Hardcore Techno
As the name implies, hardcore techno (or sometimes just referred to as hardcore) is a »harder« version of techno which developed in the early 1990s in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Hardcore techno is characterized by a fast tempo starting at 160 bpm and a »hard«, almost »violent« sound created by a distorted kick drum (usually based on a sawtooth wave), amended by e.g. distorted voices and samples from horror and war movies as well as from gangsta rap and metal songs.
Hardcore techno’s roots trace back to industrial music of the 1970s and early 1980s – with bands like Einstürzende Neubauten from Germany or Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle from the UK – and its experimental sounds and provocative attitude. In the 1980s, influences from industrial, new wave and punk formed a more danceable genre: EBM (electronic body music), with bands like Front 242 from Belgium or DAF (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) from Germany, where powerful beats met cold, minimalistic sounds and aggressive vocals. Next stop in the development to the birth of hardcore techno was Belgium where around 1987 EBM, Hi-NRG and Acid House formed the genre’s precursor new beat, with tracks like »Action In Paradise« by Export, »I Sit On Acid« by Lords Of Acid, »Double B« by Dirty Harry or »Do That Dance« by The Project.
This new beat from Belgium should soon reach Frankfurt/M. in Germany. Here, dj/ producer Marc Acardipane created the first hardcore techno track in 1990: »We Have Arrived«, released under the alias Mescalinum United on his own label Planet Core Productions (PCP). The track was re-released one year later as the first release on Industrial Strength Records, one of the first dedicated hardcore techno labels and founded by US dj/producer Lenny Dee who therefore can be seen as one of the genre's forerunners. Other notable genre labels are Rotterdam Records, Mokum Records and ID&T in the Netherlands, the latter being responsible for big events like Thunderdome or later Tomorrowland.
In 1991, »Mentasm« by Second Phase (a collaboration between US dj/producer Joey Beltram and Mundo Muzique) and »Dominator« by Human Resource (respectively Joey Beltram's remix of the track) introduced a sound which should become iconic: the Hoover sound, a distinctive synthesizer sound associated with a vacuum cleaner and traditionally created with a Roland Alpha Juno-2, Alpha Juno-1 or MKS-50 synth. This sound then would not only be heavily used in hardcore techno but also in other electronic dance music genres like trance, hard house or breakbeat hardcore. Other typical genre tracks are »Stravinsky's Bass« by 3 Steps Ahead (1994) or »Take 'em Up« by DJ Buzz Fuzz (1996).
With djs/producers like Paul Elstak, The Prophet, DJ Gizmo and Mark Vos aka Buzz Fuzz, the Netherlands became the cradle for the »crazier« gabber subgenre. Though some may not consider it as a »real« subgenre, gabber (or gabba) became so popular in the Netherlands that it went from a youth subculture to mainstream culture there. In the early 2000s, the UK gave birth to another subgenre: the more commercial and uplifting happy hardcore. Scottish dj/producer Scott Brown infused the breakbeat-driven UK hardcore (aka breakbeat hardcore) with hardcore techno beats from the Netherlands. Happy hardcore should become a quite successful – although a rather short-lived – European trend. The Flamman & Abraxas remix of »I Wanna Be a Hippy« by British duo Technoheads (1995) achieved high chart positions including No. 1 in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Hardcore/gabber artists started to produce happy hardcore as well, like Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo with »Wonderful Days« (1994) or Paul Elstak with »Rainbow In The Sky« (1995). Especially in Germany, happy hardcore was very popular with artists like Marusha, Dune, Scooter or the strictly commercial act Blümchen.
Hardcore techno had its heyday around 1995 with even major labels having released genre compilations. End of the 1990s, the combination of hardcore techno and hard trance formed hardstyle. In the early 2000s, early hardcore developed into mainstream hardcore aka mainstyle, nu style gabber or newstyle hardcore. Hardcore techno remains popular with artists like Dutch dj/producer Danny Masseling aka Angerfist or Ukrainian djane Kateryna Kremko aka Miss K8 as well as festivals like Thunderdome being attended by almost 40,000 people in 2019 and big hardcore events taking place all over Europe.
