A LITTLE HISTORY ON TECHNO: NEW YORK RAVERS 1991-1993
You either went to Frankie Bones and Joint Ventures Storm Raves or you
went to Scotto and DBs NASA (Nocturnal Audio Sensory Awakening). The
latter came after the former.
The music was simply Techno. 'Hardcore Techno' is and was techno
refined to have faster tempo distorted 909 kicks and nastier sounds (ie,
Rotterdam Terrorcore, Lenny D, etc.). The term 'hardcore' was applied to
techno thus the term 'hardcore techno' however it was all techno in the
end. Techno, alone though was breakbeaty and contained vibrato's of
orchestral hits and female vocals.
I agree that the music can just be called Techno however you cannot
call all Techno Hardcore. Hardcore Techno is its own beast. After the
peace love and unity early days of 1991 and 1992, 'Hardcore' was packing
clubs like the Limelight in NYC with testosterone induced thick-necked
guys who would primarily headbang and smoke Dust - this was not 'happy
hardcore', it was 'Hardcore Techno', we all agreed and called it that.
Transvestites coated the atmosphere and interacted with the dust muffins
together. It still had some elements of the "can't we all just get along"
vibe from 1990-92, albiet in a twisted way. This would be a far cry from
my early days as a naive, post-modern hippie, dancing all night to the
newest British breakbeat filled imports. Techno, by this time, had split
into two factions in New York -- Jungle and Hardcore Techno. The house
clubs still played house but slowly, the old hoover sounds were seeping
into those tracks too.
The jungle kids were in a world their own, completely separating from
techno and drawing the line on Hardcore Techno which some early junglists
lived to despise. The same applied to hardcore heads, they couldn't
understand jungle. This division would frowned upon by Techno evangelists
of the time. They were the Guys and gals who lived through the inception
period of 1991 when Frankie Bones threw outlaws on the abandoned
traintracks in Brooklyn. We called them 'old skool' and I remember hearing
constant complaining about "the scene" and the formation of a nostalgia on
"the early days" that continues today.
When the style 'Acid' reemerged in late '93, it embraced its older
Detroit influence but became more hardcore technoesque. Groups like
'Prototype 909', 'Plastikman', 'Scott & Rob Hardkiss' who used old Roland
tr-303 setups and played them live, began to provide yet a third faction
in the techno split. 4/4 timed 145+ BPM hard music all created with these
little Roland boxes from the eighties. I remember seeing little girls
walking down the streets with their heads cradled tinkering with a tr-303
at that time. It was a time that influenced programs like Rebirth and the
current wave of "dance ready" synthesizers.
'Happy Hardcore' is a dutch creation that came on the scene late 1995.
Tracks like 'I wanna be a hippie' by DJ DANO sold themselves as Happy
Hardcore on the record sleeve. They contained major notes over the
distorted kick, thus diluting any dark vibe that traditional 'Hardcore
Techno' created. However, it was still 150+ BPM 4/4 techno. If 'Hardcore
Techno' was Dust, 'Happy Hardcore' was 'X'. By this time the 'old skool'
was nearly gone and their complaints were echoes in the past. Ironically,
now we found ourselves frowning upon 'Happy Hardcore' as "gay" music for
"new skool" kids that didnt know their history. Ironic, how after each
style a period of "stake claimers" would complain.
I have always had an affinity for the lost days of the music when
breakbeats and vocals were the soundtrack to what we thought would be the
rest of our lives. Still brings back memories to all of us.
Today in 2003, there may not even be a need to look back and
overanalyze the movements in the 90s. Its probably safe to say that alot
of kids growing up in America today are completely blind to the history
and couldn't care less. However, from an anthropologic perspective its
interesting to look at who became part of these movements. The actual
people that made them up, who were they even what color /nationality they
were. These little factors inevitably open an interesting can of worms
which when looked at closer can reveal some odd nuances of human
behaviour. I personally had friends who opted to not be part of the rave
scene during the early days preferring a more Janes Addiction, Operation
Ivy, and "Seattle" lifestyle.
The main moral of the rave scene is this: We like feeling
accepted in a group and in the end we choose who we we want to accept us.
When our groups existance is threatened though by other emerging groups we
either adapt or constrict. The latter leads to nostalgia and whining, in
a global scenario violence, while the former offers sustanance and
potential growth.
Maybe too wordy for a scene where words were best left for the term
paper you didn't do because you were up all night.
E-Doe
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