Tag Archives: Trauma Live

Articles, Interviews

Altern 8 Interview at TR-99’s Trauma

Last August Altern 8 visited Los Angeles courtesy of TR-99’s Trauma party. It was a great honor meeting these guys, as Altern 8 unalterably shaped rave culture by ways of the massive impact of their music and persona. I lucked into a thorough interview (hence the delay in upload) with Mark Archer and Josh Doherty before they would play that night, and here is what they had to say…

How about a history lesson on what you were doing in the late ’80s – early ’90s that made Altern-8?

Mark:  It started in ’89 working with Chris Peat, one of the original members of Altern-8. We were working together as ‘Nexus 21’. I was heavily influenced by Detroit Techno at the time. We were owed some studio time where we were working, Blue Chip Studios, Stafford. We went in, and made about nine or ten tracks. It had further influences than just Detroit Techno, so we didn’t want to call it Nexus 21. That way it wouldn’t dilute what we were doing as the other group.

We were going to call ourselves Alien-8, because Chris was in a rock band called Alien-8. When the label sent the tune to be pressed, they didn’t do any DJ promos, anything like that, came back with all the sleeves. They phoned us up and said, “The records are here.” Drove down to Birmingham where the label was based, opened the box, pulled it out, it said ‘Altern-8’ on the top. The name came round by mistake, really.

Altern-8 at TR-99's Trauma
Altern-8 at TR-99’s Trauma. Photo by Peter Vincent.

It was just originally as a side-project, but the first EP had eight tracks on it, so a lot of DJs were buying it purely because there wre eight tracks you could play rather than one 12-inch that maybe had one mix that you could play, so it was really good value for money. When we did a follow-up, a lot of the DJs were already waiting for the follow-up, which was Infiltrate 202. It just went from there. We did that, and then we needed a follow-up, then we did Activ-8. Activ-8 got in the UK charts, so we started touring around the UK and around the world, and it took off a bit.

I remember you guys were on the cover of magazines, even here in the States and in Canada. What was the hysteria all about? Why were people so into you at the time?

Josh: Activ-8, I think, had sold enough copies that it would have gone to number one most weeks of the year, but it happened to be released the same week as the biggest British comedy act doing a thing, I think, and the new Michael Jackson single, so we got stuck at number three. Whereas a week earlier, a week later, it would have been a number one hit. There was a massive amount of hype around that time.

Mark: I think it was because we had the suits, which wasn’t planned. There was something really mysterious about the fact that people didn’t know who was making all the techno back then. There was very little known about it, so we took it to the ultimate by having the suits on. You couldn’t see who we were at all. There was a lot of hype and we did a lot of pranks, like giving away hot air. We were in a hot air balloon, and we were throwing Christmas puddings from it. There was the whole thing about the record label boss’s daughter, who was three at the time, saying, “Top one, nice one, get sorted” on the record, which was a phrase about people going out to raves.

Josh: Also, the rave scene was the last time that there was a huge social movement connected with a music scene in the UK. The government was really “anti-rave” and our look was “anti-establishment” as well, so people really connected with it.

How did you get into this? How did you find yourself in that wave of history?

Mark: There seemed to be a natural progression from early ’80s electro, soul, funk etc. People who were into that were, say, into like the early Chicago House stuff, including hip-hop. It kind of went hand-in-hand; banging to De La Soul and Public Enemy respectively. Then it went on to Acid House. After ’88, there was a lot of backlash about Acid House, but it kept progressing each year. ‘89 saw the arrival of Detroit Techno: the Belgians were making a lot of music and the Italians did this “Italo” House thing. There were so many influences at one time.

You were making music at that time?

Mark: Yeah. Yeah. I was making stuff in ’88, we were doing Acid House and stuff different names.

There was something where you guys were running for office?

Mark: That was just another way to get your name in the papers. If you have a single out, people will be promoting it, but when you don’t they won’t write about you. Every time, we had a prank, it was just a way to get your name out there so people remembered you between each single. The elections were going on, so Chris ran for the local elections in Stafford.

Josh:He didn’t come last, did he?

Mark: No. There’s a party called the Natural Law Party, and we actually beat them and they were being serious, and there we were.They were pissed.

Why is he not part of Altern-8 now?

Mark: In late ’93, I was recording under the name DJ Nex, Xen Mantra, I was doing House stuff with Danny Taurus under the name Slo Moshun. I was doing loads of different things, while Chris was getting more into computers. We had musical differences also. I wanted to go a certain direction – he was just interested in computers – so we stopped doing Altern-8 and revived Nexus 21. That didn’t happen so we stopped working together. I carried on DJ’ing ever since, recording under different names, but not recording any new material as Altern-8, Then in 2008, I played at a party Josh promotes in London called ‘I Love Acid’, and from there we started talking again. Now we’re doing the Altern-8 live shows again.

Are you going to come out with new Altern-8 music?

There’s a track in the [Trauma] live set which is brand new, right bang in the middle. We’re also working on an album.

Are you going to team up with any artists from back in the day?

Mark: Yeah, I’ve been working with some guys from Unique 3, Forgemasters, LFO, Rhythmatics, under the name The Originators.

There was something extra imbued into the Altern-8 sound that wasn’t just in all the other rave music. There seemed to be some bigger ideas behind it. Was that my imagination or was that actually going on?

Josh : A lot of that’s got to do with where some of the samples and the sounds are sourced from. There’s lots of really soulful House and Detroit Techno and bit and pieces like that that have gone in there. There’s something a little bit extra in them. I fucking love most of that old Hardcore, people like DJ DMS and stuff like Production House, but the source material of what they’re sampling was often other rave tunes, and it didn’t really reach back much further. The Altern-8 stuff just had a little more reach in where it was pulling tracks from. That’s my opinion, anyway.

Mark: At the time, I was just making tracks that I liked the sound of. The fact that people liked them was just … we just seemed to be doing something right and carried on doing it.

Are you just doing this one track?

Mark: Oh no, we’re going to be working on an album, get Full On … Mask Hysteria remixed and re-mastered. Get that out, and then work on new material for the new album.

Are you going to aim this material at the old schoolers, or are you going to aim it at kids?

Josh:  We’re just going to write tunes that we like.

Mark: There’s no point trying to follow trends or push it to a certain market. Just like we did back then, you just made tunes that you liked and you hoped worked on the dance floor.

Josh: Both of us are producing other stuff anyway, so if we end up writing something Housey or Techno or something, it will just end up going under one of the other aliases. You don’t even have to go into the studio and go, “Must be Breakbeat,” because if something else works, then you just do something else with it.

Is there anything that you wish you could do over from that time? Or wish that you could do now?

Mark: If I had known how well the gig we played out here in ’92 went down … It was only after we were getting letters from people in LA, saying how good … from where we were on the stage, I didn’t think we did that well. At the end of our gigs, we used to come to the front of the stage and greet fans, but because it didn’t look like we did well, we just scurried off stage. Apparently, we blew that many people’s heads. If we somehow knew, we could’ve enjoyed it a hell of a lot more, gone out and met people etc. That’s probably the only thing.

What’s been your best memory throughout your musical journey?

Mark: The first time we played Downingtown Park, UK. That was our first big gig, and it was in a massive warehouse.

Josh: I played at a festival called Bloc in 2009, and the crowds were singing along to all the tunes. This was coming on after Skream & Benga, they were doing a dubstep thing, which was the most hyped music at the time. I was thinking, “I’m playing a bunch of old-school records after they just absolutely smashed it. I’m going to go down like a lead balloon.” But it just went off. This year, we ended a stage on Sunday night at Glastonbury, amid like 30,000 people

So what can we look forward to tonight?

Josh: All the classics, but they’ll be mashed up and changed a bit. The lucky thing is that the technology now is better than it was.

Mark: You’d have to take on a full studio on stage back in the day, whereas now you don’t have to.

Josh: A couple of laptops. There’s only so much that we can bring up. 303s and stuff stay at home.

Mark: All the tunes that hopefully people will remember. Different versions and a few surprises, and obviously the new tune in the middle.

All right then, top one, nice one, get sorted on iTunes!

From there, Altern 8 then prepped their set and later rocked and wowwed the crowd at Trauma.

Additional editing was done by DJ Daybreaker.

All photos in this article were shot by Peter Vincent.

Announcements, Articles, Events

LA Weekly’s Mention of Trauma is a HUGE Victory for Hardcore!

How quickly we are rising! This week we have seen the tremendous reach that ‘Trauma: Harder Styles Tour’ has had all across the U.S. by having DJ Deadly Buda’s article on the subject approved and published onto the LA Weekly’s website!

http://www.laweekly.com/music/how-i-raved-again-on-americas-largest-hard-dance-tour-6727727

Buda’s recount of ALL seven stops of America’s hardest electronic tour to date captures the trials and tribulations that were experienced throughout his journey all while simultaneously immersing the reader into all of the excitement and adrenaline one may have only been able to feel by attending (now times those feelings by seven!).

Having this amount of publicity on a such a national and prestigious forum shows all of us (ravers and non-ravers alike) that Hardcore can’t, and will never, DIE!

You can read all about the madness RIGHT HERE and please show your support in any way by reading, sharing, and/or leaving a comment on LA Weekly’s thread.

Articles, Reviews

Field Report 7: Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn

The final stop of Trauma’s Harder Styles Tour touched down in Brooklyn Saturday night. As anticipated, the venue was packed with attendees bouncing off the walls. Right off the bat is was amazing to see Lenny Dee and Rob Gee on their home turf, in the borough that made them worldwide names. Rob Gee played his greatest set on the entire tour, and frankly it might have been the single most uplifting and inspiring set –of all sets—on the tour. Rob Gee has always had something special with audiences, but Saturday night in particular he hit a resonant melody with the audience who were 100% in sync with his hardcore vibe.

Dj Deadly Buda at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
DJ Deadly Buda at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn

But, I’m getting ahead of myself, literally. Yours truly got to open up the night, and thankfully the sound-system was 100% on point, and there was already a crowd ready to rock. I got a chance to bust out some of my favorite tracks from the Next Cyclone label, which are rarely played, and the crowd was well into it. I also got to spin on 4 decks at once, an infrequent pleasure at hardcore shows where oftentimes we are lucky to even be using modern CD-Js!

DJ Stefanie at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
DJ Stefanie at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn

After I did my stuff, Reactor and Pulsators hit the decks and rocked the crowd with some hardstyle, leading up to the night’s headliner, DJ Stefanie. Basically, she tore it up, showing the USA why she is a big favorite in Europe and even showcased one of her latest tracks. I had the pleasure of filming her live feed on Facebook for the first half hour too. Most of her set it could be seen worldwide!

Lenny Dee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
Lenny Dee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn

Next up was Lenny Dee. As always, it’s a pleasure to see Lenny Dee rocking it in his own backyard. The tough industrial sounds had the ravers rocking to and fro. Hardcore historians know that Lenny Dee might be considered the original hardcore DJ of which we know in the modern era, and to see him in his element, where the sounds were heard that would later inspire the world, was truly moving. He was followed by his frequent partner-in-cacophony, Rob Gee.

Tim Shopp at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
Tim Shopp at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn

Satronica then hit the decks and continued the holiday of hardcore that had taken over Brooklyn’s legendary club Verboten, leading to up-and-coming, Tim Shopp, who did double duty on the main stage and the second room, keeping the crowd busy the entire night. Tim tore the cap off a shaken pop-bottle of speedcore madness that drove the crowd wild, giving a sneak preview of the coming wave of American Hardcore.

Rob Gee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
Rob Gee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn

Initially looking back on the tour at this early stage of reflection, I think there were tremendous gains made for the American hardcore EDM/Techno scene. Whereas the crowds were not sell-outs, they were decent and more importantly, everyone had a great, and sometimes life changing time. Dealing with music so much on an everyday basis, we music insiders often lose track of how important finding that new sound is to the concert goer… as we count the beans and talk the numbers. Sure, it’s an aspect that cannot be ignored, but ultimately life is remembered in experiences, and Trauma Live made sure to give people an experience they’ll never forget, and I can’t wait to see what happens to this scene next.

DJ Stefanie and Lenny Dee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
DJ Stefanie and Lenny Dee at Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016: Brooklyn
Articles, Reviews

Trauma Field Report 6: Pittsburgh PA

I was born in Pittsburgh, DJed my first rave in Pittsburgh, and when asked where I am from I always want to say Pittsburgh, even if I haven’t had a mailing address there in decades. So it was with keen anticipation that I looked forward to the Pittsburgh edition of the Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016, and it lived up to the hype in my subconscious.

Meccano Twins at Trauma Live's Harder Styles Tour 2016: Pittsburgh
Meccano Twins at Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016: Pittsburgh

Every stop on the tour has its unique flavor, and the stop in the Steel City could be best described as one of child-like enthusiasm and fun. Being the least populated city on the tour, that was reflected in the attendance, however, for those that made it out in the 20 degree Fahrenheit cold, it was a life changing and transformative event that most will recognize a few years from now, and one that I see now, simply based on my past experience in this realm.

Tommyknocker at Trauma Live's Harder Styles Tour 2016: Pittsburgh
Tommyknocker at Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016: Pittsburgh

There was a crowd of old and new last night. There were a few attendees, such as Dario Kenning, who attended Pittsburgh’s first rave on December 13, 1991, the Psychotronic Slack Rave. Dan Mross and Colby Newton, veterans of the Turbo Zen days, were also in attendance. They were joined by a new breed of ravers, getting a taste of hardcore for the first time, or at least the first time live.

In fact, that was the interesting thing, all along the tour. In the early rave days, we were introducing a hodge-podge of music to the crowd, blending it together and making something new. Hardcore EDM, or techno if you like, harkens back to that pivotal moment in rave history. It was the point where the ravers made their own sound. That sound is an alternative sound to the mainstream, so that in many ways the evolution of hardcore is unrecognized in the mainstream, and why it feels so fresh and exciting when the curious party-goer stumbles upon it, or searches and finally finds it. It feels different when you are there, and you know it.

I started off the night playing some new tracks created by Subterranean and Nickolai, remixes of my old “Playing Echoes in Your Head” EP from 1996, a 20 year old record that still sounds fresh today, and now even fresher with the updates. I was followed by Buzz Fuzz, SRB, Meccano Twins and then Tommyknocker. Tommyknocker really knocked it out of the park last night, his set was spot on, tight and driving. No disrespect to myself, SRB, Buzz and Meccano, we all played nice sets, but the crowd finally arrived during Tommy’s set and he made sure they got their money’s worth once they stepped on the dance floor. Up next was the crowd favorite, hardstyle heroine, DJ Stefanie. She had the crowd bopping away, and was probably the most popular last night.

Dr. Peacock at Trauma Live's Harder Styles Tour 2016: Pittsburgh
Dr. Peacock at Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016: Pittsburgh
MC RTSier of Rotterdam Terror Corps at Trauma Live's Harder Styles Tour 2016: Pittsburgh
MC RTSier of Rotterdam Terror Corps at Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016: Pittsburgh

Dr. Peacock was up next, and played what might have been his best set on the tour so far. I didn’t think he could surpass the Denver show, but his sweet melodies and international flavor really enraptured the crowd last night. I might be tempted to say he had my favorite set of the night, but it would be a close coin-flip between all the stars. Let’s put it this way: last night I started to understand what all the buzz was about Dr. Peacock. He’s doing something different, and the crowd is getting into it.

Rotterdam Terror Corps assaulted the stage next with their trademarked brand of chaos. Huge kick drums, terror noises, scary make-up and gabber strippers whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Then, as has been the tradition on the tour, Rob Gee wrapped up the show with his recent tracks, and then ended with a classic, “Ecstacy, You Got What I Need,” which is coming up on its 20 year anniversary. Apparently there is going to be a number of remixes coming out this year by top hardcore artists. The icing on the cake was when Rob made sure to do a final encore for the fans.

I hurried up to the door, and passed out the last few copies of The HARD DATA, and then kicked it with some of my homies from back in the day. Next up, the home of USA hardcore, Brooklyn, NYC. Until then, remember…

The rhythm is life and death!

-Deadly Buda

 

Articles, Reviews

Field Report 5: Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016: Denver

Extreme turbulence courtesy of the Rocky Mountain winds greeted my airplane as it hurtled towards Denver International Airport. A portent of the sonic turbulence that would test the unsuspecting speakers of the Summit Music Hall, courtesy of Trauma Live’s Harder Styles Tour 2016 and their awesome line-up of talent: Tonegenerator, Imperium, Buzz Fuzz, Dr. Peacock, Digital Punk, Tommyknocker, Rotterdam Terror Corps, Partyraiser, Rob Gee, and Meccano Twins. The master of ceremonies was once again MC Ruffian, hosting the party in adroit fashion.

Obviously word got out about the tour. From the very beginning the crowd was present. Denver Hard Dance co-promoted the event. They walked around Boulder, Colorado, with a boom-box, blasting Dr. Peacock mixes as they passed out flyers in the home of the Buffaloes. It was great to see a… how should I put it, well… a hippie crowd, getting down to hardcore EDM. As a former resident of Colorado, this was always a bit of a dream of mine and to see it coming to reality was personally gratifying. Sometimes things just take a little time.

As with the previous stops on the tour, the crowd was treated to a once-in-a-lifetime assemblage of talent. My message is simple here, you are never going to see anything like this again. Sure, there will be big shows and festivals in the future, but to see such a solid line-up of talent in a relatively small venue only happens at the very beginning of a scene. It’s a moment when desire overtakes rational thinking, when dedication to the art is more important than practical realities and sleep is banished from the nighttime hours in favor of execution and release. Attendees will be bragging about their attendance for decades in the future.

As noted, Tonegenerator and Imperium got the crowd warmed up with their home-grown sounds, leading the way for Buzz Fuzz’s gabber insanity, followed by yet another absolutely brutal jack-hammer assault of industrial hardcore by Meccano Twins. Tommyknocker showcased the Traxtorm signature sound, once again letting the Trauma audience know, as mentioned in his excellent track, “Nobody’s Stopping This.”

Tommyknocker drops it in Denver @Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

Digital Punk was up next, laying down the rawstyle law. At one point he did something pretty cool. Not content with simply encouraging the fans to put their hands in the air, he moseyed right in the crowd, kneeled down and stuck his arms right in there with them. It was a nice personal touch that really looked cool if you were there to see it in person.

Digital Punk and friends.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

Up next was Dr. Peacock and this guy was right at home with the crowd, as he played his internationally flavored hardcore to the open-minded Colorado crowd.

Dr. Peacock pumps up Denver @Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

Instead of the usual hakke dance you see folks do at these events, the crowd was dancing in more of a jig-like fashion. Since I’m so busy bouncing around the party taking pictures, schmoozing backstage, and making sure The Hard Data gets passed out, I haven’t had the chance to dance as much as I’d like to so far on the tour. But, I made sure I got to cut a little rug during Dr. Peacock.

Dr. Peacock rocking Denver @Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

Partyrasier hit the decks next. It was a classic Partyraiser set, and perhaps one of his best. He was mixing up a storm and really conversing with the audience via his music.

Partyraiser ripping it up in Denver @Trauma Harder Styles Tour 2016.

Posted by Joel Bevacqua on Saturday, February 20, 2016

This set the stage for Rottedam Terror Corps who put on a righteous, outrageous spectacle, as is their forte. Their old school kick drums brought back that bouncy sound I remember from my raving days in the 90’s – but combined with the hard terror-filled screeches of the modern era. That, combined with basically an X-rated stage show, let’s you know you’re not in Kansas anymore. Honestly they have to tone their show down just a bit for the American audience, but even so it’s still a riot.

Rob Gee completed the night to a captivated crowd with a broad selection of his hits old and new. Rob Gee has done an amazing job at updating his sound to the modern era, and the best example of that is his recent track with Adaro, Dark Universe. I’m hoping at the next stop on the tour, Pittsburgh, he busts out my current fave of his, “Music is the Drug” that he recently did with The BeatKrusher.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, that’s the stop I finally get to hit the main stage at, and I can’t wait because I will be busting out a new track I got Pittsburgh local Subterranean to whip up: a remix of my old track Housewrecker, this time with a sort of hardstyle/dubstep combination flavor going on. You’ll hear it there first. Until then, I’m going to enjoy one more day in the Rockies, recovering from the tour so far and resting up for the last leg. This is Deadly Buda signing off, and always remember, the rhythm is life and death!