur and kandi attire, to throw back T-shirts started to fill all the rooms at Union gradually. It seemed like the music only got louder as more people filled the floors. Deadly Buda had the chance to fill the second slot after him, in which he transitioned into a classic/mainstream hardcore set which set the pace for the whole night. (Well at least till Tim Shopp hit the decks but we’ll get to that later)

By the time he was done I had already been freely moving between the venue, sometimes getting lost, but it wasn’t hard to pick out who was playing in the different rooms. I found myself gravitating towards definitely the main stage and the smaller downstairs for separate reasons. The main stage was pumping out the best production and sound with the largest crowd, but there was something special to be attributed to the smaller room. I caught a good portion of Demigod early in the night. I was surprised when I was outside and I saw someone bust out “United States of Hardcore” cassette tape for him to sign. After that I knew it was going to be sweet classic satisfaction every time I curved that corner to hear the sound that caught me in the first place. It wasn’t long till almost all rooms were packed, bars were busy and there wasn’t a time when people weren’t busting out a fat hakkuh. (Including myself)

Tim Shop, Deadly Buda, Levenkhan
Tim Shop, Deadly Buda, Levenkhan at Trauma 1 Year Anniversary

Although I live for hardcore, I would occasionally have to side step to the sounds of Drum n Bass & Jungle as I moved between downstairs and main stage. I can’t recall a time where I would walk by and not have the urge to stop. Not being an expert on the subject matter, it didn’t take a jungulist to look to the small side stage to see the same dedicated fans dancing their hearts out.

I returned upstairs to prepare for the last half of The Pitcher but over the years my ear for Hardstyle has been getting worse. That didn’t stop myself from jumping to the absolute Rawstyle and Old-school he was throwing down. I’m even sure the crowd never missed a beat as he slipped in a couple Hard House hits from the origin days. I’ll have to admit I was itching for some faster pace at that point but I may have tried my luck a shuffling again, poorly.

I migrated downstairs for a while because I kept hearing rumors that Ron D Core and DJ Dan we’re still playing a tag vinyl set together. I did some quick thinking and realized that they were already almost playing for 2 hours, some say 3 but regardless I showed up that weekend to hear some classic Hardcore and I left only wanting to hear more. I simply couldn’t get over the attachment everyone had in that room to the music. Even to some of these native west coast hard heads, this music is blood to them. The sweat and tears was only reinforced my thoughts. I hope to experience that again soon.

Between the familiar faces from people traveling all around for different acts, and the nice weather, it was hard to prevent myself from going outside. Not once did I hear a shred complaints (Except the unplanned absence of Kevin Kaos, sorry Lisa). I wasn’t really sure why I didn’t buy a taco once while I was out there but, who knows? I got into a couple conversations and I was surprised that to some this was their first Hard Dance event. I assumed the line-up and anniversary title would bring out a specific older crowd. I guess the theme of the night was how much I could be proved wrong. Anyhow, the newcomers were stoked to say the least and in their reaction I only knew that wouldn’t be the first time I’d see them

Oh man, I haven’t even got to good part yet. I returned to my rightful place at upstairs main stage, some would call it entitlement but if you’re not causing damage, well you might be in the wrong place. Decipher took the decks and I could’ve swore the floor almost went down under. The tall shadowy Ozzy  stepped up for his first time in LA and makes you wonder why only the first time? The ground was shaking, fists were pumping, and you would be wrong if you thought there wouldn’t be a pit for the angriest. It was a mix mash of some of the best hardcore mixing I’ve heard in awhile and I hope that people will notice what kind of unique talent he brings to the decks.

Jerome Hill looking out for Flapjack!
Jerome Hill looking out for Flapjack!

As Decipher ended his set you could already tell by looking around the room who was next to take the stage. The room went black, the strobe hit and before you knew it you we’re in Noize Suppressor’s world. The look on people’s face went from cheery to hard frowns and ugly grins. The madness had arrived. Being a fuge fan of Noize Suppressor for a long time I was more than excited to hear my favorite tracks and from the way the crowd was screaming the lyrics without a care for having a voice the next morning, I wasn’t the only one. For a good while there the solo strobe combined with a violent mosh made for a experience I thought only existed at concerts but the music had people feeling a certain way, and not in the typical loving way at most events. The highlight was easily the successful crowd surf which apparently is a once in while opportunity. He smashed out the ending with well preparation for was about to be in store…

Everything went silent, the room filled, and all you could hear people screaming for and calling one name, america’s own Tim Shopp. An abnormal BPM took over if you aren’t too familiar with the name but that was a good night to learn, and easily one of the best sets from the man in my opinion. Although we didn’t see him in his usual bomb vest, that had nothing to do with how he had the crowd to their knees. Well at least most of them, it almost as he felt he was challenging the crowd. How fast and hard could he go? Turns out this is the future and no one was missing a beat. Being the number one talked about hard dance upcoming producer in the US since his release of “Terror Squad” hitting top charts on Hardtunes it wasn’t difficult to see why. The ante kept climbing with the murderous kicks and faster tempo, the weak one’s feet began to slow down but not a soul went anywhere till the sound shut off. The party continued downstairs but by that time I had barely enough in me to go on but also wanted more at the same time.

The next morning the posts keep flooding my newsfeed and from everything I saw and heard the following night it was the first I actually got what I expected during that weekend. Ever since my interaction with Trauma Live and their staff it’s been nothing but good intentions and even sicker parties that aren’t just catered to the usual hard head, and for that reason I will always respect what’s to come next from the Trauma crew. The inside jokes and mixed memories will live on in the legacy of Trauma events. The mayor of Hardcore has my vote.

-Jarred M

EDC 2016 Las Vegas – Basscon Wasteland Recap

By Brandon “CabZ” Caballero
Follow me on Twitter @BrandonCabZ

This year marked the 20-year anniversary of the Electric Daisy Carnival as Insomniac set out for their biggest event of the year in Las Vegas, NV. This was the 4th year that Insomniac’s hard dance label, Basscon would host a stage at EDC. Thus far, we have been treated to stages of the Gas Mask Man (that has now become synonymous with Basscon), a giant One Eyed Monster, last year an apocalyptic New York scene and this years stage was promised to be an Apocalyptic San Francisco. The stage displayed a Golden Gate Bridge surrounded with shipping containers and graffiti and wrecked cars, and was being attacked by a giant crab! The stage was equipped with fireworks, pyrotechnics, 50ft flames lights, lasers and even its own go-go dancers. A stacked lineup of worldclass Djs promised this year’s Basscon as one to be remembered.

Another exciting first for Basscon was the Basscon Anthem by TNT – “Wasteland”. I recently spoke with TNT at Project Z and asked for their comment on making the anthem, they told me “We have seen the US Hardstyle scene grow-up in the USA and get bigger and bigger over these past few years. We felt like it was finally time to give you an anthem of your own!” For years American fans of hard dance who follow overseas events have wanted an anthem to hype up their weekend. For those who are not familiar, an anthem is exactly what it sounds like- it is the theme that sets the spirit for the entire weekend ahead and rallies everyone together and builds excitement for the show! “Wasteland” perfectly captures this spirit with lyrics such as “Crawling on the barren soil underneath the blackened sun, we are the children of the desert, we rule this wasteland.”

As I walked through the gates at the entrance I immediately heard the baseline bouncing from Basscon. Kutski was opening up the weekend for hardstyle lovers and kept to his motto of Keeping the Rave Alive; he had sparked the party spirit of all the ravers who had assembled far and wide to be at that Basscon stage just to be apart of a weekend packed with their favorite hard dance artists.

Other notable performances on Night 1 include Leiel, Audiofreq, who is an absolute madman bursting with unstoppable energy every set I’ve seen him play, Adrenalize , some freestyle fun with LNY TNZ, the legendary Technoboy, EDC first-timer Code Black, , Isaac, the UK hardcore DJ’s Darren Styles and Gammer who played individual sets as well as a special b2b set, and the night ended with Ran-D, who dropped the RAW on EDC from his first track, raising a big middle finger to everyone else saying “F#CK EDM”, to his last at sunrise. Honorable mention to Padaro, DJ Adaro’s father, who was partying at the front of the stage with the rest of the crowd!

Night 2 – After attending Gabberfest all day it was right back to EDC on nothing more than a few hours of sleep, but I remained optimistic due to the stacked lineup for the day. Night 2 started off with US Hardstyle DJ Mekanikal, followed Max Enforcer, Stephanie, Bioweapon (the duo of Code black and Audiofreq), Da Tweekaz and a special set where Brennan Heart showcased many new tracks from his new album I Am Hardstyle, and he even brought Jonathan Mendelsohn out on stage to sing a few tracks live! Following Brennan Heart’s performance, all music stopped at the Basscon stage and the crowd was treated to the “Basscon Experience”, a 10min firework show ending with the Basscon anthem and TNT starting their set. Following TNT was the beginning of the RAW Hardstyle for the night; Gunz 4 Hire (Ran-D and Adaro) came out and treated EDC to a particularly brutal set showcasing music and even video clips for their No Mercy Tour. Digital Punk took the stage next, and almost had to open a can of whoopass on someone who thought it would be a good idea to climb the stage and mess with the CDJ’s during his set before finally being removed by security (watch over your friends people!). Night 2 closed down with the haunter or the dark himself, DJ Adaro.

Night 3 – you can look around and definitely tell the heat, partying and lack of sleep is beginning to take it’s toll on the crowd… BUT, they don’t call it Wasteland for nothing! Basscon kicked off with a bang with a special b2b set from Canadian Duo Crisis Era and US DJ Darksiderz. Next followed a block of euphoric Hardstyle with
Sylence, Audiotricz, Wasted Penguinz. Next, D-Block & S-te-Fan, Coone and Tuneboy, entertained the crowd and prepared them for the final push of the weekend. Lady Faith took to the stage next and differed from her normal style to instead play many more RAW tracks into her set, even showcasing some Notorious 2 tracks, to prepare everyone for Radical Redemption. The army of the Radical was strong throughout the audience, and Radical himself rewarded them by playing many of the tunes that brought him to notoriety, including Brutal 5.0 and Spell of Sin. As Radical left the stage he addressed the crowd to “get ready for the #1 hardcore act in the world” and DJ Angerfist took the stage! Now, I will say, there is a high expectation for the last DJ of the weekend at the end of 3 days, but Angerfist sparked energy in the people partying and the crowd was exploding with energy that was a truly remarkable achievement at the sunrise set. The hardcore reinvigorated the crowd like nothing I could have expected, people were shuffling, hakken and there were moshpits everywhere. This was a crowd was here for hardcore and they were loving every minute of it! Angerfist’s set built faster throughout and showcased many of his popular songs, and he even included some frenchcore, and ended clocking in at over 200bpm!

angerfist EDC

When it comes to Basscon Wasteland at EDC Las Vegas, it was a success in every aspect, and a great way to spend “20 years under the electric sky”. Whether you like euphoric, freestyle, hardcore, mainstream, RAW, UK hardcore, there was something to make you happy. With the new generation of ravers now receiving more exposure to hard dance than ever had before at American festivals, it is my hope that Basscon will inspire a new wave of American hard dance artists. This is good for growth of the scene and I hope Insomniac gives them the chance to play their events one day. I also hope Insomniac continues to grow and diversify their Basscon label, and hope for a standalone Basscon event in the future, maybe even including multiple stages so the euphoric fans, RAW, freestyle and hardcore fans can have a stage of their own. The hard dance scene in the US has limitless opportunity and can be anything we make it to be. I hope for many more events with an anthem, laser and firework show to mirror the European endshows, but most importantly, all of us should take pride in the collective being we become when we can come together for a common mentality to go hard!

Techno Gets Belligerent at the Madhouse!

Upon arriving, I thought I was lost: that somewhere between the caged liquor store and the tagged up strip malls, there may have once been a building in between that stood as the ground zero for hardcore parties in San Bernardino, CA. After I pulled over to the side of the road and started observing the area, I had noticed that there were security personnel outside the door to some kind of establishment. Could this be it? It can’t be. It doesn’t look like it. After waiting a little while, attempting to figure out if this location was correct, a car had pulled up with a group of kids that were all glammed out in brightly colored bracelets and necklaces; I guess this IS it: the sign says Arrowhead Elk’s Lodge #896, but behind its decaying walls the silent screams of bass lines ensued which meant that I was about to enter the Madhouse. Welcome to the hardcore underground.

HellNegative Returns with an appearance at the Madhouse!
HellNegative Returns!

The place had been transformed into a fortress of sound both inside and out. DJNC Odie and the Desert Rats took control of the outside stage while the Techno Belligerent crew established rule inside. HellNegative opened the night with Drum & Bass. It was three years ago that he had to leave us, ever since then his return has been highly anticipated, and the fact that I happened to be in town at the same time is an amazing happenstance. The rest of the night I was in utter mystery and surprise with a stacked lineup filled with names that I was unfamiliar with. I’ll say ahead of time that California is riddled with pure talent regarding the hardcore scene.

Producer Snafu LIVE
Producer Snafu LIVE at the Madhouse

The eerie productions of Invisible Robots followed by the ruthless, cut-up Breakcore lines of Producer Snafu generated so much creative response in me and certainly the rest of the room. BC Rydah took the stage at midnight and pushed that creative boundary even further. This man has a signature sound that needs to be heard! Unless my ears deceived me, I could’ve sworn that Chicago Footwork (a guilty pleasure of mine) made it into the mixture, which yields the utmost respect for THE best breaks DJ I’ve heard in my time. Blackened speedcore was also admitted inside the Madhouse as the night grewer darker: Acid Enema! Abhorrent (vocalist and one-half of the Las Vegas based duo) performed a DJ set and live vocal session (provided in part by AngelEnemy), which was a perfect lead in for Virtue, one half of the GabberTwinz, and the ringleader himself: ARCID who closed out the night just before the sun was set to rise.

BC Rydah playing Jungle/Breaks at the Madhouse
BC Rydah: King of the Breaks!

For the first time, I had experienced the mad and the macabre that I’ve only heard about from states away. And to quote the movie “Demons” (as are the radical Techno Belligerent crew and all the talent who were behind the decks): “They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be YOUR tombs!” – Thank you to Desert Rats and Techno Belligerent crew for the memories and I can’t wait until the next one. And thank you to the dedicated crowd that showed up and supported as well! Without you directly, parties like this can’t happen!

Acid Enema live at the Madhouse
Acid Enema’s Abhorrent performing a DJ set for the Madhouse guests!