Captured in this film is an interview with Ron D Core, a hero from the underground hardcore scene. Ron is a DJ, and is known for being a pioneer in the early years of electronic music. This interview gives insight into his personal experiences as a DJ and insight into his style of music. You’ll learn how he gained his notoriety, what some of his musical influences are, and some of his accomplishments as an artist and DJ.
I arrived on the scene fashionably early, only getting slightly lost on the way to the venue. Parking was amazing, I parked literally across the street from the venue. Upon entry I was patted down for safety. I then proceeded into the venue, quickly overlooking the outside hang out area. When I entered the venue, it was heavy with smoke from the fog machines and to my surprise there was no music playing. There was a bar at the end of a room which had a doorway adjacent to it, which lead to the main hall, which I had yet to enter. I happened to run into another early bird, one of my friends Hanssel, who has been a long time raver and part of the underground electronic community for a long time. We talked for a minute and caught up, we originally became friends, after I had done a video commentary on RonDCore’s performance at a DJ Tron tribute concert hosted by TechnoBelligerent, Hanssel reached out to me and was able to send me links to all these old school DJ’s whom I had never heard.
Although I arrived slightly early, it was time for the event to start, and yet there was no music… Hanssel and I were commenting on it when all of a sudden the music comes on. I go passed the bar through the doorway and across the room, which was full of only a handful of people at the time, but there spinning was a lord of the underground. The one known as Deadly Buda.
I might add Deadly Buda is a friend of mine and and the prime catalyst of TheHardData magazine. Needless to say, Deadly Buda is a big dog when it comes to the underground. I listened for a good minute, but soon after he started his set on the tables, that another headliner came on and took his place. I was concerned, due to Deadly Buda having such a short set, especially also just as an opening set. After he got off the tables I was able to say whats up to him. He told me that his set would come on later and that he was just spinning until the first DJ arrived, I was stoked to hear this because I did not drive two hours to see Deadly Buda play a 20 minute set. His set brought people inside the main hall, despite the earliness of the night. However by the second hour the room was about filled people.
It should be known that hardcore is a type of music that should be understood like this. There are certain levels of energy one puts out during a hardcore event. The first is the spectator. The spectator goes strictly for appreciation of the music, not dancing, not socializing much, but mainly just listening. These are the people that are usually closest to the stage. I found myself there for sometime. The second type of hardcore raver I like to call the Bobble Heads. This is a mild form of head banging, these types of hardcore party goers nod their heads to whatever time signature they please. Since hardcore has so many levels of percussion and sounds, there are many ways of “riding the beat” as one could say. So the Bobble Heads all vary in timing and motion of the way they nod their heads. However, the third class, the most intense class of them all. The type of hardcore fan that dances to the music. I simply call this, “Going Ham”. These body movements can range from stomping in quick succession, flailing arms and legs as if your almost fighting an invisible man and also appearing as if one was playing dance dance revolution at the same time. The amount of endurance and strength it takes to dance to hardcore is admirable. Ive seen people who make dancing to hardcore look amazing and creative. I took a step back to watch some of the hardcore raver’s moves. Some of the hardcore raver’s dancing was very impressive. Of course, other raver’s who tried hardcore dancing looked like they were having seizures. It was not a pretty sight, but still it was radical that they were dancing to the brutal beats and not caring what people thought.
I was going hard, dancing a lot. It got hot fast, i was pleased to find that water was cheap and cold. There was also a place outside where one could take a breather as well. The night air was perfect for cooling off and socializing.
The talent that played this night was phenomenal, not one DJ disappointed. Shout out to Deadly Buda for slaying his full set that I had been anticipating. The most epic set of the night was when the DJ known as Lenny Dee spun with with Malke. The crowd went wild. Malke was live drumming on pads while Lenny Dee was spinning. I honestly have not seen this done by anyone before. Just as the performance peaked and everyone was losing their minds…. the power went out… the music literally died and all that could be heard was random ramblings and shouting from disgruntled people. Until one loud voice from the crowd shouted, “Is it over?!”. At that point Lenny Dee replied, “WE JUST GETTING STARTED!!!!”.
It seemed after he shouted those words that the power came back on and the party went even harder! After that, I cannot remember much because I was dancing so hard. So after his set I took a breather outside to relax and center myself. It was here where I got to see and converse with some of my friends.
I was happy to capture an epic moment. I managed to ninja snapshot a photo of Deadly Buda talking with Lenny Dee about their sets and music. To myself, it was very important and exciting to catch these two legends conversing about one of the most important aspects of my life; electronic music.
It was nice to be there surrounded by familiar faces at these events. Shout outs “ DJ Seppuku of Dead Culture Crew” and shout outs “TechnoBelligerent” for representing too. Shout outs to all the other people who went to Hard Electronic. See you at the next event!
-3MiloE
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It truly was a techno pagan ritual for the ages.
And if you weren’t there, then you fucked up.
Tha Playah – Why So Serious? (Angerfist Remix)
It’s difficult to fathom that the original version of this track was released in 2009! It seems like just yesterday I was still enjoying the original, but we all know time zooms by when you are having fun! The new and updated Angerfist remix is outstanding! In true Tha Playah fashion the remix has an almost two minute intro before we are devastated by hard hitting lead kick, Add in some Angerfist fashion style synths and this track is a killer. The second track on this EP is also banging… Controlled by Chaos is an aggressive fast paced track. You will most definitely not want to skimp on this EP, get both tracks!!
AniMe – Call My Name
The Goddess of Hardcore is back with this banger of a track! In true AniMe style this tracks covers and the necessary elements of monster Hardcore track… Sick melody, Hip Hop style samples, and a deadly kick!! I was fortunate enough to hear this live at EDC Las Vegas and it really gets the crowd going. Dog Fight Records has been on a good roll… This is a must for all Hardcore DJ’s!
The Prototypes – Pop it Off (MINDCONTROLLER Bootleg)
Here is my take on this massive drum and bass track! Most of the original elements are kept from the original including the Reggae DNB lyrics along with the sick ass melody The Prototypes laid out on this track, more core like synths are layered along with kicking kick drum and bam! Some drum and bass elements are kept to keep things interesting. The track has been received well on the dance floor so I’ve added this as a free download to my Soundcloud account. Enjoy!
DJ Mad Dog – Tll I Die (Album)
I was so excited to receive this in the mail as a pre-order, which means I received an autographed copy along with some stickers… (STOKED!!! ). This seriously took residency in my cars CD player for almost a month straight until I was forced to listen to an audio book for work. The CD has so many awesome new tracks including this year’s Dominator anthem, Bring the Hardcore, That’s the Sound, The Kraken, the Dog Fight anthem, and Why Me (one of my personal favorites) to name a few. There are also older stomper’s like Not My Tempo, A Real Voice, Ghettocore, and Enter the Time Machine. This album is a must!!! You will not be disappointed.
DJ Paul Elstak – Energiehal Mash-up
The God Father of Hardcore has treated us to this awesome mash-up. The track consists of two of DJ Paul’s absolute classics!! Both of these would go off without a doubt and are considered to most as Los Angeles 90’s Hardcore classics… Anti-Procrastination and Paul’s Nightmare. Both monster tracks on their own and this mash-up just takes both tracks to another level. Unlike most mash-ups that just blend the two tracks as one, this rendition has received an updated kick and its a good one! I was able to drop this at Audio Asylum earlier this summer and the crowd ate it up! This mash-up is a little tough to obtain… I can only currently locate it on DJ Paul’s self entitled album on B2S. Happy hunting’s!!
How did I get into hardcore? It was 1995, I was 14 and heavily into rave and hard trance. That sound swept through Germany, it was essentially mainstream—much more popular than trance or house is now. Hardcore was a part of it, but unlike the happy rave sounds, it was boycotted by the TV and radio stations (which unlike today were the main source for new sounds.) I asked my rave friends about hardcore, and most said two things: “Good for dancing, not so good for listening” and “Terrordrome is better than Thunderdome”.
Then, one night the following happened. MTV’s Party Zone was on. Some guys I’ve never heard of—Alec Empire and others—were talking about a label I never heard of, Digital Hardcore Recordings. They played the video for Atari Teenage Riot’s “Speed”, which took place inside a squat. I instantly knew that was where I’ve always wanted to be, and the sound I’ve always wanted to hear. There was no return.
A few months later, I got internet, and found out more about this DHR. The DHR webpage mentioned labels like Fischkopf, Napalm, GTI, and Bloody Fist. I was thrilled. Fischkopf was a hardcore label in the city I lived in! How exciting.
I was 15 by this point, and and started to learn more about the gabber side of things. I learned that Mokum was one of the most respected gabber labels around, so I bought Cyberdrome Alien City Part 1, one of their compilations. It introduced me to artists like Wavelan, Speedfreak, and Chosen Few. I knew now hardcore was the thing for me. The next compilation I bought was Thunderdome 12, and then Industrial Fucking Strength. That one really hit me hard. When DJ Skinhead came on, I was legitimately frightened . I had to take the CD out of the player before it was finished!
More compilations followed, and I became lost to hardcore and gabber. I finally picked up something by DHR—Alec Empire’s Destroyer Album. I was surprised how “dark” it sounded compared to the more upbeat Mokum and Ruffneck stuff I listened to. It took me six months before that album really grew on me.
I found out Fischkopf was run out of a techno store in Hamburg called Container Records. I headed there, went up the stairs to the store, and entered paradise! A wall with “hardcore” written on it (next to some fancy skulls) and full of underground hardcore CDs. The full section of hardcore vinyl was categorized by labels, sublabels, and in the case of Fischkopf, even by releases (one folder full of Fischkopf 12, for example). I bought Ec8or’s self-titled album and a Fucking Hardcore 5 CD. The former, again, took a while to grow on me. The first vinyl I bought was Fisch 14, Eradicator’s Agit Prop LP. When I heard the first track on it—with the “everything is war” intro—I fell in love.
So that’s how I got lost in hardcore.
