Belgian hardcore techno (also referred to as Belgian techno or rave techno) is an early style of

hardcore techno Hardcore (also known as hardcore techno) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos (160 to 200 BPM or more) and a distorted sawtooth ...

that emerged from

new beat New beat is a Belgian electronic dance music genre that fuses elements of new wave, hi-NRG,Simon Reynolds: ''Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture.'' Routledge 1999, , p. 124. EBM and hip hop (e.g. scratching).Timor ...

as EBM and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

influences became more prevalent in this genre. This particular style has been described as an "apocalyptic, almost Wagnerian, bombastic techno", due to its use of dramatic orchestral stabs and menacing synth tones that set it apart from earlier forms of electronic dance music. It flourished in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and influenced the sound of early hardcore from

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, UK and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

during the early-1990s, as a part of the

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

movement during that period.Simon Reynolds: ''Energy Flash: A Journey through Rave Music and Dance Culture.'' Soft Skull Press 2012, , p. 110. Belgian hardcore is related to both European techno and

, being generally considered an early form of the latter. The genre is referred to by several other names, such as "Belgian rave" and "bretter tekkno". The immediate predecessors of Belgian hardcore were two short-lived new beat subgenres called "hard beat"Nikki van Lierop: ''Hard Beat 1st Compilation.'', 1989.
"Hard Beat is the perfect link between Electronic Body Music and New Beat." and "skizzo".Maurice Engelen: ''Skizzo - A New Method Of Dance.'', 1990.

History

Originally a slow form of

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

, Belgian new beat evolved into a native form of hardcore techno during the early 1990s with the introduction of techno records played at their intended speeds or slightly accelerated. This brutal new hardcore style spread throughout Europe's rave circuit and reached the pop charts. The Belgian hardcore sound also influenced part of the UK and US rave scenes. The genre was spearheaded by Belgian producers from the new beat scene, like Frank de Wulf, Olivier Abbeloos, Maurice Engelen, Oliver Adams and Nikki Van Lierop. This style of music was also pioneered by Dutch projects like Human Resource, L.A. Style and Holy Noise. Outside mainland Europe, a small group of producers adopted the style in the UK. The main labels that developed this style in the UK were Kickin’ Records, Vinyl Solution, Rabbit City, Edge and Rising High. Producer Caspar Pound of Rising High Records, known by its stage name "The Hypnotist", was a vocal supporter of this style of hardcore techno. The most notable achievement of this style of hardcore in the pop charts is L.A. Style's single "

James Brown Is Dead "James Brown Is Dead" is a song by Dutch electronic dance music duo L.A. Style, produced by Wessel van Diepen and Denzil Slemming. It was released in August 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, '' L.A. Style'' (1993). The song was a ...

" reaching the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

's Hot 100 Airplay chart. Notable acts like The Immortals, 2 Unlimited, 2 Fabiola and AB Logic achieved relative success blending the style with

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

. After a brief period of expansion during the mid 90s, the style lost popularity, while modern

(

gabber Gabber ( ; ) is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of Hardcore (electronic dance music genre), hardcore, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as hardcore, and is characterised by fast beats ...

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

happy hardcore Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or " hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s ...

and jungle music took place as the leading genres within the rave circuit.

Characteristics

Being rooted in the sounds of new beat, EBM and techno, Belgian hardcore has been characterized as a "distinctively Belgian brand of industrial-tinged techno where melody was displaced by noise". In fact, R&S label owner Renaat Vandepapeliere considered that the Belgian sound was result of the mixture of industrial music,

and

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

. It is a mainly a four on the floor style of dance music, harder and faster than its new beat and techno predecessors, but slower (between 120 and 140 BPM) than

and modern

. In comparison to these styles, it also lacks the highly distorted drum kick. It also differs from breakbeat hardcore in that it does not focus on the

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...

drum pattern or lacks it altogether.Stuart Borthwick & Ron Moy: ''Popular Music Genres: An Introduction.'' Edinburgh University Press 2004, , p. 197-220. Many of the songs in this style take cue from

the KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band who originated in Liverpool and London in the late 1980s. Scottish people, Scottish musician Bill Drummond (alias Ki ...

's 1988 instrumental

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

" What Time Is Love?", with similar

fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets (including fanfare trumpets), French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introdu ...

s, blended with rock-like patterns similar to Rhythm Device's 1989 hard beat song "Acid Rock". The heavy use of synth "stabs" (short, one-hit samples of orchestra hits or synth chords), is considered one of the main characteristics of this style, a feature that was pioneered by Belgian producers and set this style apart from previous styles of house and techno, paving the way for the emergence of breakbeat hardcore and

Music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture. Reynold ...

has written detailed accounts on Belgian hardcore techno, covering bands like Second Phase, T99, L.A. Style and Human Resource. Many iconic synth sounds or "stabs" of the early rave scene were popularized by these and other producers during the early 1990s, like the "mentasm" or "hoover" and the "Anasthasia" stabs. Brooklyn's DJ-producer Joey Beltram musical contribution to the Belgian label

R&S Records R&S Records is an independent record label founded in 1983 in Ghent, Belgium. R&S represents the initials of Renaat Vandepapeliere and Sabine Maes, the couple that created the label. R&S Records has had several subsidiaries, most notably Apollo R ...

was a cornerstone of the iconic Belgian rave sounds and anthems that emerged in this period. These synth sounds and other sound-effects like alarms, sirens and church bells were widely used in the genre, creating a sense of emergency and insurgency through music. Many of the iconic rave sounds that emerged initially within Belgian hardcore, would later be adopted by genres like breakbeat hardcore,

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

darkcore Darkcore (also referred to as darkside hardcore) is a music genre, music subgenre of breakbeat hardcore in the UK rave scene, that emerged from late 1992. It is recognised as being one of the direct precursors of the genre now known as drum and ...

, techstep,

hard house UK hard house or simply hard house is a style of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1990s and is synonymous with its association to the Trade club and the associated DJs there that created the style. It often features a speedy te ...

hard NRG Hard NRG, nu-NRG, filthy hard house, or more recently just filth, is an electronic dance music genre similar in structure (with regard to sequencing and programming) to UK hard house form, taking influences from German hard trance. The main di ...

hardstyle Hardstyle is an electronic dance music, electronic dance genre that emerged in the late 1990s, with origins in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Hardstyle mixes influences from techno, new beat and Hardcore (electronic dance music genre), har ...

and fidget house.https://www.discogs.com/ru/release/1637160-Bryan-Cox-Crux-Da-House Jaimie Fanatic – Old School Is My School, Trash Fashion– Rave Dave (Bryan Cox & Le Nimh Remix)

Notable record labels

External links

* Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music - "Rave" timelin

* VICE - "The Untold Story of Joey Beltram, the Techno Titan Behind the 90s' Most Iconic Rave Anthem

References

{{Electronica Electronic dance music genres 20th-century music genres Belgian styles of music Hardcore music genres Rave 1990s in music

History

Characteristics

Notable record labels

See also

Further reading

External links

References