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Breakcore is a style of electronic dance music largely influenced by hardcore techno, drum and bass and industrial music that is characterized by its use of heavy kick drums, breaks and a wide palette of sampling sources, played at high tempos.

Characteristics[link]

Breakcore is hard to accurately describe as musicians and djs like Electric Kettle, Drop the Lime, Christoph Fringeli and Dj Balli have argued that breakcore is a catch-all term that encompasses various related, though different styles of electronic music that are related through mindset or aesthetics rather than sound.^{[citation needed]} Regardless, there seems to be^{[weasel words]} a common element of aggression or chaos, unconventional song structures and sudden shifts of rhythm in breakcore music. Perhaps^{[weasel words]} the most defining characteristic of breakcore is the drum work which more often than not is based on the manipulation of the Amen break and other classic jungle and hip-hop breaks in high BPM. The techniques applied to achieve this differ from musician to musician, some preferring to cut up and rearrange the breaks, while others merely distort and loop breaks or apply various effects such as delay and chorus to alter the break's timbre. Distorted Roland TR-909 bass drum sounds aren't uncommon either, which has led to breakcore, either mockingly or affectionately, to be referred to^{[by whom?]} as "gabber kicks and Amen breaks". While that formula is prominent in a lot of the music, it is certainly not a necessity, or the end all, be all characteristic of the style.^{[citation needed]}

Melodically, there is nothing that defines breakcore. Classic rave sounds such as Acid bass lines, Hoovers and Reese bass are common, but breakcore is mostly known for sampling sounds from all over the musical spectrum to accommodate the frantic and fast paced nature of the rhythm section. Around the turn of the century, more and more breakcore musicians began employing traditional synthesis techniques to compose elaborate melodies and harmonies. There are a growing number of musicians who make use of recorded live instrumentation in their music, such as Istari Lasterfahrer, Hecate, Benn Jordan, Qüatros and Venetian Snares.

Raggacore[link]

Raggacore is a type of breakcore that is highly influenced by ragga jungle, a style of music that somewhat predates breakcore, characterized by ragga and dancehall rhythms and vocals. Its roots can arguably be traced back to jungle producer Remarc, who was one of the first producers to mix ragga and dancehall vocals with chaotic and intricately rearranged break beats. While only a few producers primarily work in the style, it still has a sizable following among breakcore fans. Notable examples of this style include Aaron Spectre, Bong-Ra, Cardopusher, Enduser, FFF, LFO Demon, Istari Lasterfahrer, Shitmat, The Pilfers, Venetian Snares and Stivs from the Life4Land crew.

Influences and development[link]

Ambush Records[link]

In London, DJ Scud co-founded Ambush Records with fellow producer Aphasic to focus on more extreme noise-oriented hardcore drum and bass. Some artists released on Ambush are Christoph Fringeli, Slepcy, The Panacea, and Noize Creator. "Scud and Nomex tracks like 'Total Destruction' helped create the blueprint for much of breakcore's sound, a high-bpm mash-up of hyperkinetic, post-jungle breaks, feedback, noise, and Jamaican elements paired with a devil-may-care attitude towards sampling that pulls from the broadest musical spectrum of styles (hip-hop, rock, industrial, pop, and beyond)."^[1]

Bloody Fist Records[link]

At the same time, Bloody Fist Records based in Newcastle, Australia released many records of hardcore/gabber, industrial, and noise. Label founder Mark Newlands said, in 1997, "I think that the uncomfortableness also comes from a reaction towards the mainstream and popular culture that's constantly shoved down our throats, that's forced on the people via television, radio, mass media, etc. I think that also fuels the fire and keeps the aggressiveness there and the uncomfortableness."^[2] Artists signed to Bloody Fist in its lifetime include Syndicate, Xylocaine, Epsilon and Nasenbluten.

Digital Hardcore Recordings[link]

Formed in 1994, Digital Hardcore Recordings released music by artists such as Alec Empire, Shizuo, Atari Teenage Riot, EC8OR and Bomb20, shaping the breakcore sound.^[1] Their Genre is Called Digital Hardcore. The Alec Empire album The Destroyer is often noted as the first breakcore album.

Breakcore becomes a genre[link]

As the early days of "hardcore techno" or just "hardcore" began to settle in Europe, breakcore as a genre began to take more concrete forms in other parts of the world. Inspired by new labels such as Addict, from Milwaukee, USA; Peace Off from Rennes, France; Sonic Belligeranza from Bologna, Italy; and Planet Mu, from London, began to take a new shape, adding in more elements of mashup and IDM to the hardcore sounds. Each of these labels began to draw in aspects of their own social and aesthetic scenes into their music, allowing for an even broader definition of what was possible in the music.

One of the most controversial issues in breakcore is that of the mere existence of the genre. Because it pulls liberally from other musical genres, there is not a consensus on what is and what is not breakcore, or even over the usefulness of the term itself. Because of the fragmentation, the breakcore scene is not centered in any one geographical location, but is rather scattered into disparate groups. Perhaps the one place where breakcore's "voice" can be heard is virtually, through the internet and various online forums, such as those at C8 and Widerstand (Eiterherd's website, now defunct).

According to Simon Reynolds, of The New York Times, breakcore is "purveyed by artists like DJ/Rupture and Teamshadetek, the music combines rumbling bass lines, fidgety beats and grainy ragga vocals to create a home-listening surrogate for the bashment vibe of a Jamaican sound system party. Others within the breakcore genre, like Knifehandchop, Kid 606 and Soundmurderer, hark back to rave's own early days, their music evoking the rowdy fervor of a time when huge crowds flailed their limbs to a barrage of abstract noise and convulsive rhythm. It's a poignant aural mirage of a time when techno music was made for the popular vanguard rather than a connoisseurial elite, as it is today."^[3]

In Europe, the breakcore genre was solidified by raves and club events such as Belgium's Breakcore Gives Me Wood,^[1] featuring local acts such as UndaCova, Sickboy and Droon; Breakcore A Go Go, in the Netherlands, which was run by FFF and Bong-Ra; as well as Anticartel, in Rennes, the seat of PeaceOff, and later, Wasted,^[1] in Berlin and Bangface in London.

Distribution[link]

Since the genre as a whole still is developing and growing rapidly, the music itself is largely downloaded via peer-to-peer networks, and discussed on internet forums. Whereas the early days of breakcore were based in select urban cities, the genre now has no geographical center. The music itself tends to reflect this multiplicity of media diffusion itself by incorporating many different forms of music hacked together. It remains a relatively small genre, but compared to its size prior to the 1990s web boom, it continues to grow substantially.

Breakcore today[link]

Breakcore has been subject to changing and branching. Many newer breakcore artists (such as Mochipet etc.) focus on melodic progressions and complex drum programming while other artists still focus on distorted hardcore breakbeats and dark-edged musical influences (such as heavy metal, and industrial). The artist Venetian Snares has produced breakcore blended with elements of classical music.^[4][5] Other artists such as Shitmat, Sickboy, DJ Scotch Egg, and Drop the Lime^[6] take another direction towards mash-up, happy hardcore, and rave to make a lighter, more humorous sound. The rise of chiptune music has also blended with breakcore with artists such as Tarmvred. Some musicians such as Edgey, and from the Darkstep power noise scene have begun to take influence from breakcore. The UK Free Party scene has also expressed a large interest in producing and distributing its own takes on breakcore, with crews and labels such as Life4land, Hekate, Sindica7o and Bad Sekta helping to push the scene and sound forward, as well as bringing over a number of international artists to play at their parties and club nights. Breakcore is steadily gaining in popularity, and aspiring artists are found scattered across the Internet.^[7]

See also[link]

• List of breakcore record labels

References[link]

Venetian Snares
Background information
Birth name	Aaron Funk
Born	(1975-01-11) January 11, 1975 (age 37)
Origin	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Genres	Breakcore Glitchcore IDM Orchestral music Noise Drum & Bass
Instruments	Guitar, drums, percussion, kazoo, bass guitar, harpsichord, piano, violin, viola, cello, drum machine, synthesizer, sampler, softsynth
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Hymen Records Planet Mu Sublight Records
Associated acts	Last Step, Speed Dealer Moms, Stunt Rock, Bong-Ra, Speedranch, Cex, Doormouse, Fanny, John Frusciante
Website	venetiansnares.com

Venetian Snares is the main performing alias of Canadian electronic musician Aaron Funk (born January 11, 1975).

From Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Funk is known for making electronic music often in odd numbered time signatures (mostly 7/4). Up until 2007, he was very prolific, releasing as many as eight recordings a year for such record labels as History of the Future, Isolate/DySLeXiC ResPonSe, Addict, Zod, Distort, Sublight, Low-Res, Planet Mu and Hymen.

Funk debuted on a record label in 1999 with the 12" vinyl EP, Greg Hates Car Culture. Prior to this, he self-released material on cassette tape as early as 1992.^[1]

Biography[link]

Funk's first release was the EP Greg Hates Car Culture released on History of the Future, followed by Salt on Zhark International and Fuck Canada/Fuck America with Stunt Rock for CLFST. When Mike Paradinas heard Greg Hates Car Culture he immediately signed Funk for Planet Mu. The first Venetian Snares LP on Planet Mu, Making Orange Things (a co-production with Speedranch), was released in early 2001, followed in short order by five more releases, all before the end of 2002. Funk continued producing for a variety of labels, including Hymen Records, Peace Off Records, Addict Records, and Sublight Records. He has also produced albums under the names Last Step and Vsnares, produced singles under the names Last Step, Snares Man! and Snares, appeared on compilations under the names Ventriloquist Snakes, Last Step, Puff, and Senetian Vnares, and did a split with Fanny under the name BeeSnares.^[2]

His style has been critically acclaimed, notably by the late British radio disc jockey John Peel.^[3] Venetian Snares is said to have reinvented breakcore^[4] and set the stage for many other artists such as UndaCova, Xanopticon, Enduser and Datach'i.

Venetian Snares composes much of his music with trackers. Before he began to release his music commercially, he worked primarily with OctaMED on an Amiga 500.^[1] At some point prior to 2000 he began using a PC and the Windows port of OctaMED, MED Soundstudio.^[5] During 2003 and 2005 he also used Cubase in addition to MED. Venetian Snares currently uses Renoise and has uploaded a video of his track "Vache" (from Cavalcade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms) playing in Renoise on YouTube.^[6]

In a February 2003 interview, Funk was asked a question regarding the diverse mix of genres he draws upon in his music, a property which the interviewer labelled "eclecticism". Funk replied: "I prefer to call it Surrealism."^[7]

In other interviews he discusses how his early experiments in sound influenced his aethetics and use of samples: "When I was a kid I'd use a bunch of ghetto blasters playing all at once to play different sounds I'd recorded with some other shitty ghetto blasters. A turning point was when I somehow came across this looping delay pedal that held a 2 second sample. This pedal coupled with the ghetto blaster experiments really changed my life."^[8] In another interview regarding his early musical upbringing he claimed "I did start with traditional instruments, piano when I was very young. Grew up at my grandparent’s home and they had an upright piano I plunked away on since before I can remember. Of course a sampler is a musical instrument as well as a production tool. It allows you control over any sound. You can make music out of a toilet and a Zamfir record with a sampler!" ^[9]

Discography[link]

As Venetian Snares[link]

Albums[link]

• Eat Shit And Die (1998, split with DJ Fishead, self-release)
• Spells (1998, self-release)
• Subvert! (1998, self-release)
• Fuck Canada // Fuck America (1999, CLFST, split with Stunt Rock)
• printf("shiver in eternal darkness/n"); (2000, Isolate Records)
• Making Orange Things (2001, Planet Mu, collaboration with Speedranch)
• Songs About My Cats (2001, Planet Mu)
• Doll Doll Doll (2001, Hymen Records)
• Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972–2006 (2002, Planet Mu)
• Winter in the Belly of a Snake (2002, Planet Mu)
• Find Candace (2003, Hymen Records)
• The Chocolate Wheelchair Album (2003, Planet Mu)
• Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding (2004, Planet Mu)
• Winnipeg Is a Frozen Shithole (2005, Sublight Records)
• Rossz csillag alatt született (2005, Planet Mu)
• Meathole (2005, Planet Mu)
• Cavalcade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms (2006, Planet Mu)
• Hospitality (2006, Planet Mu)
• My Downfall (Original Soundtrack) (2007, Planet Mu)
• Detrimentalist (2008, Planet Mu) ^[10]
• Filth (2009, Planet Mu)
• My So-Called Life (2010, Timesig) ^[11]

12″s, 7″s, EPs, and mini-releases[link]

• Fake:Impossible (1997, self-release)
• Greg Hates Car Culture (1999, History of the Future)
• Salt (2000, Zhark International)
• 7 Sevens.med EP (2000, Low Res)
• White Label (2001, Hangars Liquides)
• Defluxion / Boarded Up Swan Entrance (2001, Planet Mu)
• Shitfuckers!!! (2001, Dyslexic Response)
• The Connected Series #2 (collaboration with Cex) (2001, Klangkrieg)
• A Giant Alien Force More Violent & Sick Than Anything You Can Imagine (2002, Hymen Records)
• Badminton (2003, Addict Records)
• Einstein-Rosen Bridge (2003, Planet Mu)
• Nymphomatriarch (2003, Hymen Records, collaboration with Hecate)
• Podsjfkj Pojid Poa (2003, Double H Noise Industries, split with Phantomsmasher)
• Skelechairs (2004, Addict Records, collaboration with Doormouse)
• Moonglow / This Bitter Earth (2004, Addict Records)
• Horse and Goat (2004, Sublight Records)
• Infolepsy EP (2004, Coredump Records)
• Pink + Green (2007, Sublight Records)
• Miss Balaton (2008, Planet Mu)
• Horsey Noises (2009, Planet Mu)
• Cubist Reggae (2011, Planet Mu)
• Affectionate (2012, self-release)
• Fool the Detector (2012, Timesig)

As Snares Man![link]

• Clearance Bin/Breakbeat Malaria (2001, History of the Future)

As Vsnares[link]

• 2370894 (2002, Planet Mu)

As BeeSnares[link]

• Leopards Of Mass Destruction (2003, Death$ucker Records, split with Fanny)

As Last Step[link]

Albums[link]

• Last Step (2007, Planet Mu)
• 1961 (2008, Planet Mu)
• Sleep (2012, Planet Mu)

12″s, 7″s, EPs, and mini-releases[link]

• You're A Nice Girl (2005, Planet Mu)
• Bhavani (2006, Project 168)

As Snares[link]

• Sabbath Dubs (2007, Kriss Records)

As Speed Dealer Moms[link]

• Speed Dealer Moms EP (2010, Timesig, collaboration with John Frusciante and Chris McDonald)^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Venetian Snares / Aaron Funk at Discogs
• Venetian Snares at Last.fm
• Last Step's page on Discogs

Otto von Schirach is an IDM and breakcore artist from Miami, Florida. He is of Cuban/German descent.

He has released most of his work on the Schematic and Beta Bodega labels, and was featured in the 2002 documentary Electro-Dziska. Otto's live performances include outfits, masks and props, and he has toured with the band Skinny Puppy. He is also credited on the Skinny Puppy albums The Greater Wrong Of The Right and Mythmaker. In 2011 he has toured U.S.A. with Atari Teenage Riot

He also does a large amount of work in the areas of music production and remixing and has collaborated with several artists such as Modeselektor on their records Happy Birthday! and Monkeytown.

Recently von Schirach has become increasingly involved with the Miami Bass Warriors, a Miami Bass focused project with Jose el Rey, El Tigre and Debbie D from Avenue D. Their debut video, "Going Back to Calle 8," was featured on Pitbull's show La Esquina.

Discography[link]

Albums

• 8000 B.C. - 2001
• Escalo Frio - 2001
• Global Speaker Fisting - 2004
• Maxipad Detention - 2006
• Spine Serpents of Sperm Island - 2007
• Oozing Bass Spasms - 2008
• Magic Triangle - 2009

EPs/Singles

• Tektonikal Turbulence - 1998
• El Golpe Avisa - 2001
• Boombonic Plague - 2002
• Pelican Moondance - 2002
• Ear Juice Synthesis - 2002
• Pick Your Perversion - 2006
• Pukology - 2006 Double EP
• Bass Galactica 8 - 2009 - Basshead Records
• Miami Bass Warriors - 3 way single, Que PAsa Mia/Palm Tree SNuff2009
• Evil Twin Ft. Modeselektor - 2012

Compilations

• Chopped Zombie Fungus - 2002 Collection of the Boombonic Plague, Pelican Moondance and Ear Juice Synthesis EPs
• Armpit Buffet - 2005 Remix Collection
• Also did a cover of Scooter's 'Hyper Hyper' on the Modeselektor album 'Happy Birthday!'

Remixes

• Miss Kittin - "Professional Distortion (Otto von Schirach's God's Magnetic Cereal Pamper Mix)"
• Duke Nukem - Im here to kick ass and chew bubble gum , And Im all out of bubble gum.

External links[link]

• Otto Von Schirach.com
• Otto Von Schirach(myspace)
• Miami Bass Warriors (myspace)
• Schematic Records
• The Beta Bodega Coalition
• Electro Dziska
• Interview with Otto von Schirach on Jekyll and Hyde. By Oren Siegel and Oded Fluss, Israel
• Album "Oozing Bass Spasms" released July 11, 2008
• Link video report Otto von Schirach on OC-TV.net, 2008
• "Going Back to Calle 8" video on YouTube December 22, 2008
• Otto von Schirach @ Imputor? Records
• Otto von Schirach @ Last.fm
• Live at CTM.03, CTM.06 and Wasted 3

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