Not to be confused with new beat, gabber, breakbeat hardcore, happy hardcore, or industrial techno.
Belgian hardcore techno
Stylistic origins
New beat
hard beat
skizzo
techno
EBM[1]
acid house
rave music
Cultural origins
Early 1990s, Belgium
Typical instruments
Synthesizer
drum machine
sequencer
Derivative forms
Hardcore techno
gabber
breakbeat hardcore
hard NRG
Belgian hardcore techno (also referred to as Belgian techno or rave techno[citation needed]) is an early style of hardcore techno that emerged from new beat as EBM and techno influences became more prevalent in this genre.[2] This particular style has been described as an "apocalyptic, almost Wagnerian, bombastic techno",[3] 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 and influenced the sound of early hardcore from Netherlands, Germany, Italy, UK and North America during the early-1990s, as a part of the rave movement during that period.[4]
Belgian hardcore is related to both European techno and hardcore techno, being generally considered an early form of the latter.[4] The genre is referred to by several other names, such as "Belgian rave"[5] and "bretter tekkno".
The immediate predecessors of Belgian hardcore were two short-lived new beat subgenres[6] called "hard beat"[7][8] and "skizzo".[9]
^Reynolds, Simon (2012). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Picador. ISBN 978-1-59376-407-4. Belgian and German hardcore was heavily influenced by the late eighties school of Euro Body Music (EBM), with its stiff, regimented rhythms and aerobic triumphalism.
^Rietveld, Hillegonda C.; Monroe, Alexei (2021-09-01). "Gabber: Raising hell in technoculture1". Metal Music Studies. 7 (3): 399–421. doi:10.1386/mms_00057_1. ISSN 2052-3998. S2CID 244266465.
^"Musique Interview. Simon Reynolds: 'I love those moments when the underground meets the overground'". manifesto-21.com. 9 January 2023.
^ abSimon Reynolds: Energy Flash: A Journey through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Soft Skull Press 2012, ISBN 978-1-59376-407-4, p. 110.
^"History of UK hardcore rave music". toucanmusic.com. 2013.
^"Belgian House: The Unsung Hero of European Rave Culture". St Andrews Radio. 7 June 2019. The sound of New Beat evolved and splintered as its increasingly manic offshoots contributed to the emerging styles of hardcore and rave.
^Melville, Caspar (2020). It's a London thing. How rare groove, acid house and jungle remapped the city. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-5261-3123-2. The popularity of raves stimulated the production of new forms of 'rave' music, initially from the UK, and then from other northern European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and most significantly Belgium, where the R&S label was based, which distilled the parameters of rave music down to the base elements of abrasive, punishing machine rhythms (dubbed 'Belgian hardbeat') (...).
^Nikki van Lierop: Hard Beat 1st Compilation., 1989. "Hard Beat is the perfect link between Electronic Body Music and New Beat."
^Maurice Engelen: Skizzo - A New Method Of Dance., 1990.
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