25 Years Of Low Entropy
I can't believe it's already 25 years! But it's true. The Low Entropy project was officially started back in 1997. The Experimental Hardcore scene was at its high, Speedcore had emerged and got bigger, bolder and wilder, Breakcore was the new thing and still taking shape... well, I guess you know these things.
This was the time I began to seriously dive into the world of music. And it has been quite a journey since. Many highs, many lows... many changes, many roads that got closed, but new ones opened... but it was always such a thrill, and a lot of fun. And I hope that, in those years that passed, I gave others some thrills and fun with my own music, too!
In order to celebrate 25 years of Low Entropy, here is a release with 29 tracks, a track for each year (and some bonus), in order to highlight what style and direction my music was in that year (of course, just approximately, as I've always been producing in multiple styles).
Starting with Noizy Hardcore, Speedcore, to darker, atmospheric Breakcore stuff... lots of experiments... and on to Doomcore and acidic Techno, to finally end at - Slowcore.
Have fun with this, because it for sure was a wild ride for me to follow this music, and to produce some music of my own, in all these years.
And let's never forget:
Hardcore will never die!
I will give a short description, explaining the background of each track a bit:
1987 (2014) Sönke's First
1997 was the start of Low Entropy, but of course this was not the start of doing music for me. I first got into producing electronic music when I was at the age of 6, and got into contact with some music programs on my older brother's Commodore Amiga 500 computer, such as Aegis Sonix or the mighty Soundtracker by Karsten Obarski. The latter I found confusing at first: "What, no normal musical notation? And it scrolls - vertically!?" But shortly after, I fell totally in love with it.
I did maybe 30-40 productions on these programs, mostly trying to do experimental music, and all of them have been lost in time - except this one, because I had memorized the notes and melodies, and in 2014, I decided to give it a kind of remix. The original idea of that song was to get away from the experimentalism a bit and to try to do a "catchy" melody for once, so it was fitting to give it a "Ravecore" frame this time. Can you still dig it?
1996 Alienation
I had the idea to do my own Hardcore productions from the moment I got into this scene (which was in the first quarter of 1996), but after doing some playing around, I felt not pleased with these first attempts at harder music. It took me a whole year to take up producing again - until 1997 - and to seriously commit me to this sound. Alienation was a track that was left over from these 1996 tryouts, and I decided to give it some tweaks and a re-vamp, and so it was done.
1997 Flatline
I used Impulse Tracker when I started creating hard stuff, and Flatline was the third track I produced on that software. It later got a vinyl release on Blut Records, too.
It's a noizy, very fast Hardcore track around 400 BPM, heavily inspired by the French productions of that time. The sound at the beginning of the track is meant to mimic flatlining on the ECG (i.e. dying) - hence the name of the track.
1998 Society (Has No Further Use For You)
Another Speedcore effort, taking a bit of inspiration of some rough demos of that year (for example by The Berzerker). I also tried to work a Doomcore melody in here, doing some kind of Doomcore-Noizecore crossover (which was not a common thing then). Meant as an anthem for everyone who felt that society has kicked oneself into the curb.
1999 I Am God
Lawnmower Man samples are always a treat. This shows some of my Breakcore explorations, there is an overload of sounds, and a hint of my darker Doomcore type melodies that were to come in my future productions.
The long break in the middle of the track is there because I hated that DJ friendly, continuous, dance-y stuff and wanted to do something different.
2000 Anything Is Possible
Matrix samples are even better than Lawnmower Man samples. Well, maybe not in today's view, but back then, I just adored this movie.
Sound wise, I tried to make the track as complex as possible, and totally get away from the normal "Hardcore" formula, thus I added lots of speed changes, breakdowns, twist, turns.
I later felt I overdid it this time, and that the track was being "weird for weird's sake", which was the reason I turned to more simple, minimal Acid and Hardcore stuff (at least that's how I would have described it back then); which in the end led to track like Urban Uprising and my whole journey into Doomcore and Techno sounds!
2001 Symphony Of Creative Destruction
A track that was a result of my experiments with Just Intonation and Microtonal melodies. The other idea of the track was: "how could have Techno sounded if it would not have went all House-y and Minimal in the late 90s, but would've continued to become harder and weirder?"
So a kind of retro-future-futurism that today would be retro (and, I think, future) again.
Released on Praxis vinyl.
2002 Don't Let Our Dreams Die
The title is a result of my disappointment with the crumbling of the 90s Experimental Hardcore scene after the turn of the millennium; it was a plea to this sound and scene, basically.
The sonic structure of this track is the dark synth / Industrial Breakcore formula, that I totally loved back then, and of course, still do.
2003 Second Uprising
For many people their favorite track of my early era of producing. A Doomcore Acidcore piece with some very heavy drums. Made it in a one night session before a gig.
2004 Angels & Devils
The most heavy tracks for my planned Praxis 2x12" and CD album, which due to some circumstances not related to the label, but also beyond my own control, was not released until 2018 - and this time digitally.
Apocalyptic sounds and beats.
2005 Wie Feuer In Meinen Augen
An attempt to do some EBM - Techno-ish type of track, with some surreal German words.
2006 Chorus 2
A straight mystical ambient affair.
2007 Moonlight
My return to some harder sounds with this quirky pop-like Hardcore track.
2008 The Dawn Of A New Era
The first "real" track I did after a nearly 4 year break of not doing Hardcore!
Noizy faster type affair again.
2009 Architecture 2
This was the second track I did for a planned "comeback" 12" for a label, which was never released.
Dark Breakcore stuff again!
2010 Melo (2010 Mix)
A rework of one of the earliest Doomcore tracks I did (back in my Impulse Tracker days!), this time with more ambience and harder beats.
2011 Hamburg Acid City (Full-On Acid Remix)
A celebration of the (Hardcore) city I live in. I tried to give it a sound similar to one of the styles that you could hear at harder parties here over the years.
2012 Fourth Uprising
Another favorite by a lot of people. The third sequel to my "Urban Uprising" track that was released on Black Monolith recordings.
2013 Futuristic 9
This shows another major switch in music production again; doing more complex tracks again, in a Techno style, with a "live recording" feel. (Yeah, well, it was live recorded actually, which explains that feel maybe ;) )
2014 Really Into This Space Stuff (Short Mix)
Dark cosmic Acid Techno affair here. Remixes of it have been released on vinyl but also digitally.
2015 The Doom Of Hamburg
My own fav of 2015. I often tried to do a track like this again, but rarely could do it. The elements just seem to blend into each other so nicely.
2016 Techno Stomper (feat. Countess M) (Short Hard Mix)
Ah yeah, hard beats, angry spoken word type vocals, and lots of acidic elements. A celebration of the early 90s Techno sound that I love so much.
2017 Creeping Doom
1 BPM Slowcore. At the point of production, maybe the slowest Hardcore track in existence. Very Doomcore-ish feel. Ended up in some "best tracks of 2017" chart in a magazine, maybe Groove or The Wire UK, I can't remember.
2018 Moment Of Terror
Just some frantic Doomcore again. With some Oldschool Hoover feel.
2019 Golden Galaxy
Again, an experiment in different forms of melodies. Added with Doomcore beats and sounds and lots of distortion.
2020 I Am The Storm
A return to Speedcore! I love 16th note type melodies, do you do, too? And when they are underscored with double or quadruple basses, it's even better!
A storm is coming.
2021 This Is History
The track I did for the Slowcore Compilation on Doomcore records. Very ambient, movie-score like feel. 4 BPM.
2022 Shine On (Short Mix)
Another Slowcore track, which is a genre I am really into now. With the title, I tried to encourage others to stay strong and go on in what feels like a very dreary world.
It's also a good track to wrap up this 25 years collection.
Bonus: This Is Where I Stand.
A bit of a mix between EBM, Acid and Hardcore again, but the centerpiece is the speech in this track, which is a message I really want to put across, so it made sense to choose this one as a bonus track.
