Breakcore is a style of
electronic dance music largely
influenced by
hardcore techno,
drum and bass and
industrial music that is characterized by
its use of heavy kick drums,
breaks
and a wide pallet of sampling sources, played at high tempos.
Characteristics
Breakcore is hard to accurately describe and musicians like
Electric Kettle,
Drop the Lime and
Christoph Fringeli have argued that breakcore is a catch-all term
that encompasses various related, though different styles of
electronic music that are related through mindset or aesthetics
rather than sound. Regardless, there seems to be a common element
of aggression or chaos, unconventional song structures and sudden
shifts of rhythm in breakcore music. Perhaps the most defining
characteristic of breakcore is the drum work which more often than
not is based on the manipulation of the
Amen
break and other classic jungle and hip-hop breaks in high
BPM. The techniques applied to
achieve this differ from musician to musician, some preferring to
cut up and rearrange the breaks, while others merely distort and
loop breaks or apply various effects such as delay and chorus to
alter the break's timbre. Distorted
Roland
TR-909 bass drum sounds aren't uncommon either, which has led
to breakcore, either mockingly or affectionately, to be referred to
as "gabber kicks and Amen breaks" and while that formula is
prominent in a lot of the music, it's certainly not a necessity or
the end all, be all characteristic of the style.
Melodically, there is nothing that defines breakcore. Classic rave
sounds such as
acid bass lines,
Hoovers and
Reese
bass are common, but breakcore is mostly known for sampling
seemingly unrelated music from all over the musical spectrum to
accommodate the frantic and fast paced nature of the rhythm
section. Around the turn of the century however, more and more
breakcore musicians started employing somewhat more traditional
synthesis techniques to compose more elaborate melodies and
harmonies on top of the drum work. There has also been a growing
numbers of musicians such as Drumcorps,
Hecate,
Benn
Jordan and
Venetian Snares who
have started making some use of recorded live instrumentation in
their music, but this is still a minority within breakcore.
Raggacore
Raggacore is a type of breakcore that is highly influenced by
ragga jungle, a style of music that
somewhat predates breakcore, characterized by
ragga and
dancehall rhythms
and vocals. Its roots can arguably be traced back to
jungle producer
Remarc,
who was one of the first producers to mix ragga and dancehall
vocals with chaotic and intricately rearranged break beats. While
only a few producers primarily work in the style, it still has a
sizable following among breakcore fans. Notable examples of this
style include
Bong-Ra,
Enduser and
FFF.
Influences and Development
Ambush Records
In London, DJ Scud co-founded
Ambush
Records with fellow producer Aphasic to focus on more extreme
noise-oriented hardcore
drum and bass.
Some artists released on Ambush are Christoph Fringeli, Slepcy,
The Panacea, and Noize Creator. "Scud
and Nomex tracks like 'Total Destruction' helped create the
blueprint for much of breakcore's sound, a high-bpm mash-up of
hyperkinetic, post-jungle breaks, feedback, noise, and Jamaican
elements paired with a devil-may-care attitude towards sampling
that pulls from the broadest musical spectrum of styles (hip-hop,
rock, industrial, pop, and beyond)."
Bloody Fist Records
At the
same time, Bloody Fist Records
based in Newcastle
, Australia released many
records of hardcore/gabber, industrial, and noise. Label founder Mark Newlands said,
in 1997, "I think that the uncomfortableness also comes from a
reaction towards the mainstream and popular culture that's
constantly shoved down our throats, that's forced on the people via
television, radio, mass media, etc. I think that also fuels the
fire and keeps the aggressiveness there and the uncomfortableness."
Artists signed to Bloody Fist in its lifetime include Syndicate,
Xylocaine, Epsilon and
Nasenbluten.
Digital Hardcore Recordings
Formed in 1994,
Digital
Hardcore Recordings released music by artists such as
Alec Empire,
Patric
Catani,
Shizuo,
Atari Teenage Riot,
EC8OR and Bomb20, shaping the breakcore sound. The
Alec Empire album
The
Destroyer is often noted as the first breakcore
album.
Breakcore becomes a genre
As the early days of "hardcore techno" or just "hardcore" began to
settle in Europe, breakcore as a genre began to take more concrete
forms in other parts of the world. Inspired by new labels such as
Addict, from Milwaukee, USA; Peace Off from Rennes, France;
Sonic Belligeranza from Bologna,
Italy; and
Planet Mu, from London, began
to take a new shape, adding in more elements of
mashup and
IDM to the hardcore sounds. Each of
these labels began to draw in aspects of their own social and
aesthetic scenes into their music, allowing for an even broader
definition of what was possible in the music.
One of the most controversial issues in breakcore is that of the
mere existence of the genre. Because it pulls liberally from other
musical genres, there is not a consensus on what is and what is not
breakcore, or even over the usefulness of the term itself. Because
of the fragmentation, the breakcore scene is not centered in any
one geographical location, but is rather scattered into disparate
groups. Perhaps the one place where breakcore's "voice" can be
heard is virtually, through the internet and various online forums,
such as those at C8 and Widerstand (
Eiterherd's website, now defunct).
According to
Simon Reynolds, of
The New York Times, breakcore is "purveyed by artists like
DJ/Rupture and Teamshadetek, the music
combines rumbling bass lines, fidgety beats and grainy
ragga vocals to create a home-listening surrogate for
the
bashment vibe of a Jamaican sound system party. Others
within the breakcore genre, like
Knifehandchop,
Kid 606
and Soundmurderer, hark back to rave's own early days, their music
evoking the rowdy fervor of a time when huge crowds flailed their
limbs to a barrage of abstract noise and convulsive rhythm. It's a
poignant aural mirage of a time when techno music was made for the
popular vanguard rather than a connoisseurial elite, as it is
today."
In Europe,
the breakcore genre was solidified by raves and club events such as
Belgium's Breakcore Gives Me
Wood, featuring local acts such as UndaCova, Sickboy and
Droon; Breakcore A Go Go, in the Netherlands,
which was run by FFF and Bong-Ra; as well as
Anticartel, in Rennes
, the seat of
PeaceOff, and later, Wasted, in
Berlin.
Distribution
Since the genre as a whole still is developing and growing rapidly,
the music itself is largely downloaded via
peer-to-peer networks, and discussed on
internet forums. Whereas the early
days of breakcore were based in select urban cities, the genre now
has no geographical center. The music itself tends to reflect this
multiplicity of media diffusion itself (as already mentioned) by
incorporating so many different forms of music all hacked together
to form breakcore. It remains a relatively small genre, but
compared to its size prior to the 1990s web boom, it continues to
grow substantially.
Breakcore today
Breakcore has forever been changing and branching. Many newer
breakcore artists focus on melodic progressions and complex drum
programming while other artists still focus on distorted hardcore
breakbeats and dark-edged musical influences (such as
heavy metal, and
industrial). The prolific
Venetian Snares has produced breakcore
blended with elements of
classical
music. Other artists such as
Shitmat,
Toecutter, Herv, Sickboy,
DJ Scotch
Egg and
Drop the Lime take another
direction towards mash-up,
happy
hardcore and
rave to make a lighter, more
humorous sound. The rise of chiptune music has also blended with
breakcore with artists such as
Overthruster,
Patric
Catani,
AA.Kurtz,
Sabrepulse,
Tarmvred,
INSTIGO, and
DJ
Fhantom. Some musicians such as
Edgey from
the
power noise scene have begun to take
influence from breakcore. The UK
Free
Party scene has also expressed a large interest in producing
and distributing its own takes on breakcore, with crews and labels
such as Headfuk, Hekate,
Love Love
Records,
Audacious.
Bad Sekta, NoFixedAbode,
Marionette records, Tinnitus, Ill
Industries
Life4Land&
Sociopath Recordings helping to push
the scene and sound forward, as well as bringing over a number of
international artists to play at their parties and club nights. In
Los Angeles Darkmatter Soundsystem pushes the breakcore sound with
their underground parties.
References
- Matt Earp, "Breakcore: Live Fast", XLR8R, July 20, 2006.
[1] Access date: August 8, 2008.
- Interview in Datacide Three, October 1997
- Reynolds, Simon. "The Turn Away From The Turntable". The New
York Times, Sunday, January 23, 2005, Pg. 22
- Detrimentalist! review, "Soundcheck", The
Wire 293, July 2008, p. 60.
- Vivian Host, "Night Music", XLR8R 123, December 2008, p.
40.
See also
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