Digital hardcore is a genre that blends the attitudes and heaviness of hardcore music with the speed and synthetic chaos of electronic music. Digital hardcore doesn’t just refer to one kind of electronic music with one kind of hardcore. Instead, it refers to the way that the many subgenres that influenced each wider genre converged upon each other. The genre takes influences from hardcore punk, the riot grrrl movement, techno, industrial, and even things like heavy metal and screamo. It is a wide genre with many more specific terms that can fall underneath the umbrella of the term “digital hardcore”.
For many people, digital hardcore seemed like a logical artistic conclusion of both the punk ethos and the gungy EDM club vibes that were growing at the time. So without further ado, allow me to walk you through a playlist I made for people unfamiliar with this genre who want to take a bite out of something new. Below is a link to the playlist followed by an explanation of each artist, who they are, and why I added them.
Listen along by clicking this link.
Alec Empire – Known for not sticking with the status quo and for musical experimentation, it was fitting that this artist coined this fusion of sounds. Alec Empire is credited with coining the term digital hardcore through the creation of the Berlin record label “Digital Hardcore Records”.
Atari Teenage Riot – A band that Alec Empire was in prior to forming Digital Hardcore Recordings with his band members, this band was foundational to the genre. Atari Teenage Riot was highly political and anarchist and anti-fascist in its messaging. Both the messaging behind their songs and the hard vocals they used tied them to the punk genre even with their techno backing music. Their song “Start the Riot” blends punk vocals with samples of voice clips from anime and chunky aggressive drums and bass. Its message is explicitly anti-war, anti-police, and even anti-mass media.
Bomb 20 – Speaking of Resentment for mass media, we have a really interesting artist who held a record deal with Digital Hardcore Recordings. Bomb 20 got his start when he was just a teenager. He sent Digital Hardcore Recordings accusing them of joining the status quo they used to rebel against and that the music they represented had become too mainstream. With his letter he included his own sample tape and was offered a deal by Digital Hardcore Recordings.
Ec8or – “We Are Pissed” pulls no punches with the frank, in your face lyrics and brutally fast BPM. The song is short, like a lot of classic punk, and full of a level of noise that would fit right in at a techno industrial show. This band perfectly encapsulates the way that this genre represents its parent musical influences.
Lolita Storm – This band came a wave after the ones listed so far, their debut album did not release until 2000. Despite being a girl group from the 2000s, Lolita Storm sound like something straight out of the Riot Grrrl era, if that was to be put in some sort of heavy duty blender with breakbeat and drum n’ bass.
Hanin Elias – Another member of Atari Teenage Riot, Hanin Elias is an icon in her own right. She founded Fatal Records as a way to promote artists and identities she found interesting. She was sick of male dominated electronica and corporate rock, so fatal records became a way to showcase female artists. It was Hanin Elias who would sign Lolita Storm only a year before debuting her own solo album.
Modern day electronic music has evolved in ways that I doubt anyone could predict when clunky boxed-in PCs were the only way to make electronic music. There is still a lot going on in the realm of Digital Hardcore, so if you’re interested in some current acts that are releasing records like these, you should check out Machine Girl, Five Star Hotel and KFC Murder Chicks, to name what is barely even the teeniest highest tip of the ice burg. There are constantly budding artists having their breakout debuts, and keeping your eye on a genre can be a great way to discover new music as it is released.