Posts Tagged ‘1993’

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Abreaction – The Mind

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

Something a bit different here… I remember this tune being listed on some website a few years ago as “experimental hardcore.. for the deeper heads!” or something to that extent. Listening to the tune then I thought “I don’t get it, these beats are pretty straightforward/not that choppy? sounds pretty normal to me”. I guess I was so focused on the standard loop-y beats I didn’t notice all the bleeps, squawks and buzzing sounds throughout the tracks themselves… pretty cool and different sounding from your typical 93 track for sure. Even though I normally only post one track per release, I’m posting 2 out of the 4 on this EP because

  • it’s been over a weeek since I posted anything
  • I’m betting fans of classic mixtapes might far prefer mix #2 since Bukem used it in one of his best Yaman mixes (which can be downloaded from hardscore.com here).
    • Mix #2 is more stripped down with more of a melodic component, still pretty unique sounding though.

    I’m not sure who Abreaction was, my copy has the same basic info stamped on it as in the discogs photo. Great tunes regardless!

    Abreaction – The Mind

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    Abreaction – The Mind (Mix 2)

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    DJ Senator & The Bagman – Tranqued

    Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

    Here’s an interesting EP which took me a while to get fully into – it sounded promising when I heard it years ago, but when I finally got around to buying a copy, none of the tracks really resonated much and it kind of sat in the back of my collection. I just found it recently though when pulling records for a darkside special (which I’ll post soon), and I’m definitely more into it now. The tunes are pretty weird and unique sounding, maybe not the most hard hitting but with lots of samples and parts coming seemingly out of nowhere. In general this focuses more on the dark side of things, though it’s far from a typical “darkcore” release.
    The EP was actually released on a sublabel of the classic metal label Earache, who despite focusing more on grindcore and hardcore tried to feature a fair bit of electronic oriented stuff back then (partnering with Industrial Strength for a while, etc). Possibly since it’s on such a decent sized label, the full sleeve artwork is actually pretty nice, reminiscent of something you’d see on a rave flyer.

    DJ Senator And The Bagman – Tranqued

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    Black Widow – The Stalk

    Friday, March 29th, 2013

    Here’s a weird EP I don’t see mentioned much… it’s on the New York label “Death Records” which otherwise focused on 4/4 hardcore and techno stuff (ala Industrial Strength). In fact, this EP is probably more “breakbeat techno” than it is breakbeat hardcore style – there’s breakbeats in it but the structure is much more technoey, without the typical changeups of a UK Tune. There’s also a harsh filtered techno synth line throughout. Still, gotta love that bass part, which sounds a lot like the first breakdown in “Tek Track” but is looped throughout the tune. The other side is also good but a lot longer, this tune kind of gets in and out in under 4 minutes.

    Black Widow – The Stalk

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    Cool Hand Flex – Out Of Control

    Monday, March 11th, 2013

    I’ve had Hashim’s “Primrose Path” stuck in my head lately, so here’s a hardcore tune that samples it… Cool Hand Flex’s “Out of Control”. Flex and co were really killing it around the time of this release. This tune might be a bit slow for 93 (sounds a bit more like 92), but it’s heavy as anything, with synths and breaks from Nebula II “Atheama” plus a number of other assorted samples. Probably not Flex’s biggest tune, but also quite cheap and easy to find, so get to nabbing a copy…

    Cool Hand Flex – Out of Control

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    Flat 47 – Rooftop EP

    Sunday, February 17th, 2013

    Here’s a moderately well known darkside EP, prob best known for one tune being included in a number of Kickin related jungle comps. The tune that usually shows up everywhere is “Hideaway”, which is a quite good darkside jam (with someber synths, matching female vox and cut up kickback breakbeat). I thought about posting that one but figure a lot of people might already know it, so here’s a different tune from the same EP. The vocals in this don’t really match the synth quite as well as in “Hideaway”, and in general this tune is probably a bit more schizophrenic (loads of change-ups not necessarily connected, with some parts better than others) but that’s definitely part of the charm in these tunes! Besides, when this one breaks down into just funky mule and 28 gun bad boy dub hits it’s just too damn good. The Rooftep EP usually goes for a decent amount second-hand, but it’s worth keeping a lookout for as all four tracks are quite strong.


    Flat 47 – I Wanna Tell You

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    Dillinja – From Beyond

    Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

    It’s kind of crazy how many tunes Karl Francis aka Dillinja put out between 1993 and 1994… between his labels Cybotron, Deadly Vinyl, Logic Productions and Lionheart, Dillinja must have either been living in a studio or super quick and efficient and cranking these tracks out. You can kind of hear the latter in this tune – “From Beyond” is just one of the many from that era, not his most famous by any means but a personal favorite as of late for mixing purposes. Listening to it, you get the sense this might have been knocked together pretty quickly in the studio, but it’s none the worse for it in my opinion.
    The beats don’t hold much in the way of surprises: a couple layers of chopped amens repeating over and over with few change ups. Instead, it’s all about the music: eerie pads, reversed fx, and pitched down vocals, with more melodic elements peaking in towards the middle. Even within the the range of 93 darkside tunes, this one is a little “out there” and highlights the stranger, less overtly “dark” stuff going on in tunes at the time.

    Dillinja – From Beyond

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    Be sure to check the other Dillinja tracks I’ve posted from that era here, here, here and here.

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    Thunderhead – Untitled (Lost In Time EP)

    Tuesday, January 15th, 2013

    Serious nasty darkside here, with co-production by Skanna. This “Lost In Time” EP highlights the darker 93 sound which is all the rage these days, in addition to being one of the tougher to find plates of that era (though far from the rarest). For some reason, I think I remember hearing that Thunderhead was actually an alias for Krome & Time, but I can’t find any info to back that up so it could just be someone else? Either way this is definitely one to track down, even if it takes you a while like it did for me… both sides are absolutely killer and it was tough to pick which one to post!

    Thunderhead – Untitled

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    Utomica – Rok A Bye

    Thursday, January 3rd, 2013

    Here’s a definite classic which was on my wantlist for years. I finally just picked it up on vinyl as part of a big order I got in December (x-mas present to myself). I think hearing this over and over in a Doc Scott mix from 92 was what pushed me over the edge to finally nab it – “Rok A Bye” isn’t a tune I would have necessarily been all that excited hearing it on its own years ago, as it doesn’t have lots of immediately crazy sequencing or sounds. However, hearing it over and over in a mix made me really appreciate the subtlety and vibiness of it. As someone pointed out in a comment on discogs, it’s quite sparse and deep, dare I say almost “proto-intelligent” for a 92 track1. Not too much going on, not tons of changes or crazy sequencing. But the drums are great (same break combo as Brother’s Grimm – “Sign of the Times”), and when the portamento bit come in later in the track, the melody is downright haunting.
    Aside from this EP, the guys behind Utomica each did a number of other big EPS in other groups – the the Full Logic Control EP I posted back in 2009, plus all of the great Law & Auder EPs (a number of which are quite rare these days), plus a variety of non hardcore/jungle related music.

    Utomica – Rok A Bye

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    1:Even though Discogs lists this as 1993, and the record could have come out in 93, it’s featured in some mixes which I think might have been towards the end of 92, so there’s a good chance it was written in 1992. I wasn’t sure which year to put it under so I listed it as both.

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    Total Vision EP

    Tuesday, December 25th, 2012

    Apologies for the crackly rip of this one, my copy of this EP has seen better days… I’m posting it anyway though since it’s a Total TOON! Also it’s not exactly cheap / easy to find. No artist behind this EP that I know of, I think it was a favorite with Ratty, at least my copy has “RATTY” written on it in marker. This track uses the SOS Band “The Finest” acapella, as used in Foul Play “Finest Illusion”, but puts it with darker music than that tune. Got to love these happy/dark schizophrenic hardcore tunes!


    Total Vision EP – B1

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    Silver Fox – Dread By Dawn EP

    Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

    I think someone mentioned this EP in the comments of this site a few years back – it’s a really solid 4-tracker of darkside stuff, on a relatively small label (Three Scars only did one other EP, with DJ Pilgrim). While there’s nothing incredibly different going on here, all tracks have that nice combo of choppy breaks and dark atmospheric samples, somewhat along the lines of Intense’s ‘Genesis Project” or “Paradox” EPs. The track featured here is actually the B2 track, but in my opinion is the strongest (both break-work-wise and melody-wise). Nice sinister breakdown partway through and again towards the end… definitely one to file alongside your Intense and Love Dove Jay stuff! The artist behind this did a number of other jungle + drum n bass EPs, including this ragga jungle one which I suppose might be considered a tune if you don’t mind the buju acapella/lyrics (which I kinda do)

    Silver Fox – The Dawndest Thing

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