By the mid 90s, his own label was called Shockwave Records. Which, again, sold pretty good, as a lot of that stuff ended up on compilation CDs that were sold... everywhere!
This was already nasty hardcore techno, but a bit more accessible... and for the even more extreme stuff, that sometimes went above 280 bpm, and surely was devoid of melodies or singing, there was the sublabel, Napalm Records.
"Strictly Limited to 500 copies", according to the vinyl print.
The only "problem" was that both labels had mostly productions by Martin Damm and his crew themselves. They were prolific producers!
And for this reason, another sublabel was forged - "the son of napalm", also called Agent Orange.
Word was that only producers-who-were-not-them were allowed to release on here, but that rule was not always strictly enforced.
And now... let's look at 6 releases in this very piece of Hardcore history.
Somatic Responses - Agent Orange 2
The Somatic Responses were one of the most unique acts in the 90s world of electronica, and, even for them, this is a very distinct release.
As you know, Somatix started with a more "straight" Hardcore / Techno sound, and then turned into that weird ambient / idm thing with "disjunct" beats, as they like to say.
And this 2-tracker sits right square there. It aint broken idm yet, but it is not quite "hardcore tech" anymore. It has the best of both worlds, so to say.
B2 on here is actually one of my all time favorite tracks ever. The bassy sawtooth-lead-synth really brings it home for me. The "melody" reminds me of video game music, jean michel jarre, german 50s radio "tonstudios"... all rolled into one!
Doc Gringo - Agent Orange 3
Gringo aka Roger Cobernuss is a bit like the secret weapon or hidden dog of shockwave (and mono tone earlier on).
There's the "gringo theme" on here, and this track blows all the gabber competition of its time out of the water. It just slams with its kicks and noise!
but behold... the b-side is an early speedcore track, and this is, once again, harder than the rest!
Biochip C. - Agent Orange 5
The track to go on here is "black sunday". It transitions from one genre to another. I think speed freak / biochip c is one of the only producers who can pull off such a trick.
There's industrial / techno, then it breaks down into noise, there is a breakbeat part... and it erupts into some type of low frequency gabba rhythm.
oh and the trade mark martin damm fm synthesis sounds ring on.
There's industrial / techno, then it breaks down into noise, there is a breakbeat part... and it erupts into some type of low frequency gabba rhythm.
oh and the trade mark martin damm fm synthesis sounds ring on.
Seveso - Agent Orange 1
The very first Agent Orange.
ABC-Alarm is a German term for an "air raid" type of large scale civil defense warning siren about nuclear (atomic), biological, and chemical attacks or catastrophes.
And the eponymous track is one of the hardest and most abrasive speedcore tracks of the entire 90s decade. I think this is done by abusing a lot of analog gear, and then cranking the levers up to 13 while jamming on the setup.
And the b-side is a sweetheart as well.
Listening Suggestion:
Lasse Steen - Agent Orange 7
Just like Somatic Responses had one of their best eps on this label, so did lasse steen.
And I am talking about the track "Phreak Show" which breaks down into a kind of descending synth line melodie which is... well it sounds as if the score to frankenstein - the movie was conducted by mc escher. if you catch my drift.
