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Hardcore on the 90s Internet

Three examples of how it was to be a Hardcore fan / artist in the 90s and using the Internet when the World Wide Web still seemed a new thing and Facebook and Youtube didn’t exist.

Biophilia

In the 90s, there were not so many ways for artists to connect on the internet. One of these ways were mailing lists; you were added to a list, and then you could send emails to this list, and all other members too, and everyone would get forwarded anyone else’s mails. A quite rudimentary way of communication. One of these lists was the Biophilia list, run by Multipara. Before discogs.com, there were also not so many ways to find a discography of your favorite label online. Multipara catered to that need too. He had a website which listed records on such labels as Fischkopf, Mono Tone, Mille Plateaux… I got into contact with him to ask some questions about Fischkopf and later also supplied information myself, as I was “at the source” in Hamburg where the label was run. Eventually he invited me to the Biophilia list too. This mailing list orignally was intended as a list for people who liked the music of Martin Damm, also known as Speedfreak or Biochip C. and other aliases – hence the name of the list, but it then became more a list for “underground” electronic sounds, including Experimental Hardcore, Early Breakcore and similar outings. Members included Thaddi from the Sonic Subjunkies, Joel from kool.pop / ex-DHR, Andy from Irritant and I think DJ Entox and John from the Somatic Responses, was on there too, as well as many other artists or enthuasists of strange electronic music.
As so many artists were on the list, Multipara got the idea to do a compilation with the very artists of this list, and it happened.
The styles of this release are very varied and definitely show the varying interests of the members of this mailing list; from Chiptune and Ambient to Detroit type Techno to Breakcore and Speedcore everything is here.
My own contribution was the first thing that ever was released by me, Adrenaline Junkie, a 800 BPM Speedcore affair that was 1998 amongst the fastest tracks out there on vinyl.
It was really a special time and community, and this double vinyl was a special result out of it and it makes a nice memory to the mailing list, this rather “primitive” form of internet communicaton.

Ye olde vinyl back cover

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Biophilia-Allstars/release/47142

Gabber on EFnet IRC

Another trip down memory lane. In the 90s, there was no Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger. If you wanted to chat online, you would likely use Internet Relay Chat, or IRC. IRC was organized in chatroom channels that ran on servers, that then were connected in huge networks. One of these networks was EFnet, and it had a channel called #gabber, run by DJ Skinner of Black Monolith Recordings. We were a dozen and a half users on there, including Acid Enema, Eye-D from The Outside Agency, Maurice from Rotterdam Terminator Source and lots of others (Satronica, Knifehandchop, Interrupt Vector etc.). It was good times, lots of networking happened, and the beginning of Black Monolith Recordings was laid in that chatroom, and it was also how I got into contact with that label when I sent an early demo of “Urban Uprising” to Skinner – the rest is history. Memories!

BMR logo

C8.com and P2

Third trip down memory lane… we talked about chatrooms and mailing lists… but there was no social media to spread infos and sounds about Hardcore and related music in the 1990s. Instead there were websites and the biggest (for this type of music) was c8.com. It hosted PCP, an early incarnation of Bloody Fist, Somatic Responses and much, much more. The site hosted articles of various fanzines, preview music of plenty of releases, contact and background information and artists and more stuff. It was run by Stevvi who also started a mailing list for artists, fans and everyone else to communicate about what he called “dark, sick music”, and it was. While the list thrived for a few years, it ultimately decayed eventually, with lots of “shitposts” and other stuff, a taster of the Internet culture to come. So he set up a secret mailing list called P2, invite-only and only for the Hardcore elite… just kidding, mostly friends and people who had networked, and people around C8 who could hold a meaningful debate. It was host to many a great conversations, exchange of communication and connecting of artists, also some “scene fights” that almost 20 years later we can laugh about, and even some musical projects such as the c8 99 one (making tracks that last only 99 seconds, I think some of the Somatic Responses ones later got released). Artists on P2 were for example Boris Cavage, Noize Creator, and I think DJ Pure and Christoph Fringeli.
One of the CD-Rs I sent to Stevvi he advertised on P2 (and put it in the music section of c8.com) and this led to the release of my Kougai split with Cdatakill and my Widerstand album, and other stuff.

Image of the old c8.com website

Nice memories again, of an era when communication was more limited but also more direct and the scene appeared smaller, before today’s version of the Internet.

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Review: Ouwe Stijl is Botergeil (8 June 2019)

Ouwe Stijl is Botergeil Review

 

Anyone who knows me knows that I never really left the 90s. Whether its blasting cheesy euro dance in the shower, watching Friends, or seeing Detective Pikachu as soon as it came out, there’s something about the 90s that I just can’t seem to leave behind (and refuse to leave behind).

 

My most recent escapade into the best era of all time led me to an epic party, Ouwe Stijl is Botergeil. For those of you who don’t know Ouwe Stijl is a well-known early hardcore party series organized by Strength of Unity. The literal translation of Ouwe Stijl is Botergeil means “Old style is butter horny”. Although I got a variety of definitions from Dutch partygoers ranging from “Old style is slippery wet” to “Old style is horny” to “It has something to do with butter.” One of the organizers explained that the Dutch word “botergeil” is slang like the word ‘sexy’ that is used to describe something that you are excited about for example one might say “Man that is a sexy car!”

 

At any given hardcore party on any given weekend you’ll see men and women sporting Ouwe is Stijl shirts (I still gotta get me one of those!). This is due to the fact that Ouwe is Stijl has a huge following, one might even call it a cult following (in a similar way that the movie Pulp Fiction has). Before I even moved to the Netherlands in 2016 and when I was only here for brief periods of time, speaking with gabbers as to where the best parties are Ouwe is Stijl was always one of the top responses.

Now with all that being said and with very high expectations let’s get into my review of Ouwe is Stijl is Botergeil on June 8th 2019. My friends and I began our journey around 20:00 from The Hague then after a quick stop for some noodles and a drink in Amsterdam we headed to the party. The party took place at Paradiso Noord in the North of Amsterdam just a quick ferry ride from Amsterdam Central Station. A huge crowd was outside eagerly waiting for the gates to open and for the party to begin. Early hardcore blasted from portable speakers, party goers snapped some selfies with their friends, chugged their final drinks and then made a mad rush to the entrance.

Immediately upon entering into the venue I noticed a stand selling records and another stand representing Hard-Wear (a hardcore apparel store in Enkhuizen) selling merchandise, which was a nice touch. The venue was a bit of a maze but had plenty of spaces for people to sit, multiple bars, and even some board games for people to play (shout out to the random Smurf puzzle). The party consisted of one large main room of music with a viewing deck that provided a great view of the dance floor and the epic light shows. After the usual routine of lockers, bathroom, getting a drink (no need for tokens yay!), and saying hi to everyone it was time to see my friend Delirium!

Coming all the way from New Jersey, Delirium is one of the early pioneers of hardcore both in the United States and in the Netherlands. Known for his energetic onstage presence (picture a fire cracker exploding on New Years Eve) Delirium always puts on quite the show. Following his set we had a brief meet and greet for him where he signed records, took some photos, and met with fans. It always warms my heart to see my American hardcore comrades have such a loyal fan base here in the Netherlands. I had the opportunity to ask Delirium some questions about the party and here is what he had to say:

 

First off, what was going through your head when you were on stage tonight?

 

The vibe with the crowd was amazing and the venue was really great!

I was in a great mood and I was very focused. I made sure to give 1000% of my energy to the people for that hour.   I really wanted to give them a performance that they would remember.

 

The crowd really seemed to love your set, is there a specific process you go through concerning track selection or do you more feel the vibe of the crowd?

 

There are times where I just feel the vibe of the crowd and go with the flow and there are times when I prepare a set prior to the event. The crowd at OSIB likes the tempo a little faster so I did a lot of searching to find some fast Early Rave tracks for this event.

 

What sets Ouwe Stijl a part from other Dutch parties?

 

OSIB is different than other events because their style is horny like butter!

 

There were so many fans that had the original DJ Delirium T-shirts and the original ID&T Music T-shirts from the 90’s. It was like time traveling back to 1996. I even had some friends and fans come all the way from Italy and Spain.

 

This was my first booking with them and they treated me really great! It was an absolute pleasure to work with this crew and perform at their event.

 

 

Having been very active in the American hardcore scene for over twenty years what major differences have you noticed between the American scene and the Dutch scene?

 

The major differences are definitely the size of the events, the way that they dance and the style of clothing. We have a much smaller scene in America. The fans are very loyal and definitely have a passion for the music though. Some of them even travel all the way to Holland for the bigger events because we do not have anything like Dominator or Hard Shock in America yet.

 

Now back to the party!

 

After the meet and greet I had the opportunity to see Kaycie play for the first time. Kaycie is one of the organizers of the party, he laid down an epic set and I had the opportunity to speak with him to learn more about what Ouwe is Stijl is all about. What I liked the most about Ouwe is Stijl was the underground and family vibe. One major takeaway from my conversation with Kaycie was that the organization started among a group of friends, which I really love. This reminds me of my days in the US with East Coast Hard Dance, we were just a group of friends looking to hear the music we loved, support local artists and our friends, and of course to throw epic parties.

Unfortunately I only got to catch a bit of Omar Santana’s set although from what I heard he crushed it! With all good intentions to leave at 3:30am because I had to work the next day I was having so much fun that I stayed until the very end at 8:00am. One sign of a good night in my opinion is seeing how many people are there at the bitter end and the fact that it was still crowded on the same night as Harmony of Hardcore is definitely a good sign.

So my final thoughts, great music, good vibes, welcoming atmosphere, and overall a wonderful night! Next up…. International Hard Dance Meeting on 27 June 2019!

*Photos were taken by U-Model Party Pics and are not my own*

Articles

Seven Hardcore Tracks That Changed My Life

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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.

Articles

The Early Days Of The Tracker Hardcore Scene

I want to talk about tracker music, including hardcore. Tracker music was and is done on tracker programs like Soundtracker, Protracker, Fasttracker, Impulse Tracker and countless others.

What people will notice first is the abstract, “top down” view of the sequencer screen, very much unlike the layout of modern DAW programs. Trackers were, to most part, a digital form of producing. The basic sequencing was done by writing the sound to be used (the sample) and the pitch into the sequence editor. All channels were on the same screen (so for example you had to sequence hi-hats and bassdrum and bassline together and could not “add them later”).

These “patterns” were then put into a playing order in another screen. You could add “effects” to each note played such as pitchbent or vibrato, and in later trackers even filtering.

The finished result was saved as modules files, or MODs. These contained both the song and the samples that were used.

In the present day, Tracker technology has improved by a lot; programs like Renoise or Jeskola Buzz added hundreds of new functions and changes in the style and way to produce.  Buzz allows you to use a variety of soft-synths written for the program, for example, so you no longer have to rely on sampling.

Soundtracker

Before the internet, these modules were spread in the BBS scene. BBS was short for Bulletin Board System and to an internet user it’s hard to explain what exactly they were. A BBS was run on a computer and you could dial it up with your own computer and a modem – around the globe basically – and when you accessed the BBS it offered services like messaging boards, chat (where you could talk to other users that had dialed up the BBS at the same time as you), games, and download sections – were amongst other things track modules could be downloaded or uploaded.

Tracker artists often organized themselves in groups, so called crews. These crews usually were not just composed of musicians, but had also graphic artists, writers, and often programmers – “coders”; they turned the individual tracks into a release of multiple tracks with visuals and menus – kinda like a multimedia LP. Often these releases were stand-alone programs done by the coders which played so called demos while the modules played – graphic animations, often in a virtual reality and cyberspace style, sometimes even short movies, that tested the computing power of your system to its limits.

A modern BBS

This is where the tracker scene met the demo scene; demos could be written for existing tracks, or demo coders included tracks for the demos; so sometimes the music came first, sometimes the programming.

The crews had so called couriers that dialed up BBS sytems around the country or world to spread the tracker releases. Often a crew had its own BBS or a BBS was connected to several crews.

With the rise of the internet, the world of BBS systems faded quickly; but the tracker and demo scene moved to the net and survives on it to this day.

With the rise of techno and hardcore, this sound quickly spread to the tracker scene too in the early 90s; long before speedcore really took its hold on vinyl, tracks that exceeded 300 or 400 bpm were released as modules.

Most producers and crews were not “hardcore only” though, and did a variety of techno and electronic styles.

The tracker and demo scene were the root for many techno and hardcore artists in the 90s: Nasenbluten, Neophyte, E-De Cologne, Christoph De Babalon, Amiga Shock Force all started on tracker programs and many many more did so. Hardsequencer, Cybermouse, Bomb 20 and others had releases in the BBS or Amiga scene before their sounds was put to vinyl and CD.

Hardsequencer’s Amiga EP

But the vast majority of tracker music never saw the light of day outside its scene; just the couriers and crews and users of the BBS world knew about them. But now there are some archives for this very scene on the internet. It’s a sonic treasure that’s still be to dug up.

Here are three mixes that are showcasing the early tracker hardcore scene:



Articles

Review: Dominator Festival 2018

Every year thousands of gabbers make the pilgrimage from all over the world to a small town outside of Eindhoven for the largest hardcore gathering in the world. This year was no different. On 21 July my friends and I embarked on our epic journey to the festival. Of course being my group of friends there were several obstacles along the way: missing IDs; lost OV chip cards; almost missing both the bus and train; and a packed sauna-like shuttle ride. Nevertheless after the three-hour journey we made it there!

This was my third edition of Dominator and one important difference between this year and the previous years (I went in 2017 and 2015) was that this was one of the hottest days on record in the Netherlands (according to me having spent almost four summers/partial summers here now). Thankfully Dominator is located on a beautiful beach with plenty of room to swim. Despite the heat the organizers were prepared and preemptively cancelled the fireworks as a result of the dry terrain. Furthermore, a big shout out to the organizers for providing cups and free water stations and potable drinking water near the bathrooms; that was a lifesaver.

We started the day off with Fan4stik. It was my first time seeing them and as a new recent fan of Billx it was the perfect start to the day. If you like Hard Tek check these guys out. Next we made our way over to the main stage for Bodyshock. Even though it was early the main stage was packed and the crowd despite the heat was so energetic. So energetic that people kept trying to steal our inflatable pig totem (Wilbur)! Thankfully Anne is a marathon runner and hunted the perpetrators down and returned Wilbur safely to our crew.

After now slightly dying as result of the heat I hopped in the water for a little swim during Radium’s set. The highlight of the set for me was while I was swimming I heard Rob GEE’s new track “A DJ Saved My Life” (side note: I heard it again later during Mutante’s set, could this be the festival anthem of the summer?). Next was the QSA (American hard dance) meet up during Billx’s set and as per usual it consisted of a sloppy failed attempt at a group photo then half of the group disappeared.

After that I got separated from the group and because they closed the beach off for Sefa’s set, myself and the other festival-goers trying to get to the other side of the festival had to cross through the water. This was probably my favorite part of the day. An exodus of sweaty people carrying dirty socks, shoes, and all their belongings (somehow still all texting and taking selfies) through the water to the other side of the island from the Frenchcore tent to the Extreme Hardcore tent. It was a long trek but we made it!

Last but certainly not least, my friend Hellcreator closed the talent stage and he crushed it! This is now two years in a row that a friend of mine had the opportunity to play on the talent stage at Dominator, what a treat!

Exhausted, dirty, sweaty, and sore. These are some of the words to describe how we felt the end of Dominator. Dominator festival is a must visit for anyone who likes hardcore; every year it gets bigger and bigger. The festival overall no surprise was an absolute success. The music was amazing, the production level was high, and the crowd was energized. The only thing that would make it better is if the Rawstyle stage was the Speedcore stage, well I can only dream.

See you next year DOMMMMINNNNAAAATTTOORRRRRRR!