Hi there!
Do you know PCP? Planet Core Productions? The label that invented Hardcore Techno and brought us classics like "I Like It Loud" ("Maria"), "We Have Arrived", "Waves Of Life", "Don't Touch That Stereo", and countless others?
The label occupies a unique, liminal space in music history, when Techno and other genres like Hardcore, Gabber, Breakbeat, Trance, Ambient, were not so divided and far apart yet - so PCP became a player in all these conflicting territories!
PCP and the people involved were on the verge of disappearing into the shadows of media exposure after the Millennium (except for the "Hardcore Heads", who always loved this unruly bunch).
But recently, there has been growing interest in the sound of PCP again, especially amongst the members of the Techno crowd, who seem to have become a bit tired with minimalist and "armchair" sounds and are ready to embrace some harder stuff again.
Yet, there is also a downside to this, as the focus is once again on the "hard and techno" stuff, which indeed formed the core of the label's activities - but it is often forgotten that they did a lot of brilliant and important releases in other fields as well - ranging from Industrial, Electro, and EBM to Hard Acid, Jungle, Speedcore - and even Happy Hardcore, House, and Eurodance!
Let's face it: name one (sub-)genre of electronic music in the 90s, and it is certain that PCP has done at least one release in that style.
I'm a PCP-head since the label's heyday in the mid 90s, but I also became a collector and researcher of the label and everything involved - in four decades!
And over time, I connected with more and more people who got entranced by the label too, and are on a similar quest for exploration.
I wrote an unofficial e-book about the label. It's actually a book in two parts - the first part tries to give an overview about the label, a kind of "chronography", and talks about related issues such as its unique artworks, its sound aesthetics, it's ties to the Doomcore Techno genre, and much more!
And for the second part... I listed, described, and reviewed all of its over 200 (two hundred) releases on all its labels and subs!
It actually took me 10 years to write the "complete" book. And the research for it.... took me another 20 years. so in total i worked 30 years on it. but i guess it was worth it.
It's dedicated to all the other "seekers" and pcp-heads who can't get enough of these ecstatic sounds, and are looking for more information, suggestions, facts, and myths...
and everyone else, who might be interested in listening to something else than the-oh-so boring "techno mainstream".
may it be useful!
So here is the link:
the first part can also be downloaded as an e-book on archive.org
and i'm working on getting the second part up in a different format soon.
I'm happy to get any comment, feedback... and maybe further clues / hints to the mysteries of PCP... so send it my way! :-)
Over and out,
L.E.
