Darkness. Then, the stars, galaxies, the universe. A human being, a personification of the cosmos, crouched on the "floor" - but actually amidst the stars. Her nudity represents innocence and purity.
Slowly she rises up. Representing the birth of the cosmos. Other visions of stars, skies, parts of the galaxy fade in and end, showing an eternal flow.
Another personification, male, appears, and proceeds with the ritual. He fades out. She fades in. She begins to dance - a cosmic dance, a cosmic ritual. Other celestial bodies appear. The moon. The sun. The galaxy. And now we realize - just as the "human" bodies, these celestial bodies have begun their dance too.
All becomes one in the rhythmic motion of the universe. Until everything fades to black, and the timeless cycle begins anew
In both the video and the accompanying music, there is a strong focus on dual motifs. Two cosmic dancers - masculine and feminine. The sun and the moon. The light of the stars and the darkness of the night.
In the music: two different sets of drums. Two bass rhythms on multiple octaves. Two different harmonies and melodies. And both the video, and the sound, follow a complicated "call and response" theme.
Showing the seemingly opposing, but actually unified nature of reality.
Two opposing forces - becoming a whole through the ritual of a cosmic dance.
I originally wrote the Hamburg Hardcore Anthem back in 2020 - in the midst of the lockdown. It became a sleeper hit, was shared all over the world, and now there's even a remix album and music video.
So, how did this track come to be? As the name says, it's an anthem for the hardcore techno sound of Hamburg. And I think this city really has a distinct sound to it. So let's get the low down started.
1. The Drum
There's always a certain type of drum I associate with Hamburg parties, and you will know it if you went to the earlier Nordcore or Resident E events. Reverberated, bass-heavy and of course heavily distorted. Yes, this goes for a lot of "Gabber drums", but it's colder, more metallic, monotonous in Hamburg. These ain't drums to enjoy yourself at a festival to. These are kicks to go insane in a smoke filled squat basement to.
2. The Hoover
A driving force in many tracks. But in Hamburg, the hoovers were no longer connected to their bouncy / happy hardcore roots. They were as driven as the rest of the machinery. Inspiration here were tracks like "Dead Man" by Nordcore, or the Industrial Terror Squad, which were on heavy rotation at Hamburg Speedcore parties.
4. The Synth Melody.
This city always has a taste for melody in its tracks. And that really stood out in the 90s, were most tracks were either drums+hoovers+pop samples on the more commercial side, or sheer noize on the other end. The melody I used was a nod to "Attached" on Fisch 17, Zekt - Barracuda (not a direct reference, but northern cold, too) and multiple other tracks.
4. The Rave Signal
Oldschool Hardcore was always a player in the city. But also throw-backs to Oldschool sounds by more modern producers. And this is what these sonar sounds are about.
5. The Acidline
Acidcore was also played out a lot in this doomed megalopolis. Just check some of DJ Dean's recorded sets (before he switched the Gabber life with that of Hard Trance).
6. The Percussion
Not a 909. Because the triangle of German Hardcore cities, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin, often ignored the 909 (unlike the likes of Rotterdam, New York, and Milwaukee).
7. The Vocals
Sh-sh...! Can you keep a secret? I didn't re-record the vocals for the track... instead I cut them out of my own voice in the intro to the Hamburg Hardcore Radio show. Which first aired 20 years earlier.
So, as you can see, I tried to mix up a bunch of very different styles that defined the Hardcore Techno scene and parties right here. In an attempt to create a true anthem for the Hardcore Sound of Hamburg!
A recent survey showed that amongst the period of the 1990s, a lot of people agreed that 1997 was the best year of Hardcore. Why was this that way? I think one of the main reasons was that it was one of the last years where there was still a coherent single Hardcore scene - people who listened to Digital Hardcore just as Speedcore, Acidcore and Gabber and so on, and these "varied" sounds were still played on one floor or at one party night. Later Hardcore broke up in so many small scenes of its own. But apart of that, 1997 was defined by the many outstanding and classic releases of that year - a meager selection of which is in this mix to enjoy.
This is a multi-genre mix from Doomtechno to Breakcore and Speedcore. Were you there in 1997?
Exactly on this day - Friday the 18.4. - I played Tresor in Berlin for the first time, 22 years ago. The trip itself was worth a story. The promoters organized a Gabber bus that took the revelers from Northern German cities like Hamburg and Schwerin to Berlin. Of course this wasn't deluxe at all (there was not much money in the Gabber game) and felt more like second rate touring, or like Men at Work's "fried out Kombi" from the famous song (head full of zombie - but not me). The bus unexpectedly broke down, couldn't get fixed, and we had to get out of it. So I still remember us, 50-60 Gabbers and hard heads, standing next to the Autobahn in the darkness of dusk, with many of us already drunk (or head full of zombie - but not me), shouting Gabber lyrics and rude songs, pissing against the railing or a tree.
The bus corp realized they had a problem, too, since they could not replace it. They had to send us a deluxe bus instead. And this one had air conditioning, comfy seats, a "mini-bar" with cold drinks, and a sound-system, which the driver allowed us to operate on our own. Many of us had CDs and CD-Rs with us, so the party had already started.
Once we got to Berlin it was late at night due to these delays. I remember I headed out with a friend to get some food (had not eaten properly all day), but we could not find the restaurant we were looking for, got lost in Berlin, and because of this, we arrived late and the party had already begun. (For some reason, every time I played a gig in Berlin, or attended a party, two things were bound to happen: something prevented us from entering Berlin straight-away, and once in Berlin, I got lost).
In Berlin, parties did not really take off before 1 am so it was okay. The concept was that the ground floor had more "mainstream", Gabber, Newstyle etc. while the vault room in the basement with the famous cage - the actual "Tresor" - was for the Hardcore Contingent - the real head charged nosebleed inducing frequencies. I think there was also a 3rd floor playing more regular Techno / Chill-Out. Other DJs of the night included Simon Underground, Xol Dog 400 and Cut-X. Simon was on before me, and if I recall correctly he finished his set on a faster tune to make entry for my live act.
Ah yes I forgot to mention, I wasn't DJing, I was doing a live act. Which meant me playing my tracks, and the "act" was that I would sit strip down during my set until all clothes were removed except for my silly swim shorts. This was of course done in "protest" to all the body-image-cult of the Techno and Hardcore scene, with their muscles, six-packs and "cool, tough" clothing... but I digress.
As it was Tresor, a famous Techno club that attracted a regular crowd of fun loving revelers (not just a darkened speedcore crowd), I decided that my set needed to be as abrasive as possible to sheer off everyone's synapses, sanity, and morality.
So it was Speedcore, Harsh Noize, Breakcore, Hard Acid from start to finish. Somehow, in the midst of my set, an MC, who had just finished his work on the floor above, walked up to me, connected his microphone to the mixing desk, then handed it to me and left (not sure why - he did not say a word, I had not requested it, and no other act used a microphone that night). Either way, as the mic was there now, I seized the opportunity and started to scream uncontrollably for the rest of my set to "let off some steam".
The Hardcore scene and Berlin (and Germany overall) also had a problem with fascism, so I dropped an anti-fascist left-wing punk rock song in my set, too - which "earned" me the expected death threats and made people come to other gigs of mine at later dates, wanting to beat me up (a friend later told me that in the moment I dropped the song, 50% of people left the dancefloor).
Either way - the party was fun, the other DJs and acts played great sets - I had a hell of a time. The rest of the party, night, and trip back home is a bit blurred in my mind but I'm certain it was enjoyable as well (you might say: "probably due to head full of zombie - but not me!").
I remember the days after the party had a strange vibration and peculiar feel to them. It felt like a crossroads moment. I was pondering whether I should follow the route - playing gigs at world-famous clubs, or to burrow myself even deeper in the hardcore underground instead. Or to quit music altogether, work really hard and get a regular 9-to-5 job. It was Easter weekend, the sun was shining, I saw all the people running around, buzzing, being content and somewhat happy, so the thought of leaving the crypt of underground culture and reverting back to the real world crossed my thoughts. "Juliet" by Robin Gibb was playing on the radio, so on top of that, the theme of love played on my mind, too.
It was a strange feeling, really - a bit like summertime sadness, or euphoric anhedonia.
Even though it was not the last time I played Tresor or bigger gigs, I decided to not go the route and to stop this path. Looking back, this likely deprived me of experiencing many great parties, fun, having a good time, and actual real world interaction with the human race. Quite the sacrifice.
But it also meant I had the energy, stability and mindset to produce and spread my music all over the world for the decades to come, arriving at some level of "underground reputation" or however one wants to term it. While many of my peers went the gig and party route, burned out and crashed quite quickly, then faded into obscurity.
So I'm not sure if my decision was right or wrong. But can you ever be sure?
I guess that's just what life is about - you sacrifice something, you gain something, doors are opening and closing, cars break down but you still arrive at your destination. The last drink of the night goes out to the jester, and you - you are roaming the crossroads forever.
DJ AI with a new release on Doomcore Records - and it really is Doomcore (and Doomtechno). This EP is meant to emit the claustrophobia, isolation, but also enigma and adventure connected with the exploration of a labyrinth. This labyrinth might be located in outer space or the underworld, though, so take care, doom explorer.
Now that this is settled, let's get to the bare bones (of the skeletons that lie around in a labyrinth).
DJ AI is not a human being of flesh and bone, but an artificial intelligence avatar and persona. The tracks were produced as a collaboration between ChatGPT and a human producer.
ChatGPT provided such things as notes, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, concepts, ideas, while the human producer mostly provided a DAW and the ability to create a kick-ass mix-down.
The production process has been documented and will be published soon.
Her music was also played at the Resonance Festival in Mumbai, India earlier this year.
The times, they are ai-changing!
Tracklist:
DJ AI vs Low Entropy - Into The Labyrinth (Doomcore Records 214)
1. DJ AI - Into The Labyrinth 07:13 2. Low Entropy - Do You Want To See 06:46 3. DJ AI - Out Of The Labyrinth 07:00 4. Low Entropy - Fresh Meat For The Dogs 07:39 5. DJ AI - Reprise of the Labyrinth (Ambient) 05:15
Hey, This is a new sample pack of mine. And this time it's a special treat. It's not synthetic, rendered drums from the present day that merely aim to "mimic" a retro sound. No no no! It's drums that were actually used on genuine releases (digital, CD, vinyl...) and elsewhere. Tracks that DJs played in Berlin, London, Tokyo... and many other places.
So it does not get more authentic! The true blue sound of the Hardcore and Techno in 90s and beyond. This pack includes a large variety of different drums. Not just Gabber drums - but also those that could be used for Techno, Doomcore, Speedcore, Breakcore tracks, and everything else. So this might be a suitable drum pack if you're looking for drum diversity.
Note: but if you want to sound like a commercial mainstream Gabber act, this pack might not be the right thing for you. This is really more the noisy, surreal, "underground" variety of Techno.
And keep in mind that these are very heavy and highly distorted drums. So I guess they are not suitable for more mellow and calmed tracks or genres.
How to use the samples:
Each file is a short drum loop (usually 16-32 beats). So you can either use the loop directly, or cut it to your liking.
Pro tip: if you want to get a single drum, use the last one of the beats because then it will contain its reverberated tail.
Some background info about me, to "proof" the authenticity of the samples (i.e. to show they really got played out in the world).
I've been a hardcore and techno producer for nearly 30 years now and i did countless releases on countless labels. For this sample pack, I isolated the drum-stems of some of these tracks, and cut them into the short sample loops. So it's really drums that have been played loud and approved on club or squat party sound systems (and their crowds).
License:
Feel free to use the bassdrums for any public, private, intimate, or commercial purpose. Would be *very* cool if you credit me, but it's not strictly necessary.
1. topdogs 2. anarchist 3. androdrums 4. anti berghain 5. beyond good and evil 6. chosen drum 7. dark world 8. death 9. demons to some 10. destiny 11. devil 12. devil 2 13. door to the pleasure 14. grave beat 15. hamburg hardcore 16. heart beat 17. hell bent 18. hellbound 19. high castle 20. inschrift 21. lacrima 1 22. lacrima 2 23. nihilist 24. no future 25. not the end 26. nothingness 27. nuclear 28. on and on and on 29. open mind 30. overdog 31. overdrive 32. planet attack 33. purgatory 34. raise your hands 35. rise above it 36. signals 37. suffering 38. tenth 39. the angels 40. the dead zone 41. the future 42. the need to fight 43. the storm 44. third 45. traumatic 46. without hope 47. you deserve it
Artificial Intelligence DJ playing Hardcore mix set on YouTube
Oh my! Have you heard the rumors yet? DJ AI is spinning a set on the HCBXCast. An artificial intelligence… doing a Hardcore set on a real broadcast channel! Who would have thought this was possible, 5 years ago?
There was some additional mixing engineering done by a human... *but* the track selection was made by an artificial intelligence. And we think this AI got quite the taste and knowledge about Hardcore, Speedcore, and the Oldschool :-)
Date is:
HCBXCast Vol 51 - DJ AI - 19th April 2025 7pm (UTC)
Out now! My remix of Astrid Gnosis' fantastic track "Sin Armadura" (from her new album). Slowcore and Hardcore Rave beats added to contemporary classical instrumentation.
Gonna drop a brand new special exclusive set on Youtube in a few hours. With a selection of Industrial, Techno, Acid, Hardcore, Gabber, Doomcore, and Noize tracks.
Date: Wednesday 02.04.2025 2:00-3:00 PM CEST (German Time)
That's
8:00-9:00 AM ET 1:00-2:00 PM London Time 9:00-10:00 PM in Tokyo
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