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Digital hardcore is a music genre
Music genre

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music....
 fusing elements of hardcore punk
Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America and the UK in the late 1970s. The new sound was generally thicker, heavier and faster than earlier punk rock....
 and various forms of electronic music
Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology....
. It developed in Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 during the early 1990s.

tal hardcore music is typically high-tempo
Tempo

In musical terminology, 'tempo' is the speed or pace of a given musical piece. It is an extremely crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece....
 and abrasive, combining the speed, heaviness and attitude
Punk subculture

The punk subculture is based around punk rock. It emerged from the larger rock music scene in the mid-to-late-1970s in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan....
 of hardcore punk and riot grrrl
Riot Grrrl

Riot grrrl was an underground music feminist Punk rock movement that started in the 1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism ....
 with electronic music
Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology....
 such as hardcore techno
Hardcore techno

Hardcore techno, often referred to as just "hardcore", is a style of electronic music that originated in the early-to-mid-1990s in multiple locations including the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium and the UK....
, drum and bass
Drum and bass

Drum and bass , also known as jungle, is a type of electronic dance music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast Break #Break beat , with heavy sub-bass lines....
, and industrial rock
Industrial rock

Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres, mainly punk rock and hard rock. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused....
.

The use of the electric guitar
Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickup to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker....
 is retained and it is played in conjunction with sampler
Sampler (musical instrument)

A sampler is an electronic musical instrument closely related to a synthesizer. Instead of generating sounds from scratch, however, a sampler starts with multiple recordings of different sounds added by the user, and then plays each back based on how the instrument is configured....
s, synthesizer
Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
s and drum machine
Drum machine

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. Drum machines are very useful instruments for a wide variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music....
s.






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Encyclopedia


Digital hardcore is a music genre
Music genre

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music....
 fusing elements of hardcore punk
Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America and the UK in the late 1970s. The new sound was generally thicker, heavier and faster than earlier punk rock....
 and various forms of electronic music
Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology....
. It developed in Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 during the early 1990s.

Characteristics

Digital hardcore music is typically high-tempo
Tempo

In musical terminology, 'tempo' is the speed or pace of a given musical piece. It is an extremely crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece....
 and abrasive, combining the speed, heaviness and attitude
Punk subculture

The punk subculture is based around punk rock. It emerged from the larger rock music scene in the mid-to-late-1970s in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan....
 of hardcore punk and riot grrrl
Riot Grrrl

Riot grrrl was an underground music feminist Punk rock movement that started in the 1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism ....
 with electronic music
Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology....
 such as hardcore techno
Hardcore techno

Hardcore techno, often referred to as just "hardcore", is a style of electronic music that originated in the early-to-mid-1990s in multiple locations including the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium and the UK....
, drum and bass
Drum and bass

Drum and bass , also known as jungle, is a type of electronic dance music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast Break #Break beat , with heavy sub-bass lines....
, and industrial rock
Industrial rock

Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres, mainly punk rock and hard rock. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused....
.

The use of the electric guitar
Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickup to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker....
 is retained and it is played in conjunction with sampler
Sampler (musical instrument)

A sampler is an electronic musical instrument closely related to a synthesizer. Instead of generating sounds from scratch, however, a sampler starts with multiple recordings of different sounds added by the user, and then plays each back based on how the instrument is configured....
s, synthesizer
Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
s and drum machine
Drum machine

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. Drum machines are very useful instruments for a wide variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music....
s. While the use of guitar and electronic instruments is a requirement, traditional bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
s and drum kit
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
s are optional. Vocals are more often shouted than sung by more than one member of the group. Typically, the lyrics are highly politicized and espouse left-wing or anarchist
Anarchism

Anarchism is a political philosophy encompassing anarchist schools of thought which consider the state to be unnecessary, harmful, and/or undesirable....
 ideals.

History


1990s

The music was first defined by the band Atari Teenage Riot
Atari Teenage Riot

Atari Teenage Riot was a German digital hardcore group formed in Berlin in 1992. Highly political, they fused anarchist, Anti-fascism and Anti-fascism views with punk rock vocals and the newly emerging techno sound called digital hardcore, which is a term band member Alec Empire used as the name of Digital Hardcore Recordings....
, who formed in Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1992. The band's frontman, Alec Empire
Alec Empire

Alec Empire is a German musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot. Also a prolific and distinguished solo artist, Record producer and Disc jockey, he has released well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles and remixed over seventy tracks for artists popular and relatively unknown alike....
, coined the term "digital hardcore", setting up the independent record label
Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels....
 Digital Hardcore Recordings
Digital Hardcore Recordings

Digital Hardcore Recordings is a record label set up in 1994 in music by Alec Empire, Joel Amaretto and Pete Lawton. Most of the music is recorded in Berlin, though the label is based in London where the records are mastered and manufactured....
 in 1994.. German bands with a similar style began signing to the label and its underground popularity grew, with small digital hardcore festivals being held in several German cities. By the mid-1990s, a number of new record labels specializing in the genre were formed around the world. These included Gangster Toons Industries (Paris), Praxis (London), Cross Fade Enter Tainment (Hamburg), Drop Bass Network
Drop Bass Network

Drop Bass Network is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin based rave production company and record label formed in 1992 in music and founded by Kurt Eckes and Patrick Spencer ....
 (U.S.), and Bloody Fist (Australia). DHR also had some kinship with the Frankfurt labels Mille Plateaux
Mille Plateaux

Mille Plateaux is an influential Germany electronica record label. They are known for mostly releasing Minimal Techno, Glitch Music and other experimental electronic music genre artists....
 and Riot Beats. Alec Empire's work subsequently set the template for breakcore
Breakcore

Breakcore is an electronic music style that brings together elements of Industrial music, jungle music, hardcore techno and Intelligent dance music into a breakbeat-oriented sound that encourages speed, complexity, impact and maximum sonic density....
.
Other prominent digital hardcore musicians of this period include Christoph De Babalon
Christoph De Babalon

Christoph De Babalon is a Berlin based producer and DJ, best known for his work on Alec Empire's label Digital Hardcore Recordings....
, Cobra Killer
Cobra Killer

The Cobra Killer duo of Gina V. D'Orio and Annika Trost began as part of Alec Empire's Digital hardcore movement. Both were part of other bands signed to Empire's Digital Hardcore Recordings label -- Gina was in EC8OR, and Annika was in Shizuo....
, EC8OR
EC8OR

Already both involved with Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore Recordings, Patric Catani and Gina V. D'Orio formed EC8OR in 1995. The music was in the same vein of Atari Teenage Riot's style of early Breakcore and hardcore techno with a punk edge, which led to EC8OR been overlooked by fans of digital hardcore recordings, but EC8OR employed more l...
, Hanin Elias
Hanin Elias

Hanin Elias is a Germany industrial music/techno music artist. She was a member of Atari Teenage Riot and is currently a solo artist.After the non-definitive stop of Atari Teenage Riot in 2000 and the subsequent death of Carl Crack due to a drug overdose, the members of ATR split up for a while and Hanin set up her own record label, Fatal...
, Lolita Storm
Lolita Storm

Lolita Storm is a digital hardcore musical group from the United Kingdom consisting of Nhung Napalm, Romy Bonilla Medina, Jimmy Too Bad and Spex....
, Nic Endo
Nic Endo

Nic Endo is a Japanese-Germany-United States noise musician who played with the German digital hardcore group Atari Teenage Riot.She lived in Frankfurt from 1994 to 1996 and later moved to Berlin....
, The Panacea, and The Mad Capsule Markets
The Mad Capsule Markets

The Mad Capsule Markets were a Japanese band that formed in 1990 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style of music, which focused on the fusion of electronic music with punk rock and heavy metal music....
.

2000s

In Alec Empire's words, "Digital Hardcore went from a local, Berlin based scene to an international underground movement." The soundtrack to the film Threat
Threat (film)

Threat is an award-winning independent film about a Straight edge "Hardcore punk" and a hip hop culture revolutionary whose friendship is doomed by the intolerance of their respective street tribes....
 included contributions from digital hardcore musicians, along with metalcore
Metalcore

Metalcore is an umbrella term used to describe fusion genres that incorporate elements of the hardcore punk and heavy metal music genres; but this isn't a true metal genre....
 bands. James Plotkin
James Plotkin

James Plotkin is an American guitarist and producer, famous for his role in bands such as Khanate and OLD , but with an extensive catalogue outside these bands....
, Dave Witte
Black Army Jacket

Black Army Jacket was an American grindcore / power violence band. They released one full length album and many 7" EPs, splits and compilation appearances....
 and Speedranch
Making Orange Things

Making Orange Things is a 2001 noise music album by Venetian Snares and Speedranch. This is also Venetian Snares' first album on Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu label....
's project Phantomsmasher
Phantomsmasher

Phantomsmasher is an experimental grindcore/electronic band led by musician James Plotkin, previously known as Atomsmasher.The band signed to Ipecac Recordings in 2002, and is reportedly currently working on a third album....
 combined digital hardcore with grindcore
Grindcore

Grindcore, often shortened to grind, is an extreme music genre that emerged during the mid?late 1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres ? including death metal, industrial music, Noise music and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
. 21st century digital hardcore groups include Ambassador 21
Ambassador 21

Ambassador 21 is a Breakcore/Harsh Electronic/Cybercore/Digital Hardcore/Metal band from Minsk, Belarus. Most of Ambassador 21's lyrics are in Russian language, Belarusian language, and English language languages....
, Left Spine Down
Left Spine Down

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Left Spine Down is a band that plays what they call "cyberpunk," a mixture of industrial, metal, punk, and drum & bass....
, Motormark
Motormark

Motormark were a Scottish electronic punk band formed in 2001. In early 2007 Motormark split up and members Jane and Marko founded a new band with two new members called Fake Fang....
, Rabbit Junk
Rabbit Junk

Rabbit Junk is a Seattle based digital hardcore band formed in 2004 by former The Shizit frontman JP Anderson. Taking influences from such diverse music genres such as hip hop, black metal and new wave, JP has christened this sound as "Hardclash" ...
, The Shizit
The Shizit

The Shizit was a digital hardcore band from Seattle, Washington, United States, formed by J.P. Anderson and Brian Shrader in 1999. Their music was an intense mix of Gabber music, Hardcore punk and heavy metal music guitars, amped up with aggressive political lyrics....
 and Tuareg Geeks
Tuareg Geeks

Tuareg Geeks is a Mexican experimental music group signed to Digital Hardcore Recordings. The band is the brainchild of two music aficionados and was formed in 2001....
.

Bibliography

Reynolds, Simon (1999). Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. Routledge. ISBN-10: 0415923735

See also

  • Digital Hardcore Recordings
    Digital Hardcore Recordings

    Digital Hardcore Recordings is a record label set up in 1994 in music by Alec Empire, Joel Amaretto and Pete Lawton. Most of the music is recorded in Berlin, though the label is based in London where the records are mastered and manufactured....
  • D-Trash Records
    D-Trash Records

    Formed in 1998 in music, Canada's D-Trash Records started as an online collective by members of Cpuwar and DJ Rabies as the beginnings of an international network of electronic music artists....
  • List of electronic music genres
    List of electronic music genres

    This is a list of electronic music genres, sub-genres and styles, though for the latter, not all possess their own article .*Ambient music**Ambient house...
  • Anarcho-punk
    Anarcho-punk

    Anarcho-punk is a faction of the punk subculture that consists of bands, groups and individuals promoting anarchism politics.Although not all punks support anarchism, the ideology has played a significant role in the punk subculture, and punk has had a significant influence on the expression of contemporary anarchism....
  • Synthpunk
    Synthpunk

    Synthpunk is a music genre combining elements of synth rock and punk rock. The term invented by Damian Ramsey in 1999 as an attempt to retroactively identify a small sub-genre of punk music from 1977?1984 that involved musicians playing synthesizers in place of electric guitars....
  • Industrial metal
    Industrial metal

    Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and Heavy metal music, using repeating Heavy metal music Electric guitar riffs, sampling , synthesizer or music sequencer lines, and distorted vocals....
  • Industrial hip-hop
    Industrial hip-hop

    Industrial hip hop is a fusion of the dissonance and dystopian subject matter of industrial music with the rhythms of hip hop music....