1. Back during the Covid pandemic in 2019-2020 we discovered Doomcore Records. We were searching for a place to release music under the first alias of Librarium (Zornus Maximus) which resulted in 4 releases under that alias. And also for new music styles for Bohemian to dj with. It was a great fit.
2. Our 10 favorite releases on Doomcore records and sublabels are the following:
Naos - 07 - June 2013 - Doomcore Records Murmuur - 43 - March 2017 - Doomcore Records Maël - The Night Eternal - September 2021 - Doomcore Records Bazer - The Giant - January 2022 - Doomcore Records Voldo - Nordmyt - August 2022 - Doomcore Records Undercurrent (aka Li-Z) -Method to my Madness - August 2025 - Omnicore Records Lunar Node - Opium EP - March 2024 - Slowcore Records Mekronikal - Alone In The Dark - October 2023 - Doomcore Records Lkpas - Sunlight Bar Lover - March 2022 - Slowcore Records MIRVcore - We Are The Ones That Dwell Within - October 2020 - Doomcore Records
3. Just keep on doing what Doomcore Records does best. Being a great platform and label showcasing new talent as well as veterans of dark electronic sounds.
4. What can you tell us about your releases on the label? (Motivation, background, production...)
It all started with the Zornus Maximus releases. 3 Doomcore-ish releases and a Dark ambient album. Which led to the birth of Holmur. Librarium’s ambient/drone & experimental Project. And also the first official Librarium & Bohemian projects. Whether it is solo releases or collaboration projects, We are both almost always very intertwined in our work and projects. We love doing music together. We are brothers in Music and by blood.
Schirin
1. When did you first hear about Doomcore Records? How did you get to know the label?
it was ten years ago, i don't have much memories left, but i looked it up in my files and i think the story was that i played at a party and a friend of a friend said you have to know low entropy and that's how it started
2. What is one of your favorite releases, artists, or tracks of Doomcore Records? And why?
AnTraxid - Akira that i found on "Shatterdoom - Oldschool Style Doomcore Compilation" it has the power to shift me out of dark disturbances thank you :-)
3. What "wish" / idea / suggestion do you have for the future of Doomcore Records?
never stop your path is the most diverse and authentic it makes so much sense to me
kaworu2801
1. I discovered the label thanks to James F and Pardonax. 2. I’m particularly a fan of the Speedcore and Terror releases! 3. For the future, I think more regular activity on your Facebook page would be great to help the label gain more visibility. Happy 13th anniversary!
Plinn1518
1 : I discovered Doomcore records around release number 8 ( points artwork ) I was searching Doomcore on the internet elsewhere than youtube for making dj sets in this style
2 : slowcore comp 01 ! Because it's like the birth of slowcore in real life haha
3 : wish :v/a vinyl (not dubplate )
Sigma8 / Gnosvled
I think around 2018 i listened to some releases for the first time, when i looked for doomcore at RYM. I found out about it again during 2021 with the "Rave Disciples" release, the tittle caught my attention.
Artifact by Ryuroido at the best of 2023 releases. Awesome track, it's intense and beautiful.
I would like to listen to more occultish stuff and maybe more experimentation with old sounds, lofi stabs and samples, that gives the vibes of something arcane.
I have released stuff that may not be as polished as more professional or experienced producers, but always with the aim of bringing something unique and/or forgotten to the table, within the realm of hardcore and related intense music styles.
GabberGirl
1. When did you first hear about Doomcore Records? How did you get to know the label?
I found out about Doomcore in the summer of 2023, when I was asked to make a mix for the Doomcore Records podcast. I didn’t know about doomcore as a genre, but was adding Doomcore Records releases to my DJ sets within a few months of the discovery.
2. What is one of your favorite releases, artists, or tracks of Doomcore Records? And why?
This is a tricky question as I don’t know the entire discography of Doomcore Records. I mostly know the releases since I discovered the label, 2023 and beyond. But I can confidently say that within the releases I know, my favorite album is “Stygian” by Origin of Styx. It’s beautifully haunting melodies, catchy beat patterns, and massive kicks define doomcore to me. I can relate to this music, and it is such an extensive album, with 24 tracks, there is something for everyone’s tastes. Additionally, the track titles are very amusing.
3. What "wish" / idea / suggestion do you have for the future of Doomcore Records?
What I would like to see for Doomcore Records and its subs is a continued pushing of boundaries and genre lines, as they are already leaders in that now. I am happy they don’t hide behind strict genre boundaries, and are willing to try new stuff. Taking on the experimental artist Disrrr and finding a home for that intensely mad music, for one good example. The world needs to hear Disrrr’s music, but how to present it as it doesn’t cleanly fit into any one category or genre.
1/ I heard about Doomcore Records through Soundcloud, don't really remember the year but i was by a track of Low Entropy posted on Soundcloud. At that time, like today, i was looking for some new artists in Doomcore, Hardcore ... and i found his track. So i looked at his page and the link for Doomcore Records and it was the discovery of this huge label , already with several albums in Free Download and new artists also to discover.
2/ The 11 by Ylion, that i released 2 tracks off on my label, on the vinyls Doomland and Doomland 2 with his alias Verminous Skumm I really like his style of Doomcore. But there are so many albums that i haven't had time to listen to everything yet so maybe i missed other good artists / tracks ?
3/ I don't really have ideas, just the suggestion to produce vinyls in limited edition maybe like 30 vinyls or 50
4/ I released 2 albums : The Lost Souls in 2020, that was the period when i was producing a lot of Hardcore / Doomcore / Darkcore tracks. So i 'm happy that Low Entropy gave me the chance to appear on his label, and Darkness Is Your Candle in 2021
Doomcore Records, what a huge motivation when i discovered it, a label who gave a chance to a lot of artists contrary to a lot of labels who accepted only artists with a solid background / experience.
And i 'm also a small label who refused some artists , because most of the time the albums are released on vinyls so i can't produce everybody - i don't have the money.
For me, it is important to give small artists like myself the chance to share my music on a renowned label and to be heard by enthusiasts who would never have heard it without the Doomcore Records label.
After that, I released other tracks on compilations/albums from the label, which I also enjoy, being alongside other talented artists. I have a lot of tracks never released in different styles because they are unfinished, that i keep some for my label and some for Doomcore Records and his sublabels. So i will be back, like the Terminator says.
A few weeks ago, I met up with doomcore and dark ambient producer Origin of Styx at a hardcore rave, and asked to interview him for the Hardcore Techno Overdogs online magazine. He agreed, but only if the driving energy of hardcore kicks could be audible, background beats to the recorded interview. I suggest you listen to the eleven-minute audio, but if you would rather read the transcript, see it below. Cheers! GabberGirl
GabberGirl: Okay! I’m here with Origin of Styx, at a hardcore party in Phoenix, Arizona, put on by the AZ Hardcore Junkies. I’m here to ask him a few questions. Origin of Styx, just to let you know, if you haven’t heard his music, its deep and atmospheric. I would say it’s beautiful and accessible and it’s probably, in my mind, the definition of doomcore. So, here he is. Why don’t you introduce yourself and say hello.
Origin of Styx: Hey ya, this is Ethan from Origin of Styx. I’m at the AZ Hardcore Junkies 30th Anniversary party right now. It’s a really great rave, probably one of the best raves I have been to in a long time. It’s got three stages, main stage with a lot of big name hardcore DJs, even coming in from Europe. We’ve got two techno buses here, one playing hardcore, and then the other strictly playing techno, from the Techno Snobs.
GG: So, do you want me to call you Ethan, or Origin?
OOS: Ethan.
GG: Okay, Ethan. I would like to understand how you came to doomcore, and like what your roots are with the specific kind of music you play these days, that you produce. Like how did you find doomcore, and what draws you to it?
OOS: Well, I first started listening to electronic music when I was around 12. I was first exposed to house, dubstep, with artists like Deadmau5 and Skrillex, which were really huge at the time. And then I went deeper down the rabbit hole of electronic music. Probably around like 2014, I started listening to more hardcore, eventually speedcore, and I just kept branching out and learning more about different genres.
You know, when I was in high school, I started having more health-related problems, actually, it got me more prone to feeling fatigued, feeling depressed, struggling with brain fog. So, I started listening to more darker styles of music. I found more comfort in darker styles. Previously, I had just listened to more mainstream house and techno, until the time I started listening to a lot of dark ambient.
I first started producing dark ambient when a rapper from Poland named Biniolynx messaged me on Soundcloud and said he wanted me to make the intro and the outro for one of his albums. So I said I wanted to do that for him but I didn’t have a name to release this kind of dark ambient music under so he recommended Origin of Styx, and that was where the name came from.
GG: Oh!
OOS: And around that time, I started listening to more hardcore, and I was exposed to doomcore when I realized that it’s pretty much the synthesis to techno, hardcore techno, and dark ambient.
GG: Thank you. So you’ve started a doomcore label yourself with your friend who I believe is in LA, and I believe it’s the first doomcore label in the United States of America. Can you tell me a little bit about that? Like the name of it, and how I could find it?
OOS: Yeah, we are the first US-based doomcore label. We have a Bandcamp page, I think its morosrecordings.bandcamp.com, or if you just search Moros on Bandcamp, you should find it.
It was created with my friend Hecatonchirus, a bit of a mouth full but if you search the label, you can find his music, my music, and we wanted an outlet for doomcore that was from the United States because we’re really, at the time, pretty much the only artists in the United States that were producing doomcore.
GG: Right on. So, tell me a little bit about your production style. Are you using actual instruments or are you focusing on a DAW, a D-A-W, or do you use both?
OOS: When I first started producing, when I was like 14, 15 years old, I made all my music digitally with a digital audio workstation (DAW). I started with a cracked copy of FL Studio 10, that was my first DAW. Then I started using Ableton, mostly like the Intro, or the “light” version, and at the time there was all digital, other than maybe some midi controllers that I would use to play the digital synths.
But then probably about two or three years ago, I started having more writer’s block with the DAW. I ended up expanding, I got a lot more DAWS. I started experimenting with Logic, Reason, Ableton more, Persona Studio One, and so I tried all these different DAWs, but I was still having a lot of writer’s block.
I started investing in buying electronic instruments. Synthesizers, drum machines, music sampler, mixers, stuff like that, and I found out that its a lot more enjoyable to actually be able to put my hand on a piece of hardware; be able to hear how turning a knob actually changes the sound, the way the synthesizer sounds. I found that to be a lot more interesting and I stuck with it, and it’s become somewhat of an addiction now, collecting all these synthesizers and collecting all these drum machines, and I’m recording them now into my DAW. So it’s a little bit of both, mostly analog but also a little digital.
GG: Right on. Do you have goals for your studio? Do you have any other synthesizers you are trying to get or do you think you have a complete studio at this point?
OOS: I have most of the things I need to make the kind of music I want to make. I recently got a music sampler, that was a key part of my studio. I also got a Drone synthesizer, like its my first semi-modular synthesizer. I think it might be cool to get a second modular synthesizer, and sync those two together, or also, there are kits online; one is called Microrack. (Search microrack.org online.) Its basically a build-it-yourself DIY analog modular synthesizer kit. I want to get that, learn more about modular synthesis.
Otherwise, there’s also a noise box. Kind of like an acoustic instrument, where you could pluck it and make different weird ambient noises.
Those are the only other instruments, really, otherwise I have everything I need to make the kinds of styles and genres I want to make.
GG: I feel like you already have all that just with your DAW because your album from, what was it, 2018, on Doomcore, was it from 2018?
OOS: The first record I put out on Doomcore Records was 2017.
GG: Oh, 2017. And what is it called?
OOS: I think its just 53, like the catalog number of the label.
GG: Well, what about the album that came out in 2023?
OOS: 2023 was Stygian, I believe.
GG: But you made that with a DAW, didn’t you?
OOS: I made all my music with a DAW up until July of 2024. Pretty much switched and made my music now, pretty much like 80 or 90% analog.
GG: Okay, so you grew up in the Phoenix area, correct?
OOS: [nods yes]
GG: Okay, so this is your rave scene. When did you join this scene? As a raver. I understand when you started making music and stuff. But were you already going to parties, when you were 14, 16?
OOS: I started learning about styles of dancing when I was 14, 15, actually earlier, when I was probably like 12 or 13, I learned first about Jumpstyle, and Shuffle. I’m really good now at Jumpstyle, but I can’t Shuffle at all, but I also kind of have my own kind of style, where I incorporate like Brisbane Stomp and Drum n Bass Step. So I started dancing when I was 14, 15, and then after finishing high school, when I was 18, I started attending more local hardcore techno raves which were mostly either in warehouses, or they were in deserts; underground desert raves.
GG: Oh wow.
OOS: The reason I started doing it that way was because at the time I couldn’t get into venues that served alcohol.
GG: Right.
OOS: Mostly bars, clubs, more things I started going to later, after I turned 21, I started attending a lot more Techno Snobs shows at the club, and I also started going to a lot more goth dance nights because there is a very active goth dance night scene here in Phoenix, with lots of bars, lots of clubs, hosting exclusively goth music, industrial music, and catering more to that kind of audience.
GG: Okay, how do you think the scene has changed or progressed in the past 15, 20 years?
OOS: It could be just because I am going to a lot more clubs, but I don’t think the desert rave scene is as active, but again, it could be just because I’m not looking for those anymore?
GG: Or maybe its cuz of Covid?
OOS: Yeah that was… Covid definitely… a lot of the desert raves have been happening less frequently when the Covid pandemic started. Because I was going pretty much every weekend or at least every other weekend, 2 or 3 times a month, back in like 2018 and 2019, before the Covid started.
GG: Okay. So you started raving in like the 2010’s?
OOS: I started raving, the first rave I went to was in 2018.
GG: Okay. Well, that concludes my questions at this point. Do you have anything to add, to this interview? Anything you want to let this audience know, about your music, your scene, or your goals?
OOS: I would say, just keep following my music, keep following my projects, look up originofstyx.com. and also shout out to the Techno Snobs, and shout out to the Arizona Hardcore Junkies for putting on such a great show tonight.
There is the rumor that the Industrial Strength sub IST had its initials as a stand-in for "Industrial Strength Trance". It's just a rumor. And after all, there were no releases on IST that belong to the "Trance" genre of electronic music. Industrial Strength artists *did* do Trance though; but it was a rare, rare, rare occasion. And this happens to be one of them. I guess, back then, IS wanted to test if they can "break through" in the Trance market, too - after conquering the Gabber world already. After all, many other "formerly" HC acts did the same - Hardsequencer, Charly & Theo, Interactive... just to name a few. And I can imagine these tracks on here ended up in quite a few Trance playlists.
Of course, the core of this release's content are the belligerent tracks "Sacrifice" and "Utopia". But even these have more "Trance-y" elements than usual. And then there are two more mellow mixes of these tracks. And, in all honesty, it sounds like the less aggressive tracks are the originals, and the gabber-maniac food is actually the remix.
Either way - it's an interesting entry in the Industrial Records catalogue all the way.
Tracklist:
Strychnine - The Utopia Project
A1 Utopia 5:28 A2 Utopia (Trance Mix) 5:32 B1 The Sacrafice 5:51 B2 The Sacrafice (Dissonant Energy Mix) 6:20
Praxis Records was one of the "big three" of Experimental Hardcore releases. But it was also widely recognized and respected in plenty of other scenes, such as Gabba, Breakcore, squat culture... drumnbass, techno... the list is endless!
Unlike most labels, projects or artists with "links to the past" that we review here, praxis is *not defunct*, but still very active. it does not just still put out records, but the crew is also involved in publishing a magazine (datacide) and running a record shop in berlin, and involved in overthrowing the capitalist system in an anarcho-communist techno-revolution.
but let's cut to the point. due to the large material and output of the label, we focus only on one segment here: it's 90s releases. which helped define plenty of the genres and culture we mentioned above (hardcore, breakcore...).
let's go!
Scaremonger - Scaremonger EP (Praxis 1)
*Very* interesting initial release by Praxis. Even though it's from 1992, it's almost "pre-techno" in sound - the drums, percussion closer to acid house, detroit, or new beat. If these sounds were made on a distant planet. In a different galaxy. On a different universe. Also quite hardcore! The "bang bang" beats blast pretty bold. The icing on the cake, of course, is the overarching theme of video drome on here.
Bourbonese Qualk - Knee Jerk Reaction EP (Praxis 2)
Praxis had a very different sound in the beginning, and compared with other qualk releases, this might even be the most "dancefloor" friendly. if terms like this are appropriate here, as the sounds are still very shrill and powerful.
Scaremonger - Soon We All Will Have Special Names (Praxis 1X)
more scaremongering, via remixes of the first praxis release. this goes all over the map, from 80s ebm type sounds, to proto-hardcore techno.
Bourbonese Qualk - Qual EP (Praxis 3)
Bourbonese Qualk actually began producing long before the advent of hardcore - or proper techno, even. on this release, you can still feel the anarchist diy spirit of early electronic days. that get channeled into the upcoming era of hardcore beats and dancing insanity.
Metatron - Speed And Politics EP (Praxis 4)
If there was a genre term called "left wing squat techno", then this would be its epitome. The tracks have the deep bass frequencies for huge sound systems within enclosed walls and basements. The semi-dry production as regards reverbs and fx; that fits to the same surroundings. Plus the focus on hypnotic and repetitive beats for pre- or post-riot allnighters.
the peak track is "men who hate the law". But I also like "state of emergency", as it is a bit slower than the rest.
Bourbonese Qualk - Autonomia (Praxis 5)
This release is a hidden gem, right at the beginning of the label's catalogue. lots of tracks and sounds. genre is "undefined" to most part, i hear influences and spirits of ebm, industrial, acid house, even a bit of the proto-plasma of psy-trance maybe... but, and this is noteworthy, there are some legit industrial hardcore tracks on here, and these are amongst the earliest tracks of that kind. and amongst the hardest.
Noface – Burnout EP (Praxis 6)
Very interesting early release by Noface aka Christoph Fringeli on his own label. It's mentionable that the drums (and tracks) are optimized for very low and loud bass systems. Like those in the UK squat and free party scene.
The tracks on the other hand could not be more varied. There is a kind of strange "dubcore", early Doomcore, fast acid, industrial hardcore... And the killer track for me is "Love or Kill". Cyberdelic bleeps and totally insane, non-traditional drum structures.
Disciples Of Belial - Songs Of Praise (Praxis 7)
A very interesting release in the early days of what we now call "Hardcore" and "Gabber". The man behind it used to be a black metal musician, and after his electronic period, found success in that genre again. So one might expect a kind of "blackened gabber" release here, and, in concept it might be, but not really in sound. Because in sound it's very close to the rotterdam and amsterdam counterparts of its time. "Bang bang" 909s, four-to-the-floor rhythms, sequencer logic. But there are no funky hoovers, silly squeaky vocals, MCs shouting "clap your hands" and all the other shenanigans that were so typical for "Rotterdam Gabber". They have been replaced by sounds of screaming machines, klaxons, and general noise.
Of course, at much later years, we had artists that did all-out speedcore bpms, chaos without rhythm and rhyme. But this one *still* has structure, yet the structure is already caving in and breaking down.
And this is exactly what makes this releae so interesting: it almost sits in the middle of the road from "dance-gabber" to infernal speedcore. that doesn't mean it's necessarily "both" at the same time: it's hardcore techno with a zany, mental, hellish twist. and we like that!
Metatron - Seduction EP (Praxis 8)
for me, this release is a spiritual brainchild to both the preceding metatron release, and noface's "burnout". the sound continues in their direction, and if you are in need for a sequel (which you should be!), then check this vinyl as well.
DJ Jackal - Drumtrax (Praxis 9)
PIL once stated "this is what you want, this is what you get". and it's true for this record; it promises "drumtrax", and drum tracks you get. tracks that focus almost exclusively on rough drum, strange rhytms, earth shaking grooves, and rumbling basses. in the praxis way.
Various Artists - Paraphysical Cybertronics (Volume One: The Experiments Of Bloor Schleppy) (Praxis 10 CD)
Compilation by Praxis Records, which is, as you know the pioneer label for experimental Hardcore and, later, Breakcore. We are told that these are the "paraphysical" and "cybertronic" experiments of Bloor Schleppy. An undisclosed character, and neither on this, or later releases, we do learn who he actually is or was.
The tracks themselves do embody the sounds of spirit sessions, séances, and ouija boards though - to a degree. We learn about the "Mark of the Beast", a "Nirvana Trail"; and "When Time Becomes a Lock" you don't have to anything but "Hallucinate". The whole shebang somehow reminds me of a past thing called "occult tape research", where the snake oil vendor equivalents of self-professed scientists (or quacks) would do extensive recordings of what they thought to be the disembodied sounds and voices of the deceased, spirits, and more evil things - live on tape. And here, too, strange voices and sounds out of nothingness seem to manifest themselves, possess the surroundings, and then pass through the next wall and disappear again.
A lovely release!
Fav Picks:
The Mover Noface Metatron
Heist (4) - Dystrophic EP (Praxis 11)
Under-rated EP. "corridors" and "blista" are industrial hardcore bangers. (when industrial hardcore was still fast!) but even more interesting is "homage". kinda like polygon window / lory d / mover soundscapes are disrupted by slowcore beats.
DJ Yubba / Deviant – World's Fattest Split (Praxis 12)
this is definitely the odd one out on praxis. a release featuring hardcore that feels more brawny than brainy.
but this is not a bad thing. as the liner notes indicate "If this doesn't get you yubbaring, then you're no yabba!"
Lorenz Attractor - Strange Attractor EP (Praxis 13)
Something i mentioned before is that "blackened death metal" musician jason mendonca happened to do a frantic hardcore-gabba EP on this label. and in an even weirder twist of things, he also was involved in the production of this ep. and it happens to be a true blue doomcore techno EP. one of the first of its kinds. heavy, dark stuff.
there are also two more experimental tracks, "raw toy" and "the suffering of kabul".
Deadly Buda – Morph Beat Vol.I (Praxis 14)
I reckon this is one of the first EPs by deadly buda, or productions even. buda always had a very interesting style, different from most other producers. lot's of samples from various genres, thrown and cut together, layered, punctured... i guess this is an influence from rap / hip hop and its traditions of scratching and mashing things from the most diverse sources... either way, this machine kills!
Cyberchrist – Information : Revolution (Praxis 16)
imho cyberchrist always was one of "the speed freak"'s most interesting projects. and this 12" is outstanding, too. yeah, there are some killer terror-gabba tracks at the start of each side. highly recommended. but then... the second tracks.
there is a completely arhythmic hardcore/industrial track on side A. loud, and very minimalistic / futuristic at the same time. imagine Schwarzenegger, in his role as the terminator, turning into a b-boy, then firing the gun in every direction, and then doing the same while breaking into a funky dance.
now side b... an ambient composition... with heavy use of frequency-modulation synthesis (martin damm was always quite good at that). like a nightmare while your sub sinks down, down to 20.000 leagues under the sea. then you wake up from the nightmare. and are still trapped in this sub.
Disciples Of Belial – Goat Of Mendes E.P. (Praxis 17)
"the goat of mendes" is a cult classic to some gabber fans. in my opinion it's topped by dob's preceding release, "songs of praise". but, it's still high quality, and good, true industrial hardcore is a rarity to come by, and this 12" does not disappoint in that regard.
the real interesting track / song on this ep is the one about mary. real oldschool, lo-fi death / black metal on a hc tech vinyl. it must be a miracle!
Somatic Responses – Post-Organic EP (Praxis 18)
it's somatix! this release happened when they were on the fringes of developing an own, new style. like it was featured on later albums on hymen or ant-zen. but this one here, oh it's still rooted in the "kill em all!" style of hardcore-gabba-terror of the 90s. more cerebral, more... "metallic", though. and the later experimentalism is already peaking in. but maybe... this makes it all the more lethal!
very under-apreciated release on praxis that shows the label at one of its highpoints. really smart, really clever electronic hardcore and acid or experimental music. if your friends think "hardcore techno" would necessary equal "gabba gabba hey!" sillyness, play this record to them.
this happened around the time praxis transitioned into more of a breakcore direction. this release is kinda inbetween, it's half 4/4 "hardcore" and other half is breakcore in sound. and this is a nice twist, ain't it?
Test Tube Kid – H (Praxis 22)
in my opinion, catani had the "e-de cologne" alias for his "gabba!" output, ec8or for digital hardcore songs, eradicator for underground squat terror-hardcore, and this one... uhm i'd say it goes in the direction of eradicator, but maybe even a bit more experimental. test tube kid, nomen est omen. this ep stands out as no track on here sounds like the other. "promars" is probably the one you know from your local underground dancefloor. my favs are "marchine" though... and "h" !
Various Artists - Dead By Dawn (Praxis 23)
"Dead by Dawn" was a series of "satanic speedcore parties" (according to the flyer) in a squat in london, in the 90s. the very squat was actually quite famous and pops up in anarchist history books. this LP was made to accompany or celebrate these parties, and, as far as i know, only artists who played at the parties are represented on here.
the tracklist looks like the "who is who" of dangerous electronic underground in the 90s. tracks range from harsh / gabba, to more intelligent or experimental products; or tracks that are all at once. like the final one, "the fire is the centre", which is also my favorite track here.
Society Of Unknowns – Society Of Unknowns (Praxis 24)
collab between christoph fringeli and jason skeet. (and aphasic) this is one of the earlier breakcore releases... and you can feel that the style was without a "solid framework" yet. "transversal" is quite close to traditional jungle... while others use distorted, "hardcore" type drums.
i love this one because there is an interesting source of sounds aka samples... musique concrete, contemporay avantgarde from the past... this is more like an intellectual, auteur mode of breakcore... not some rave/drug fueled low blow stuff.
and the main, sweet, wonderful piece for me is "dead by dawn" - the endless mix.
it's neither breakcore, nor hardcore, or in any genre really. one of a kind. ...like a sound collage, washing over you, voices and despair in the echoes... something remiscient to steel works or a bell... and lower bass frequencies, too, yeah.
looping on and on. listen to and maybe you will feel the same way.
Potere Occulto - Potere Occulto (Praxis 25)
the long awaited collaboration between the chiefs of ghostly idm and the head honcho of experimental hardcore. i don't know how long this has been in the making, but if i recall correctly it was around 4-5 years before it finally got released. given the hadean and wild nature of all 3 producers involved, the results are as good and positively-terrifying as one might expect. stand out track for me is "Mynydd Ddu", which exchanges the usual juno-like synths of the somatix with something that sounds like the wailing of cerberus.
Pure – King Kong Pt. 2 / Katharsis (Praxis 26)
pure is / was one half the infamous techno-gabba project "ilsa gold". he does not give us xtc-driven rave madness on here, the whole thing is more cerebral, introverted and - hard & disturbing. my fav pick is the flip side: "katharsis". a track that hammers on with its speedcore beats for close to 7 minutes.
Base Force One – Welcome To Violence (Praxis 27)
the ep that set new standards for the (back then still very) young breakcore movement. there are also two speedcore-smashers included. and phuturist has a surprising, piercing industrial slowcore sequence. maybe my favorite thing on here.
oh, and the whole ep is based on the "faster, pussycat! kill! kill!" movie (not related to the tom jones song).
Bambule – Vertical Invasion (Praxis 29)
interesting second release by bambule. at the meeting point of idm, breakcore... and general weird experiments!
Eiterherd – 1984 Vs. 1999 (Vision Vs. Reality) (Praxis 30)
to say this release was a breakcore manifesto would not be an under-statement. as its tied in to political and insurrectionary concepts. the front cover art features a printed-out pgp key for electronic communication. the back cover provides further links for the (hopefully) revolutionary listeners. like a list of websites dedicated to politics, cryptography, information... (i guess most of them are defunct by now, though.)
the music itself is just as revolutionary. the whole concept is, of course, the question: do we already live in a world that is as authoritarian and dystopian as it was envisioned in orwell's novel "1984"?
so there are lots of samples cut from the german dub of the 1984 movie used in the tracks.
which makes everything even more powerful and deep.
16-17 - Mechanophobia (Praxis 31)
another project on praxis, that was already very active before the dawn of techno and hardcore. 16-17 already released on the praxis pre-cursor vision before. and on here, they give us early breakcore that seems to be influenced in equal parts by avant-garde industrialism and deranged free jazz.
Hecate - Hate Cats E.P. (Praxis 32)
still one of hecate's finest, maybe even hardest EPs. also one of the best and wildest early breakcore vinyl overall. especially look out for "caught up". some of the most haunted, chthonic soundscapes i ever heard!
Nomex - Trocante Gramofony E.P. (Praxis 33)
praxis' output was always the most varied; of course. so here is something completely different, a pure harsh noize / experimental ep. it's more heady than, say, merzbow or masonna, but cuts just as deep. check this track: "the fire is the centre" (a noizy re-make of the "dead by dawn" track by the jackal?).
I learned about The Hard Sound project releases because DJ Eiterherd promoted them on his Widerstand label webpage - long ago, end of 90s. And when I finally listened to them, woah, blown away!
There is hardly any hardcore-related project that was, or is, so experimental. This is as far away from "mainstream gabba" then arnold schoenberg was to the bee gees. (nothing against the bee gees! but you guess what i mean, it's just different... hey, arnold!)
hardly any four-to-the-flour pattern, rhythm all over the place... no hoovers, rave sounds, horror screaming, no junos or rave stabs. not like "normal" techno or even "normal" free party tribe vibe either...
weird, surreal, extraterrestrial, peculiar, unique, avantgarde, morose, ascerbic. some tracks even seem to channel odd / old 1910-1960 sound experiments... musique concrete, minimalism... neue musik.
but all these tracks are super-aggro and brutal like a hammer despite of this... or *maybe* because of this!
in my opinion, there never was a release *quite* like this again.
There are few tracks with a harder bass drum (or none?) than the eponymous "Industrial Strength". Africa 4010 has one of the most interesting on Techno I ever heard. Pure future, lots of bleeps and blops, sampled pads and sounds that might be taken from SciFi movies... or, if not, *should be put* into SciFi movies... and the rest of the tracks on this very vinyl... is bone-crasher gabber skinhead insanity. completely & totally.
Year: 1994
Tracklist:
A1 Industrial Strength 3:51 A2 Africa 4010 3:17 B1 You're Going Down 2:54 B2 Hardcore 94 2:51 B3 We Are Us
Dear Dogs and Readers, Here is a new editorial piece. This time, GabberGirl talks about Genre-Ism within the Hardcore Techno subculture.
Along with the advent of new electronic music genres and sub-genres comes a recent attitude of denial, hate, and prejudice. I will dub this practice “genre-ism”. Think racism but for genres. Just like racism comes with a set of pre-determined policies and intolerances, so does genre-ism.
You can blindly hate an entire genre, or you could open your mind and ears to possibilities. The possibility that there is good music and great music to be found in every genre; the possibility that you will find that excellent music if you look around.
So you think you hate Uptempo. Well, have you taken the time to listen to all the Uptempo? How can you pre-judge an entire genre of music? Is it piep piep kicks that you are really against? Not all Uptempo has piep piep kicks, and I’ll bet you didn’t know that, if you already wrote off that whole genre.
Is it Happy Hardcore that you abhor? Keep listening, there might be tracks you adore. Let FlapJack help. Put on a FlapJack video and let his love of Happy Hardcore show you just how fun it can be.
The DJs are willing to help. They spend hours and days and weeks tracking down the best tracks of their genres, so that you don’t have to. They’ve already sifted through the dirt at the bottom of their pans and found the gold, and they really want to share this gold with you.
I challenge you to find your own gold—pick a genre you “can’t stand” and listen until something perks your ears, and peaks your interest. Throw on some Dubstep and let your inner wook come out to play. See what Dr. Peacock is spinning these days, despite your abolition against Hardstyle. Break your omission of Breakcore and add some to your growing bucket of gold.
Your poor ears are getting bored of all the genres you love and are ready to be enriched with all those hidden gems from the genres you loathe. I Double-Dogg Dare you to step outside your comfort zone and give that detested genre another chance. Let’s all fight genre-ism together!
Kolium's back, this time on The Darkcreator's Dead Zone Communications.This artist released on Slowcore Records in the past, so you might fathom what's coming on this release. Pummeling, *slow*, hardcore / industrial beats. And hellish soundscapes.
According to the promo blurb, this one was "Created in the shadow of warzone of Ukraine". The release also comes with a nice, animated video playlist.
So you better take care, once more, doom supporter!
Refusion is the label for "oldschool" release by The Speed Freak & the crew (at least that's what I suppose). But, apart from excavating holy grails and other legendary artefacts of the past (the napalm backcatalogue, force inc electro releases, anodyne, steel on mille plateaux...) there are fresh and newly released tracks, now and then. And this is one of them, a new album by The Speed Freak! According to the info blurb, it's composed of tracks that were originally produced for Noice (another label associated with this), and here they are, in new and finished album versions. I might be missing something, but going by the track names at least, they had not been released on Noice before.
The style is very diverse, there is industrial hardcore, "napalm records" type stuff, schranz-core hybrids, weird electro stuff... a bit like in the old days, but not buried in the past either. Frenchcore / tek basses rumble through most tracks, and I guess this will annoy a few people, but for once I don't mind them here.
A solid steel banger by The Speed Freak. Very "noice" indeed!
1. If I Started [Album Version] 04:26 2. Loud And Clear [Album Mix] 04:05 3. Chaos Is Coming [Album Mix] 03:20 4. See You [Album Mix] 03:36 5. Single Purpose [Album Version] 04:23 6. Face [Album Mix] 04:17 7. Killbox [Album Version] 03:36 8. Hands Up Who Wants To Die [Album Mix] 04:02 9. Save Us From Ourselves [Album Mix] 04:02 10. Poison [Album Mix] 03:22 11. Outtake [Album Version] 04:34 12. We Ain´t Playin´ [Album Version] 03:31
A new release out on this Moscow based label. And we know that Russian Hardcore stands for quality. The release info seems to indicate these are older tracks dedicated to an almost-forgotten past, and, yeah, the title of the release indicates this, too. The tracks themselves are flawless. They pick up a lot of influences, 90s Gabber, Millenium synths / speeds, a hint of terror, noise, and speedcore, there is industrial, mainstream, and doomcore. But it never sounds cheesy or artificial! Truly bold and strong Hardcore. For days when you just want to raise your middle finger to the world.
New vinyl on Musical Mayhem Records I don't know much about the concept behind the release, but I assume it is part of a series of re-releases of Hardcore class-sicks. The track to search out here is "In the year 1999" by Chesler aka The Horrorist. This is one of the hardest and fastest he did using this disguise. As far as I know, it was a bonus track on a single CD release, and this is the first time it has been put on vinyl. In style, I would say it is between the works he did for Industrial Strength or Mokum (Temper Tantrum / Narcanosis) and his later, slower "The Horrorist" releases. Top notch!
Then there is the German Hardcore / Trancecore classic "Riot Cracker" by Casseopaya. Really stood the test of time. The other tracks seem to belong more to the Newstyle / Hardhouse variant of Hardcore, but are nice, too!
