One of the many things that has often been criticized about the hardcore and gabber scene of the 90s is the sexism, misogynism, queerphobia expressed in some of the tracks of that era, both in well and lesser known ones.
Lyrics like "Bitch, do you wanna be my mistress?" or "Happy is for homos!" can be seen as very problematic today. This resulted in some very heated debates, with some claiming this was just pure provocation or nonsense from a drug-fueled era, with minds being completely hazy all the time anyway, and that one shouldn't look for any deeper meaning in this, while others say these lyrics are meant to be taken at face value.
We will not get into this particular discussion here. Let's just say that if tracks with lyrics like this will not be produced anymore, we don't think there is a lot that the world would miss about them.
We will sidestep this debate, and take a look at - and try to uncover - something different, that is often blotted out by the aforementioned debate.
Which is that there were indeed tracks with a subtext or content related to human intimacy (aka sexuality) that don't come from a male-dominated, misogynist perspective.
And, if one looks closely, there were a lot of tracks and releases like that!
So here, we will feature some of them.
Just a word of warning here. These tracks can be interpreted in many ways, we don't know what the artist had in mind, their true intents, and so on.
Maybe some were serious, others tongue-in-cheek, or had no real meaning connected to them at all.
We don't want to suggest that the artists we mention had this or that intent, or whatever.
We are just giving examples of how these tracks can be interpreted, without saying our interpretation is the right one.
We don't want to imply the artists here are queer or activists or into BDSM or something else. Not least because, honestly, we don't know it.
You catch our drift?
But let us begin.
Female Empowerment
Let's not forget that in the very male and machismo dominated world of 90s gabber, there indeed were female artists, and they truly had something to say, too!
This duo had only very few tracks out, but they were superb nonetheless.
This is a quite noisy early breakcore affair here.
Hanin needs to be mentioned here, of course. If I remember correctly, she stated that the intent of the track (and video) was to criticize sexism, objectification and attempted subjugation of women in the music industry (and the techno underground).
The queens of acidcore chanting "... I just wanna get fucked all night". This can be interpreted in two ways, of course. Getting completely wasted and / or high in a hardcore rave party context. Or, well, as in having sex.
But it's a bold, provocative track and concept, in both ways.
Stella Michelson with a very clear instruction. I see this title as a clever subversion of all the "Suck my cock, bitch!" track variations by all-too-male gabber producers.
No Name - Kamasutra
It's not clear to me how the title relates to the track, apart from that the sound is very twisted and contorted, too. But it's a great piece of music.
Conclusion
A common theme in the above-mentioned tracks seems to be a very hardcore, provocative, defiant take on human intimacy (aka sex), at times mingled with a bit of BDSM.
Non-misogynous
Not all male tracks have to be misogynist, either.
Very early hardcore track on the "Influence Recordings" label.
I always liked the "I'd rather get fucked by a vibrator than your cock" sample, as it reverses the usual gabber machismo by degrading and insulting males, not females, instead.
Phoenix - Dominate
Well, yeah, that's one possible interpretation. but either way, it's a sex-themed sample that is not macho or against women again, and this is what we wanted to point out.
Gender and roles
One might think the 90s scene was very hetero-normative and binary, "gender solid" instead of fluid. It was not. And it seems it's not easy to find tracks that are beyond these concepts. But then, there were many of them.
Here are just two examples.
Deadly Buda - Themes For Androgenous Super Heroes
Chicks With Dicks - Musik Ohne Eier EP
While this is not really gabber, it's done by a very well known hardcore producer.
"Ohne eier" translates to "without balls" (aka testicles).
(Again, we don't want to imply the artists mentioned here are androgenous or transgender / transsexual in real life, etc.. Not that this would be a problem, though.)
Asexual
The Stunned Guys - Love Really Sucks
We don't think this is really the case here, but the lyrics of the tracks are witty and at least go in that direction.
"...please don't make me fuck you, honey!".
Lbgtqia+ spectrum
Slab - Anoint Me With The Black Sperm Of Beleth
Aleister would probably approve!
Various Artists - Join The Queercorps EP
Summary
So, these were just some examples of tracks which show that the history of hardcore techno is not made up just of angry bald-heads on too much amphetamines, coke and testosterone, and that take a refreshing view on human intimacy (sex).
This was our little trip beyond the "penis perspective".
Did you like our picks? Do you know more tracks? let us know!
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen