Playlist: The Neo-Rave Blueprint - NICE1TOM

As a self-proclaimed hardcore head, I am sick to death of hearing the same old lecture from disheartened warehouse veterans swearing that “They’ll never make it as good as they did back then”. I’m well aware that 92 was a time to be alive and don’t get me wrong, the blueprint was laid out, stretched and warped so many times before the millenium that it’s no surprise many champion this era as the peak of sonic creativity (check track 1 to know who to thank for this!). However, as Q-bass boldly declared in 1991, ‘Hardcore will never die’, a statement incontestable to those that understand that true hardcore isn’t so much a strict sound, but a spirit. Consequently, whether in ode to the ‘golden age’ or as an act of defiant survival, a shed load of rave fuelled records able to hold their own in any warehouse of old have begun to bubble up in the last few years.(+ I’m 99% sure if you blacked out the label and told the right anecdote you could convince any suburbanised ex-raver he’d danced to it back in the day). However, in order for hardcore to sustain this immortal status, the scene must continue to push and bend the blueprint. So, in honour of this revival, i’ve selected 20 trax from the last 5 years that capture this ‘neo-rave‘ agenda, all whilst avoiding that gentrified ‘business’ feel. Expect splurgtastic modulation, throwback samples and the ‘amen’ spliced and sequenced beyond pre-millenium comprehension.

Tracklist:

1. Teachers - Mumdance, Logos

2. Skelt 7 - Fiesta Soundsystem

3. Wheel Up Signal - Softy

4. Globex Crop Vol. 7 B1 - Dwarde, Tim Reaper

5. Ridge Racer Revolution - Pessimist

6. Lights off, Heads Down - Tim Reaper

7. Dangerous Species - Mani Festo

8. Hackney Parrot (10_Ton_Mix) - Tessela

9. 3ankaboot - ZULI

10. Stick 3 - THE HIGHER

11. Loos in Twos (NRG) - Anz