Patric Catani

Patric Catani was one of the masterminds of Breakcore, Industrial Hardcore and general weird Experimental outings in the 90s. Starting on an Amiga 500, wave after wave of insane sampling was unleashed on the listener, Grindcore, Pop Music, Jungle, Ragga, Chiptunes - everything underlined with punching Gabber drums and / or overly distorted Breakbeat loops. With aliases such as Eradicator, Ec8or, Test Tube Kid, E-De Cologne he released on most of the important labels of that era such as Praxis, Fischkopf, DHR, Mono Tone...

Under his alias E-De-Cologne, Patric Catani was a true pioneer of Hardcore. He set the path for his own style of harder music, which was more fierce and less melody-based than most of the more known "Gabber" of that time, with his distinct way of sampling from a multitude of source, Thrash Metal, Acid, Disco and Pop music and everything else, creating a killer mixture of sounds. Both relentlessly hard, but not without humor and an overdose of fun.

He was admired and did inspire plenty of artists that came after him in a variety of genres, including artists in the Breakcore, Speedcore or Experimental Hardcore genres.

An important piece in the history of hard sounds, and a showcase of sheer euphoric sonic experimentalism.

Eradicator and Test Tube Kid were two of the most interesting side projects of Patric Catani. He really took Experimental Hardcore to a new level with these sounds. Influences from a variety of genres woven together masterfully. 

Info: https://www.discogs.com/artist/4989-Patric-Catani

Showcase: https://hearthis.at/lowentropy/low-entropy-tribute-to-e-de-cologne-mix/

Taciturne

Taciturne is one of the most sought after of the early underground hardcore producers. not a small feat when one takes into account that he only released 3 and a half records (or rather, two halfs - there is also a split EP he did under a different name) during his active period. Yet he fully deserves this appreciation.

Taciturne is known for his intricate and peculiar compositions mixing and mimicking Dark Ambient, Industrial, Noize, a hint of Breakcore, maybe a bit of Neofolk... but he is also known for his intricate compositions in the field of Gabber and Speedcore where he was a pioneer. Mixing cheesiness worthy of a "Fun Punk" record with dark, brooding tunes, and everything in between and beyond.

Info: https://www.discogs.com/artist/47214-Taciturne

Showcase: https://www.mixcloud.com/low_entropy/tribute-to-taciturne-mix-part-2-gone-hardcore/

Praxis

Praxis Records was one of the most important - or possibly THE most important - label of Experimental Hardcore and also played an important role in the history of genres such as Breakcore or Industrial Hardcore. It was and is also a label that combines radical politics with radical music especially in connection with projects like the Datacide Magazine.

Info: https://www.discogs.com/label/4638-Praxis

Showcase: https://www.mixcloud.com/low_entropy/tribute-to-praxis-records-mix-part-1-early-tracks/

Mouse And No Name

i have always been intrigued by the music of stella and poka michelsen. to me, it is some of the most complex, complicated, intelligent music ever made. levels and levels of beats; noize; ambiance; abstraction; is built on top of each other. they're so far away from the "dumb gabber" and "speedcore" most people think of when the word 'hardcore' is mentioned. is this hardcore? is that even techno? it is more of art - real art, abstract, maybe it would belong more to gallery, a museum, than to a party were people dance - if museums wouldn't be so boring!

i can't find many artists that could compare to this. the sheer level of complexity is overwhelming. some of the best somatic responses productions could compare - in complexity and experimentation of sounds. or the most intricate construction of underground PCP via acardipane. yet, maybe it is not right to compare this music - as it plays in its own universe. frantic noise, shrill, alien screams - often driven home by a powerful bassdrum, and killer punctured beats and hits. for some reason, i never compared this so much with other music, but to other forms of art, movies, pictures. this would fit well to dystopian cyberpunk picture, an onslaught of screeching robots pacing through a destroyed, wrecked industrial wasteland. 

there are so many things i am missing in most hardcore that are in michelsen's productions; changes of beats, tempo, complex trackstructures with many twists, beginnings, endings, turn-arounds. lengthy intros of weird noises, laughter, ambient drones. some michelsen records fetch high sums at collectors at this time, and rightfully so.

while many other of their contempary artists around their decades became quite "famous" by now, known also to the dreaded "gabber" and "breakcore" crowd, the michelsen sisters still seem to be kind of a secret hint, with a cult following. yet, they are already legends, in their regard, in their own way.

Info: https://www.discogs.com/artist/92189-Mouse https://www.discogs.com/artist/142985-No-Name-3

Showcase: https://soundcloud.com/eeaom/low-entropy-tribute-to-mouse-and-no-name-mix

The Mover

the mover is a project by acardipane, almost around since the beginning of PCP. the first outing was the the "frontal sickness" EP, followed by a second part; then we get the "final sickness" album, the signs of 96, the countdown tracks, as well as the post-PCP follow up, "frontal frustration". also various combined efforts (splits with other artists) and similiar projects. (Editor's note: we got way more The Mover output since this text was written).

the mover is highly praised and adored. among PCP fans, the mover releases are usually seen as special, or rather, the most special ones. the mover is often synonymously used with marc acardipane himself; especially the more sophisticated pcp fans usually call him just "the mover". so, the mover has engraved itself with pcp, and with acardipane.

what is so special about the mover?

stylistically, there is a continuity between tracks - this is basically is all pcp projects, but with the mover it's more visible i think. think of the changes nasty django had in sound in later releases. the mover has a common thread, a common sonic expression. the "countdown trax" on narcotic network recordings is the only release that sounds slightly different; but aswell deeply connected with the mover theme.

so what can be said about the sound?

let us look at the first frontal sickness, which, to me, sets the sound of the mover. even for pcp standard, we get a removed, dislocated sound. the elements have been reduced to a functional, beautiful simplicity. melody created on a synth, a bassdrum, percussion and a bit of FX. that's it. but i think exactly this minimal, reduced approach adds a lot to the wonderful sound of the mover. it is very unlikely the minimalism of other artists; there is, indeed, not much going on in these tracks, at first glance - yet it feels so full, so exciting. it has only the necessary elements - but these elements are the more powerful.

stylistically, the mover is hard to locate, too. this is with all of pcp; but again, even more so with the mover. it sometimes feels like a bit of a missing link between the pre-techno electronic days; the lofi "minimal synth" and EBM sound of the 80s; and the beginning of techno. but it also is reminiscent of the krautrock electronic days; and it reminds me a lot of the earliest electronic and sonic experimentation of the 1950s - or maybe even 1920s. it is out of time and creates its own style. i dare to call it even "techno". maybe electronic poems - yes, this fits.

yet the mover is also an experimental project, as can be seen in the weird electro outings and space synths of the "countdown tracks". experimental techno - at its best.

what sticks out, is that each track is seemingly focused around a single melody; and this is maybe what makes the trademark mover sound. each has a wonderful melody, at which the whole track is seemingly constructed around. again, it's simplistic - seemingly, and repetive - reduced. 4 chords, 8 tones going down and up again. but these melodies are again perfectly effective, and bizarre, enchanting - exotic. i wouldn't even dare to say in which harmonic, tuning system, or even music system, they would be part of.

to write this in words is very hard to do; listen to the tunes themselves, and you will see what i mean when i say that the melodies are a special part of the mover tracks.

one could almost say the mover is the punk rocker of cyborg techno: this is one chord, this is the second; now add the beat and percussion, and go create a mover track[1]!

to finish this text, look at what is most important; the atmosphere of the mover. again, i said it brings up feelings of abstract art experimentation of past decades; but it is also so much in the future. PCP feels so much like space, scifi and the mover is an expression of it; but at a higher dose; a "hardcore" form of it.

the atmosphere is what gives the mover tracks life, and i guess it is why the mover is so popular. a wonderful project, interesting, unique - for the future.

footnotes:

1: related to an old slogan of the 70s new york punk scene. 

Info: https://www.discogs.com/artist/4872-The-Mover

Showcase: https://www.mixcloud.com/low_entropy/dj-low-entropy-tribute-to-the-mover-mix/

Kotzaak Unltd.

At one of the first big Nordcore parties in the 90s, Kotzaak was announced as being "from the deepest swamp of PCP". And this is true. Verily a part of PCP, but with a dark edge, psychotic, homicidal. Tracks from the hells below, demon inspired compositions, it's all there. One of the most extreme Hardcore outings in its time (and even today), but with that special PCP approach, deliberate production, slick, and, if I dare to say, emotional and lucid inbetween the all-out assaults of thundering drums, screams and distortion. Kotzaak gained a cult following quickly, and it's fans are beyond loyal, and their numbers are growing to this day.

So, take care, doom supporter! 

Info: https://www.discogs.com/label/4048-Kotzaak-Unltd

Showcase: https://hearthis.at/lowentropy/low-entropy-tribute-to-kotzaak-unltd-mix/

Dr. Macabre

when i got into the hardcore scene in the mid 90s, "manga corps" on IST was just released and it made everyone's charts, in those charming xeroxed paper fanzines from around the world. it had also one of the first tracks i heard by mr. guillaume, first wave, together with "seven" on the now infamous biomechanik compilation by manu le malin.

of course i had known "the meltdown" earlier, from my techno and ravey days, as it was a big hit in that scene then. the next introduction deeper into the works of the man was via pcp, with release like "negative burn" or "renegade legion". "gates of heaven" still holds a dear place in my memory, with this absolutely out of space, alien intro with a hint of odd marching beats.

when i went to my first big indoor hardcore rave - "operation nordcore II" in the hamburg markthalle - of course dr. macabre played and his big kicks, sawtooths and other sounds left a lasting mark on me.

what showed me the whole spectrum of his works then was the release of the paranoid archives. all the killers, all the sonic exploration in one place, in perfect sound quality.

so what defines the sound of monsieur macabre? it's maybe a bad thing most people pin him to hardcore or techno, as his work goes vastly beyond the limitations of these genre. we have tracks like "hiroshima", that starts as an electronic ambient work, only to break down into a mad array of beats and distortion a few minutes later. or the already mentioned "first wave" that with its sounds jacks you to a surreal sonic trip.

we often find a very strong synth and melody work in his works. he is one of the only artists in "hardcore" where, to me, the melodies don't feel just as a gimmick, another channel to add to the sequenced sounds, but would work as a standalone thing too.

maybe the renegade legionnaire is best described as an electronic experimenteer in the strong history of this music in france.

from acid to techno, to gabber and ambient, his works spans the widest field of sound. oh yeah and one more thing. he does *killer* bassdrums.

the music he did in later years and nowadays should not be forgotten either; it's often wide different from his roots, but again a very unique style, spacey experimental and bizarre. kicking, rushing, astonishing sounds.

Info: https://www.discogs.com/artist/39143-Dr-Macabre

Showcase: https://www.mixcloud.com/low_entropy/tribute-to-dr-macabre-mix/