Liminal Tracks - At the intersection of Techno and Hardcore in the early 90s

The evolution (and de-evolution) of genres within the "Techno" umbrella (and outside of it) was never as clear-cut and "organized" as it appears today; after the advent of Techno in the late 80s, for the first years, most "ravers" referred to their music using different terms and names, that were sometimes even interchangeable. "Techno", "Rave", "House". Often, these stood for the whole of the rhythmic electronic experience: a "rave" in early 90s UK could incorporate Techno, Acid, Breakbeat, maybe even some EBM and such; while the first Gabber and Hardcore Techno parties in the Netherlands were still called "House parties" where DJs played "house" music.

Not unusual, when a new form of music evolved; when we look at other sonic realms, we see the same. For example, everything was called "rock n roll" or "rock music" at first, and only much later specific genres and terms like metal, progressive rock, or grindcore and technical death came around.
But to get back to the point; not only the use of words and symbols was kind of blurry; the styles, the forms of music were still joined and connected to each other too.

So, in 1991 or 1992, people did not go around and say "this is a hardcore track, and that over there is a techno track" etc. it was still very much one scene, one sound, one world of music. no clear splits yet.
and, if we look back at that era, there was a transitional period in which quite a lot of tracks sat right in between what we would call "techno" and "(oldschool) hardcore". liminal hardcore, if you will - in between two worlds, and belonging to both at the same time.

when looking back at these sounds, one should remember that in the early 90s, techno (and hardcore!) records were produced to be played at parties; not necessarily to be listened at home.
so the bassdrums in these tracks might sound quite weak compared to today's "overly distorted" HC drumming when listening to them on your headphones while the sun is shining outside.
but in a huge PA in a tight squat, these sub bass frequencies and clever reverberation would tear the whole place apart.
also, the all night dancing in pitch black basements with flickering strobes and an overdose of fog put the ravers in an enhanced state of mind, bordering on the hypnagogic and the hallucinogenic (i dearly hope none of these ravers used drugs to reach those states, because drugs are bad for you, kids! ;-)
that means that certain sounds hit much harder and had a different quality than when listening to them while being in a dry, sober, and bored state.
this is essentially true for the staccatos of weird and twisted synths, choir-hits, bleeps, and the often very psychedelic vocals.
so try to listen to them with the ears (and mindset) of a 1991s squat raver.

But, without further ado, here are a few of tracks (in no particular order) that fit to the above-mentioned tropes; tracks that occupy a territory between early techno and hardcore.

1. J.Y. Factory - James Brown Is Dead Or Alive ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpfWLq8bKbY )

L.A. Style's Techno breakout hit "James Brown is Dead" led to many clones and in-official "follow ups"; another well known one is "James Brown is still alive" by Holy Noise (of Rotterdam Records fame) . This Japanese artist was apparently inspired by both, which led to the Heisenberg-esque title "... is dead or alive".

And it's one of the heaviest rave-techno tunes ever!

2. Alpha Team - Speed (Hardcore Mix) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teLUakK3pGY )

A true UK classic! Taking liberal sampling from 70s/80s US-euro kids' favorite anime series "speed racer" (which was banned in Germany for being 'overly brutal and violent' for a 'children's show'), this track unfolds an all out assault of synths and sounds at a, well, *high speed*.

3. Disintegrator - In The Machine (GTO Remix) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U9myiBsuo4 )

As if "In the machine" by machines (a collaboration project between john selway and later "dj skinhead / the horrorist" oliver chesler) was not hard enough, this remix by gto actually 1-ups it.

Claustrophobic, dirty, distorted sounds, reminiscent of a sub-marine on duty, trap you in these infernal machines.

GTO later became famous as Technohead!

4. Phenomania - Caramelle ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jWK5R3MPUw ) 

Phenomania is probably better known for "who is elvis?" - but this track already foreshadows elements of later Hardcore / Gabber productions, such as heavy metal guitars, while still being very much rooted in Techno.

5. 80 AUM - MindController ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RatpnF_bGCs )

"80 AUM" member patrick von kerckhoven later rose to fame in the Gabber world as DJ Ruffneck, his label Ruffneck Records, and all that followed.

This is an early track that gives a glimpse of his gabber mayhem to come.

6. Titanium Steel Screws - Untitled A1 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ahE6rWVYA )

Mono tone is another label to go for if you are looking for some Techno/Hardcore tracks; and this is one of the wildest of 'em all.

7. Space Trax - Deduction (Original 12" String Mix) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE9tz-Uh1bw )

space trax got harder and harder with each release, and this track has a bass that just tears everything apart.

8. Sub System III - Robocop (To Serve & To Protect) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YukD0MlT6ew )

I could not find much info online about this project; but damn, is this track rough.

9. Smart Systems - Tingler (Meltram Mix) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2toNAQnXEg ) 

Hey, hey, it's The Future Sound of London! In an early incarnation or aka.

And this shows them at full strength, delivering an onslaught of heavy sounds; can you imagine these are the same guys who did the classic "Papua New Guinea"?

10. Scaremonger: Soon We All Will Have Special Names ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhMqvS7juHk )

Praxis, of course, later become a full-on Hardcore and Breakcore label; and a quite a distorted and noizy one at that!

But this debut release still shows ties to the Techno scene; mixing squat beats with very psychedelic sounds and a liberal dose of distortion.

Hope you enjoyed this feature! Do you know more tracks that fit into these (early) techno-hardcore schematics?

Let us know in the comments!