Breakbeat hardcore

Breakbeat hardcore (Rave music) is a derivate of acid house that combines 4-to-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats, and is associated with UK Rave scene.

Origins

The rave scene

The scene revolved around the M25 motorway (London's orbital motorway), and its audience was mainly urban teenagers and lower middle-class suburban teenagers with cars. The audience was very much multi-cultural, with black and white influences resulting in a unique sound. The scene expanded rapidly in 1991, with large raves of 30,000 to 50,000 people attending in open air venues around England, put on by Spiral Tribe and other free party sound systems held at numerous locations up and down the length of England. This scene spawned the idea of holding huge parties rather than small clubs.

MDMA and Parties

Emerging from the early 1980s proto-Rave scene and landing squarely in Balearic Ibiza and London, Rave was originally the product of the MDMA culture. MDMA was available generally, used mostly for its ability to form close bonds between users rather than as a trance-dance drug. Ironically the drug that was the catalyst for the Rave scene would also be the force that would drive it back underground. Entrepreneurs, both legal and illegal, sensing the money producing potential of the scene introduced the culture to the London West End clubs, attracting the attention of a broader class of people and increasing the scrutiny of the parties and people involved. (Reynolds, 1998)

Effect and fragmentation

The early 90s saw the shifting of the underground sound become more prevalent in the mainstream. Even without any radio play, many hybrid and regional styles made their way into Top20 charts. However, during 1990, the two main subdivisions of this underground rave movement was primarily either house or techno (although often interchangeable or vaguely used to define a multitude of styles). However, between 1993 and 1994 the scene fragmented, and forked off into two distinct styles - Jungle (later giving rise to Drum and Bass) and 4-beat (alternatively known as happy hardcore). Jungle's sound was more focused on basslines, whilst 4-beat retained the rave synths, the 4/4 kickdrum, and happier piano elements. By 1996, most 4-beat had dropped its breakbeats (in-part due to bouncy techno), whilst drum and bass had long dropped the techno style synth stabs, thus further separating the two styles. The almost independent evolution of styles created distinct sounds of "bleep and bass", brutalist techno, hardcore jungle, pop-rave, hip-house, and ragga-techno sounds.

Selected information

Record labels

786 Approved, Absolute 2, Awesome Records, Basement Records, Boogie Beat Records, Chill, Contagious, FFrreedom aka FFRR, Formation Records, Full Effect Recordings, Great Asset, Pranged, Ibiza Records, Kickin Records, Kniteforce, Little Giant Music, Moving Shadow, Network Records, Production House Records, Rabbit City recordings, Reinforced Records, Suburban Base, Triple Helix, XL Recordings, Soapbar Records, Liquid Wax, Impact Records, Unatural Light

Notable Releases

• Foul Play - Finest Illusion (Section 4, 1992)
• Harmoney & Extreme - Music (Lucky Spin 010, 1993)
• Joint Project - Total Feeling (Soapbar Records 001, 1992)
• The Scientist - The Exorcist (Kickin Records, KICK 001, 1990)
• Altern-8 - Frequency (Network Records, NWKTR 34, 1991)
• SL2 - DJ's Take Control (Awesome Records, SL002, 1991)
• Sonz Of A Loop Da Loop Era - Far Out (Suburban Base, SUBBASE 008, 1991)
• Wax Doctor - A New Direction (Basement Records, BRSS 0011, 1992)
• DJ Seduction - Hardcore Heaven (FFrreedom, TABX 103, 1992)
• DJ Seduction - Come On (FFrreedom, TABX 101, 1992)
• Acen - Trip To The Moon (Production House Records, PNT 42, 1992)
• The Prodigy - Experience (XL Recordings, XLCD 110, 1992)
• Nookie - Return Of Nookie (Reinforced, RIVET 1239, 1993)
• DJ Krome & Mr. Time - The Slammer (Suburban Base, SUBBASE 26, 1993)
• DJ Red Alert & Mike Slammer - Slammin' Vinyl (GUMH 011, 1995)

References

• Simon Reynolds' Energy Flash: a Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture (ISBN 0-330-35056-0)
• Simon Reynolds' Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture (ISBN 0-415-92373-5)
• Chris Sharp, Jungle: Modern States of Mind, Modulations, ch. 8 pgs. 130-155

See also

• List of electronic music genres

External links

• RenegadeRadio.co.uk
• RenegadeJam.com
• HardcoreWillNeverDie.com
• Stuck in 1992
• BackToTheOldSkool.co.uk
• Australian Breakbeat Hardcore
• Hardscore.com
• Stressfactor.co.uk
• Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music
• Oldskool Hardcore Tunes