From: nivekogr@athena.mit.edu (Christopher M Teixeira)
Subject: Re: Breakbeat and 'hardcore' ruminations
Keywords: breakbeat
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 18:13:24 GMT

In article <C0E5p9.Dx2@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu> elombard@cayley.uwaterloo.ca (Eddie Lombardi) writes:
>
>I also have a question.  Here in Toronto a few of the rave organizations
>are starting to have raves woth 2 rooms.  A hardcore room and a trance/house,etc
>room.  Is this happenning in other parts of the world as well.  Actually the type
>of music in the second rooms is often called "happee" rave tunes.  I know there
>is an organization in Engalnd called Raindance that has had raves like the one 
>decribed above.  

  I spent the year-end holidays in Toronto and although I didn't attend
 PowerFlakes Rave or the New Year's Rave ($25 admission fee!!?? NO THANKS!!)
 I did go to a fairly small event on Jan.2nd called Psykosis.  This was put
on by a bunch of transplanted Britons who run the X-Static clothing store
in T.O.  There was a large room where breakbeat ruled supreme, much to my
consternation.  This wasn't moderate-speed (140-150 BPM) breakbeat with
subtleties (cf. Prodigy's Experience), however, this was ultra-chipmunk,
180+ BPM, "HERE COME THE DRUMS!!" stuff where that funky-drummer beat would
form essentially all of the track.  Because the promoters/DJs were primarily
British I thought this represented the state of techno in the U.K. -- 
'Jungle' or 'High Beat' or whatever they call it -- there was also some
 itty-bitty pieces of rasta-
techno before that annoying beat came back.  Luckily after about 2 hours of
this (and nearly falling asleep) I discovered that there was another small
'chill-out' room where years-old techno and house was being played.  A much
needed oasis.  This room , despite being maybe 1/10th size of the large room
usually had just as many people.  The high point of the evening for me
was hearing Beltram's classic 'Energy Flash' there.

>Also is everyone as sick as I am of hardcore. When I first heard it
>I really like but know it seems 90% of shit and very repetetive(sp?).

   I think there may be a semantical difficulty here concerning the
umpteen uses of the word 'hardcore'.  
What really surprised me was that this party was billed as a 
"totally hardcore + chill" event and so I conclude that ultra-chipmunk =
hardcore for Torontonians -- or at least this group.  "Hardcore Techno" is
quite different in the NorthEast U.S. [I assume in most other places as
well].  Like breakbeat, there is an ubiquitous element, in the hardcore case
a rock-solid, bowel-stirring 4/4 beat which forms the underlying component.
Over this, anything goes, the noisier the better, IMO.  Acid worms, whirring
nastiness, thudding safes -- elements that form the interesting part of the
track and hold my attention apart from the underlying beat.  On the other hand,
I find in breakbeat (of the 'hardcore' variety as played at Psykosis)
that the beat is the main attention grabber, only when 
there is a break is it possible for some other element to vye for my 
attention.  As a result, the former description of 'hardcore' is my
favourite type of techno while I find ultra-chipmunk annoying and boring.

  I kept waiting for something from +8/Probe to come screeching out of the
speakers but it was in vain.  Homegrown talent ignored.  Too bad.

  Has the double-LP 'From Our Minds To Yours - Vol.2' on +8 (+8022) been
mentioned here already?  Both slabs are 'radioactive' (they glow in the
dark - neat) and contain 8 tracks total.  My favourites are Sysex's
'Fever', V-Room's 'V-Shaped' , Cybersonik's 'Red Alert' and Fred Gianelli's
 (under the alias 'G-Man') Bio-Fidelic.  Fred's track is also the most
interesting musically as he is not content to stick to any formula.
Another new label to look for you if you like +8 style techno ->
'Disturbance' out of Italy, an off-shot of noise-label Minus Habens.  The
gap between noise and dance music gets increasingly smaller.

  As if my bias wasn't obvious, let me state that my interest in techno
is hearing ever more interesting conglomerations of sound rather than
attaining a happy sense of oneness with a crowd of people.  Microrave today.

-Chris Teixeira






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