Germany's involvement with the dance music culture paralleled that in the UK. The German scene also revolved around the Chicago sound in 1987 and in 1988 acid house spread throughout the country. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, free underground techno parties were found all over East Berlin.
During this time, Belgium became known as a prominent factor in the development of the second wave of techno. R&S Records had released tracks by artists like Joey Beltram and CJ Bolland. Their sound was rough and metalic with discordant synth lines. Joey Beltram invented a sound that became known as "the hoover" that got it's first exposure on the track called Mentasm. This same sound would become used prominently in hardcore and early drum & bass.
In 1991 there became a growing rejection of the rave culture, mainly by producers and labels who wished to redress what they saw as being corruption and commercialization of the original techno sound that came from Detroit. However this did not stop the natural evolution of the music scene. It just so happened that while this was going on Frankie Bones was setting up the first rave parties in the United States.
Frankie began producing music in 1987 and one of his releases known as Bonesbreaks won him a large following across seas. When he flew to England to play at Energy he was astonished to see thousands of people waiting for him to play. Motivated by this experience, Bones began throwing some small parties along with Adam X and Heather Heart. In 1991, Bones had began writing a column for a Canadian dance magazine called Streetsound and talked frequently of people "coming together." Bones is said to have been the person responsible for coining the acronym PLUR which stands for Peace, Love, Unity & Respect.
By 1992 the small parties that Bones was hosting began to build his name. Soon the parties were drawing thousands of people. These parties soon became known as Storm Raves. They often took place in construction sites, derelict horse stables, and brickyards. The setting was tough and so was the music. Instead of playing the happy British-based "acid house" these parties catered towards the noisy and grinding sounds of German techno and the riff-based Belgian techno.
Crack, cocaine, PCP and other hard drugs began to filter into the New York rave scene. The parties also began to spill over into the city. Rave-baron, Lord Michael, saw the opportunity at hand and brought rave music into the nightclub scene with the help of Peter Gatien. DJ's Scotto & DB joined to form NASA which promoted the nighclub events at Limelight and Palladium. A conflict shortly grew between the underground Brooklyn Storm Raves and the NYC rave clubs.
By the end of 1992 dj's like Keoki and America's first "techno star" known as Moby came into the picture to move America onto a broader scale in the global culture.
This session was also mixed in 2003. Energy Flash & The Vamp were two of the first techno songs I had ever heard back in 1991. They were on an unmixed compilation CD that I had gotten from a local store and played a major influence on my music tastes as I listened to more and more techno growing up.
Outlander - The Vamp
Joey Beltram - Energy Flash
Joey Beltram - Jazz 303
Orbital - Chime
Tasti Box - Rush
Cybex Factor - Die Schopfung
Trilithon - Choice
Orbital - Omen
