[Fiend]

Greatest Gabber free compilation CD
A specific compilation of 15 tracks from the "golden era" of gabber, approx 1995-2000. I've tried to go for a good spectrum progressing from almost hard house at the start to speedcore at the end, but with an slight emphasis on more uplifting, well crafted tracks, rather than just a load of swearing and cheesy samples over a kick drum (although there is a bit of that of course ). If you want a CD, simply email/PM me your address and I will send one - and yes it will be kept anonymous .

This is something I've been wanting to do for a decade. I know full well that gabber is one of the most reviled music genres, and that once again I am setting myself up as a target with this - but as well as genuinely enjoying this music (enough that listening to snippets of these tracks over and over to get the selection and order right was no hardship!), I genuinely believe that some of it has as much musical merit as any other dance/electronic music, and I wanted to try to show that with this compilation. This is a personal choice, mostly from CDs I owned, and is only partially representative of what would be played in a hardcore club at the time. For a wider selection, getting hold of the Helter Skelter Technodrome Annual would be essential: http://www.discogs.com/DJ-Producer-The-Clarkee-Helter-Skelter-The-Annual-1995-1996-The-Technodrome/release/67426

1. Technohead - The Passion
A nice, haunting, chilled out and well produced track from Technohead who wrote a hardcore column for DJ, mixed compilations for React records and had a minor hit with "Who Wants To Be A Hippy" before Lee Newman sadly passed away.

2. Strychnine - Utopia Project
An unusually uplifting track on Industrial Strength Records, with typically ravey gabber mutating into a lovely finish. I wanted this as an intro track but it's really an outro...

3. Nordcore GMBH - Holle
Taking things a bit darker with a typically atmospheric track from this German collective - epic cyberpunk soundtrack gabber!

4. R.Wagner - Listen Carefully
A mega-anthem that was absolutely brilliant in a rave and just as good to listen to. Sheer hardcore euphoria.

5. Chosen Few - Name Of The DJ
Another classic anthem, straight up happy ravey gabber.

6. The Original Gabber - Headbanger
The starting track of the legendary Terrrordrome compilation series. Unsubtle but fun and varied headbanging track

7. The Original Gabber - ADDA
Another banging but varied track, with cool melodies and some great acid touches, sadly underused in gabber.

8. Fazer 5 - Innocent Trip
A relentlessly ravey track that captures the atmosphere of being in a gabber rave - bounce bounce bounce.

9. Nordcore GMBH - Robocop
The best gabber track ever made?? I could have filled the CD with 15 copies of this, it's that good. Dark, atmospheric, europhic, and exceptionally well-crafted - the way this track builds up is as good as ANY dance music gets.

10. Liza n Eliaz - White Line
Hard and harsh but an unusually funky bassline, if you don't pogo around to this then check your pulse. The second track in this compilation from a sadly deceased top female producer.

11. The Shaftmen - Shaftman
Silly, vulgar, noisy and great fun. If the sampled intro doesn't earworm you senseless, you get your money back.

12 - Gabba Front Berlin - Halo
Actually a more recent track but one that shows the best in uplifting gabber - pretty much 220+bpm trance, packed full of melodies and madness.

13 - Disciples Of Annihilation - New York City Speedcore
Another mega-anthem, this time on a much harder tip - a simple stomper with a classic riff sample.

14 - DJ VibeRaider - Make The Floor Burn
"Doesn't that mean it goes terrifically fast??" A moshpit monster.

15. The Bezerker - The Final Sacrifice
The ultimate....nothing more to be said!!

N.B. CD postage may be delayed due to going climbing.

[ianv]

Mad rush for this one!  

Gabber in Music, Art and Culture is a bit of an oxymoron, n'est pas??

[Fiend]

Well yes, hence the entirely tongue-in-cheek [OT] prefix.

Although conversely it's all a matter of perspective and people with gentle tastes such as my parents would probably be appalled by the hip-hop, techno, drum and bass and thrash metal many other UKBers enjoy and post on here on a regular basis.


Anyway, must dash, got a CD to post (and compression stockings to collect, bleh).

[Pantontino]

I'm intrigued. Back in the mid 90s when I worked for DR climbing walls we used gabber as a soundtrack to panel production. If we had a big job on and time was short we'd play that in the panel room and production rates surged upwards!

I'm guessing I'd probably have a heart attack if I tried to dance to this sort of stuff now.

[grimer]

Ha, funny, a guy called Dorain used to play it full volume when I built walls for Livingstone in the 1990s. Went well with the smell of acetone.

"Cockuscker cocksucker cocksucker... Fucked my sister... "

"Did you fuck her Shaftman?"

Poetry.

[Fiend]

The Cocksucker track is by DOA / Disciples Of Annihilation on Industrial Strength.

The Shaftman track is the same one on the CD selection.

The pinnacle of angry swear nonsense gabber is perhaps Nasenbluten's "Cunt Face", also on Industrial Strength.

HTH

[Pantontino]

Many thanks for the cd Fiend, you are a star!

I listened to it last night and almost had an out of body experience.

Really, really enjoyed it, especially The Original Gabber - Headbanger, Liza n Eliaz - White Line and the last three tracks. I was really rocking by then! In fact by the time Bezerker came on I was fully in the zone, so to speak.

Just need to practice my shuffle dance (tricky business). 

[ianv]

I'm intrigued. Back in the mid 90s when I worked for DR climbing walls we used gabber as a soundtrack to panel production. If we had a big job on and time was short we'd play that in the panel room and production rates surged upwards!

Maybe that was the speed, rather than the music 

[Fiend]

Cool, glad you liked it.

Interesting to hear you rating some of the tracks I didn't think people would like so much i.e. the harder heavier ones rather than the uplifting trancey ones. That reassures me I've got a good balance.

[Pantontino]

Cool, glad you liked it.

Interesting to hear you rating some of the tracks I didn't think people would like so much i.e. the harder heavier ones rather than the uplifting trancey ones. That reassures me I've got a good balance.

To be honest I liked all the tracks - even my wife, who walked past when the first one came on, said: "ooh, this sounds good".

I guess I like the grungier sound as it is a bit closer to the punk hardcore and metal bands that I like. That White line vocal is brilliant too - so simple, but so powerful.

[Pantontino]

How good is your shuffle dance?

[Fiend]

Not bad I think 

[Grubes]

cheers for the CD fiend got me to Craig y Longridge pretty fast saturday also resulted in my house mate begin me to play Anthrax on the way home