I'm a self-proclaimed "music journalist" and more often than not, I find myself returning to a certain topic: the early days of Techno and Hardcore, or rather, the time *before* these days.
The period when all of these genres were still in creation, and the final form of Techno (and Hardcore) was yet to be seen.
In those days, there literally were a myriad of influences that poured into the maelstrom that gave birth to "Techno" as we know it.
Some of the more "out-there" claims I heard was that "glam rock" shaped Techno ("because it had a 4/4 and shuffle beats already") or that video game music was involved (likely true).
Jones & Stephenson - The First Rebirth (Original Mix)
But most generally, the dispute is whether the USA (detroit / nyc club scene), europe (new-beat / ebm), or the UK and Ibiza (acid house / rave) are the inventors of Techno. "Who has the one, true ring"... excuse me, I mean, who is the one true inventor of Techno and its subgenres.
The truth is likely much more complex, and it really was the result of... a myriad of influences, as mentioned above.
With hardcore-gabba, there is a similar division, amongst those who are "investigators" of its history.
Some claim it was a Dutch invention (with "Rotterdam Records" etc), or one out of Germany (with Marc Acardipane and his label Planet Core Productions - which went into business 2 years before "Rotterdam" did).
Cortex Thrill - Innerspace
But again, we need to agree that it came down to - a thousand of different influences, from all the wide world.
And because of this, I want to talk about Bonzai Records.
Bonzai was neither from Germany nor The Netherlands (nor Detroit or London), but is a label out of Belgium.
And it virtually represents all this that I mentioned above. Techno, Acid, Gabba, its creation or history, Dance Music, traces of detroit / new-beat...
The label is sitting right there, in between all these things and states.
And it was a huge influence on 100s of other DJs and producers. And it is not a bold claim to assume that the label played a very important rule in the evolution of these styles - in the creation of these styles!
Cherrymoon Trax - The House Of House [Live At Tomorrowland]
2.
Those who are into early dance and techno music, and know the 90s; or those that even were around in the 90s and are "rave veterans" now might utter a slight "gasp!" at this claim.
Because, yes, Bonzai is mostly known for its "trance" music, releases, compilations. and is seen as a trance label, belonging to the "history of trance" music.
And that is quite true, and they deserve this place.
But at the same it's true that they had a lot of releases in other genres. Techno tracks, gabba bangers, hardcore classics, acid house all the way. even some outer space ambient stuff. oh and did i mention house and more progressive genres?
For example, they likely were the first label to massively use "hardcore kicks" on its releases. These were bass drums from a tr-909 drum machine that got "overdriven beyond recognition" by various methods (in some cases, just by pushing the volume levels on a mixer into the reddest of reds).
and bonzai was a true pioneer here.
maybe some later "gabber heros" first heard these kicks on a bonzai release, and repurposed this technique for themselves?
D.J. Bountyhunter - Come On (1992)
when i inquired about the "history of hardcore" among some gabberheads i know, real veterans from the "early days", some of them said that gabber evolved out of techno tracks "with the belgian hoovers" ('hoovers' are a type of rave-synth sound), that just went harder and harder, and then we have arrived at proper hardcore techno.
bonzai was not the only belgian label involved in this rapid development. but they were one of the labels involved in it.
3.
apart from the hardcore-gabba-fiends, bonzai played a huge role as a player in the trance and hardtrance world. a lot of the classics that are still played at retro-rave nights were from this label.
and they still get regular, modern "updates" of these tunes.
i'd also like to add that bonzai gave rise to a kind of "anthemic" rave sound. their trance tracks did not sound so much like the more club focused music. the kind of trance that was done around the same time, in germany for example.
when i listen to these (bonzai) tracks, i get the feeling they were created with "rave arenas" in mind; huge cavernous halls, filled with thousands of zany raver kids, shaking their bones to the thunder of the drums.
these producers sure knew how to put the "reverberation" fx units to good use!
Overwhelming Rain (Jones & Stephenson Mix) (Played at Mayday Rave 1994)
let's skip their contribution to the world of house, acid, and others for now. because i would need to write a book then, not just this meagre text!
4.
so, was bonzai dominantly a trance label? or a hardcore one? or both? bipolar?
Well, i would argue that the answer is - even "more complex".
the tracks are somehow "in between" these genres, they have undefined sounds.
even on one vinyl release you sometimes find one "gabba-smasher" on one side, and the flipside has calm ambient-trance.
the label really defined this "primal" state where genres are still fluid. nothing is set in stone yet. everything is possible.
No Man's Land - Termination ZX (Hardtrance 1993)
5.
It's weird that Belgium - a quite "small" country (no offense to the belgians!) played such an important role in the history of techno (and hardcore).
And it's weird that a label called bonzai did it. A bonzai is the smallest of trees after all.
But they did.
And I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles, folks!
Yves Deruyter - Calling Earth (Official Video)