The latest record in my collection is a Record Store Day 2023 exclusive, released on the 22nd of April. Scuba’s Hardcore Heaven is a 12 inch wax disc which is six tracks of a fresh take on euphoric 90’s style hardcore with production features such as hard-edged beats, euphoric breakdowns and helium vocals.
I haven’t bought many records in a while due to attempting to save money during the cost of living crisis, however when I saw a few video snippets of the EP being played on Old Skool Hardcore’s Instagram page, I immediately fell in love with track 5, Yesterday. With this being a RSD exclusive release, at the time I bought this there wasn’t a digital copy to buy online (however there are now streams on Spotify and Soundclound if you do want to check it out yourself without paying for a physical copy), so I headed to google to see where I could purchase such an audible beauty.
I bought it from Horizons Music, who have a massive catalogue of records on their online site. I have never bought a record from them before until now but I will definitely be buying from them again. They sell records of all genres – not just dance so be sure to have a nosey at what you could also pick up from there too https://www.horizonsmusic.co.uk/ !
I love both versions of hardcore (punk sub genre and the dance genre) and this is the first dance hardcore vinyl in my collection. Not only does it sound brilliant, but it is also a really pretty number to add to my collection with the green splatter across the neon yellow.
I really meant it when I said in September’s edition of On Repeat that my track selection would get darker the more into autumn and winter we get; because in October’s edition there are only three dance tracks! When it reaches mid-October, I tend to listen to a lot more grunge and rock than any other genre, it just feels like it fits the changing of the seasons. I’ll start with the three dance tracks and then discuss my other selections of grunge, metal and hardcore:
Tjade – Voyager (Marlon Hoffstadt AKA DJ Daddy Trance Remix) – The first dance selection for October is this trance number, Voyager, remixed by DJ Daddy Trance (otherwise known as Marlon Hoffstadt when he isn’t djing or producing under his trance alias, or previously known as Dansson when he formerly made house music belters such as Shake That from 2013). Originally by Netherlands based producer Tjade, the track was released in July this year on the four-track Voyager EP, including this remix, which boasts extended breaks and a high bpm alongside sparkling chords and acid trance interludes that unironically remind me somewhat of Darude’s Sandstorm. This is a great track of the new wave of trance-techno that has blown up this year.
Schak – Moving All Around (Jumpin’) (Feat. Kim English) – Next up and the second dance release for October is from North Shields newcomer Schak with his debut single Moving all Around (Jumpin’), released on fellow geordie Patrick Topping’s label, Trick. The track has been doing its rounds on social media both before and after release, in a video where Schak and friends invaded their local B&Q to host a kitchen sesh complete with decks and PA system, and other videos where they have been spotted on public transport including buses and the Newcastle Metro. The track is a complete party anthem, there hasn’t been a tech house track with this much wallop in a long time in my opinion, and the icing on the cake here is that it features vocal samples from the late, amazing, queen of house; Kim English.
Selker – Too Much For Me – The third and final dance track for October is up and coming scouse producer Selker’s Too Much For Me. This is another debut single, which first landed on Soundcloud last year and since its 1.6 million listens, has now been signed to huge label Warner Records and was officially released this July. Too Much For Me is a more modern, tempo-pushed take on the 2010 house mix of the 1995 Charlene Smith hit of the same name. What I can only imagine is relatively simple to do production wise, the tweaks and studio wizardry on Too Much For Me have certainly excelled it onto a path to become a timeless house classic for years to come. It has that really nice nostalgic house feel to it, like classic old school house. This is definitely the track I have had on repeat the most out of all of this month’s selections. It is an absolutely gorgeous track, I love it.
Melvins – Honey Bucket – Now its time for the rock picks. This is a song I found on one my spotify daily mixes and I’ve been obsessed with it. Melvins are a sludge metal grunge band, formed in Washington in 1983. Honey Bucket is from their 1993 album, Houdini and features a face screwing riff approximately one minute in. What drew me in initially were the vocals from Buzz Osborne that sound a lot like Metallica’s James Hetfield in the Garage Inc. era, right after the guitar work that is very Black Sabbath-esque. They never quite broke through the way they definitely should have done, but Honey Bucket and the rest of the Houdini proves that Melvins are one of the best kept secrets in metal.
Counterparts – Bound To The Burn – Canadian metalcore band Counterparts released their seventh album A Eulogy For Those Still Here on the 7th of October and I think it is definitely a contender for album of the year. My favourite song on there is Bound To The Burn, the third single released prior to the album, following the previous two singles, Unwavering Vow and Whispers Of Your Death. Bound To The Burn is a song about the pressures of making music for a living and the mental turbulence that comes with it, and features a bone-splintering breakdown and unrelenting drums.
Minerva – Deftones – Deftones are one of my favourite bands of all time and their music sounds like it was made perfectly for Autumn, or as I like to call it, Deftones season. I tend to listen to them more this time of year when the days are darker and shorter. One song I have had on repeat is Minerva from their self-titled album released in 2003. It has a heavy shoegaze influence throughout but is one Deftones’ more softer songs, a break from their usual heavy sound.
Alice in Chains – Rain When I Die – Another band I’m a sucker for this time of year are the great Alice in Chains. Rain When I Die is from their classic 1992 album Dirt which is one of the greatest albums of all time (fact, not opinion), and I also think this song in particular is one of the most underrated on the album. Frontman Layne Staley’s voice is at one of his best performances here, along with the guitar lick that just soothes the soul and utters out all emotion.
Joy Division – Interzone – I’ve recently finished reading Joy Division bassist Peter Hook’s book, Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, and really enjoyed it. It is a really insightful book on the band and is full of interesting and funny anecdotes about them and what they got up to, as well as of course the delve into the album Unknown Pleasures and the stories and meaning behind the lyrics. I often listened to the album whilst reading the book (as recommended by Peter) and Interzone was the one song on the album that caught my attention on this particular day. This is one of few songs with Peter on vocals (as well as Ian Curtia) and is one of the less miserable sounding songs on Unknown Pleasures, it’s a song with a skip in its step.
Helmet – Like I Care – Helmet are a band I have recently discovered in the past few months and I’m really stoked to be writing about them and my new found love for them. I can’t remember ever hearing of them before which I’m surprised about because their music and sound is exactly the kind of post-hardcore rock music I love. Like I Care is from their 1997 Aftertaste album which got very poor reviews as far as I can see from my research. I haven’t listened to the album as a whole but if it is as bad as the critics say, I would be very surprised because I think this song rocks. It has a weighted bassline throughout alongside crashing drums and lyrics that sound very Deftones inspired by how suggestive and almost flirtatious they are. It’s your typical, late 90’s alternative rock. This song made me listen to their other works such as their 1994 album Betty, which is sick; I guess I should probably check out the rest of Aftertaste now too.
High Vis – Walking Wires – Finally, to wrap up October’s edition of On Repeat, I have selected a song from another band I have listened to a lot this past month or so. London-based post punk High Vis were at Outbreak this year and unfortunately I didn’t get to see them and hadn’t listened to them before, so I checked them out a couple of months ago and was absolutely kicking myself for not doing so earlier. They’re a really good band and I really like their song Walking Wires from their 2019 debut album No Sense No Feeling. Walking Wires was the first single before the album was released and has an absolutely stunning intro riff, met by pattering drums creating an 80’s style post punk sound.
That’s it for October, thank you for reading and be sure to check out all ten tracks, which have been added to The Ruthless Raver Spotify playlist below:
September came around pretty quickly this year, which meant summer has well and truly ended; but I still managed to stretch the fun out for longer. I started a new job working from home (which gives me so much more time to focus on the blog and my writing), and gave myself a well deserved week off before I started, which included going to Alton Towers and lots of retail therapy, and then I went on holiday to Spain to finish the month off! Now summer is done, and autumn has arrived, its finally time for spooky season, which means On Repeat is about to get a whole lot darker! Here are my top ten favourite tracks I listened to the most in September:
AISHA, Franck – Bump It XO – The first track for September is a collaborative number from Scottish producers AISHA and Franck released in August on his label, Carouse Records. Bump It XO is from their EP, Helfy Rapid and is an ode to 00’s Scottish culture they experienced growing up and the current burgeoning European hard dance scene. Expect massive BPM, and massive energy. Make sure you check out the three-track EP as a whole if you love hard dance, this is a great release!
Jimmy Whoo – Nite Eye (Featuring Sabrina Bellaouel and Loubenski) – Slowing things down now, this next song comes from Parisian producer Jimmy Whoo featuring fellow French artists Sabrina Bellaouel on vocals and Loubenski on the production. Nite Eye is from his 2017 album, Motel Music Pt. II, which is part of his series of albums, all titled Motel Music (either part one, two, or three); and the third and most recent volume of which was released in June this year. Nite Eye is the only song of his I have listened to, but from this song alone you can immediately feel the sunset strip, motel vibes. French-Algerian singer Sabrina Bellaouel’s voice adds a delicate touch of R&B to the track, and alongside the electronic production makes a stunning late night song overall.
Skin On Skin – Burn Dem Bridges – Upping the pace again here, next we have the latest single from South Sudan born, Australian-based producer Skin On Skin, Burn Dem Bridges. The track went viral online before its release, as he played this in his incredible AVA Boiler Room set and rightly so, became one of the most highly awaited releases of this year. I won’t say too much as I wrote a new release article about this track for Oculate, which you can read here: https://oculate.uk/archive/music/burndembridges-sos
IDLES – Samaritans – IDLES are one of the most popular bands to come out of the UK in the past three or four years, and I have really got into them a lot lately. Samaritans is from their 2018 album, Joy As An Act Of Resistance and was one of the several singles released prior to the release of the album. The snarling punk song is a searing takedown of toxic masculinity, confronting the subject and exploring the mental pressures it causes. It is a song to make a statement, and makes IDLES one of the most important bands in UK punk.
bdrmm – Happy – From punk, and now to shoegaze from Hull five piece, bdrmm. Happy is from their 2020 album, Bedroom, which I assume is how you pronounce the name of the band, too. This is the only song I really know by the band, having not yet listened to the full album yet but if Happy is anything to go by then I am sure I will not be disappointed. What stands out to me the most is the beautiful guitar work on the song and nothing like what you may expect from typical melancholic shoegaze, Happy, as its title may suggest, is a bright and upbeat track, speaking of the release that comes from a breakup; a more positive account of a heartbreak which focuses on moving on with life.
The Rolling Stones – Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ – The oldest release this month is The Stones’ Can’t You Hear Me Knockin, released on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It took me about 22 years to appreciate The Rolling Stones as I always though they were really overrated, but the more they have come up on my Spotify over the past two years, I am starting to think that maybe my music taste is just maturing like fine wine. This is my favourite song by them, opening with a Keith Richards guitar intro, this is pure rock and roll.
Antss – Stopp – I may be lowering the tone here quite a lot, as the next track selection for September is one of tech house from Antss, his single Stopp released in 2021 on Solid Grooves (yikes). It is not very often I find a tech house track that really wows me these days, but boy did I put any slander behind me after listening to Stopp for the first time. It embodies a no nonsense floor-filler , be that a dancefloor, kitchen floor or even the fields of summer festivals with its rubbery bass patterns, metallic drum shots and hooky vocal interjections.
Big Bite – Relentless Healing – Back to a more, shoegaze, grunge release now from Seattle band Big Bite, with their song Relentless Healing from their 2018 self titled album. Consisting of eight songs and only 22 minutes long, the album was released on Turnstile / Trapped Under Ice label Pop Wig. Relentless Healing features a monotone vocal and warbling guitar riffs, giving that post-punk feel. This is probably my favourite of September’s selection, just because of the grunge, post-punk sound I absolutely love.
Praise – Makes No Sense – Whilst were on the lines of rock releases, here is my final of the genre for September. Makes No Sense is a melodic hardcore song from Baltimore rockers Praise, who are another mash up band with members coming from other similar bands, including Champion’s Andy Norton on vocals, Turnstile’s Daniel Fang on drums, and members of Have Heart, Mindset and Sacred love.
Burnski – Go – The final selection for September and the final dance release is the British wizard of production Burnski’s track Go from his Trigger EP, released on the 2nd of September on Constant Sound. Go perfectly encapsulates UKG, with rough bass and a killer 4×4 groove, this is set to cause serious damage on a dancefloor.
Thank you for reading all about September’s favourites, all ten tracks have been added to the Ruthless Raver On Repeat Spotify Playlist below:
June was a sick month for me, I went to Download festival for the first time (for the Saturday, on my own), saw Chaos in the CBD and Interplanetary Criminal, Red Hot Chili Peppers and went to Outbreak Festival in Manchester. I have already touched on Download in May’s edition of On Repeat, and always pick dance music tracks so I’m gonna do something different for June. This is an Outbreak Festival special edition, where I am going to pick ten songs from my favourite bands I saw that weekend:
Counterparts – Nothing Left To Love – First up for the Outbreak special edition of On Repeat is Counterparts’ Nothing Left To Love from their 2019 album of the same name. It’s the closing song on the album and is beautiful one to finish with. The Canadian hardcore band warmed up for the festival on the Thursday night at the pre show on the second stage, alongside Guilt Trip, Static Dress and a couple of others. They didn’t play this song during their set, and they didn’t even play The Disconnect (???), but they still killed it all the same.
Incendiary – Front Toward Enemy – This was my first time seeing Incendiary, who I have been listening to since early 2020. Front Toward Enemy is from their 2017 album, Thousand Mile Stare, which is fucking sick from start to finish, definitely my favourite album from them. They played the main stage on the Friday afternoon which was the first official day of Outbreak and they were absolutely brilliant, I would love to see them again for sure.
Your Demise – The Kids We Used To Be – Also on the Friday on the main stage was UK hardcore band Your Demise. I used to love them when I was in school and had never seen them before this day, so a nostalgic void was filled, and I was lucky to catch this set as apparently it was their final performance together as a band. TKWUTB is from their 2010 album of the same name, and their third studio album. It’s definitely one of their more fun, poppy tracks and it never gets old.
Knocked Loose – All My Friends – A band I have listened to and loved for a long time now are Knocked Loose, and I finally got to see them for the first time at Outbreak, as they headlined the main stage on the Friday night. Their set was absolutely insane, I was both blown away and terrified all at the same time. Bryan Garris is an incredible frontman, the energy during their set was something else. People were getting escorted out by first aiders and even wheelchaired out, after they had to stop their set due to it getting so wild in the pits, I hope everyone was okay and didn’t rock out too hard. All My Friends is from their 2014 debut Pop Culture EP, and was then re-released on the 2019 Mistakes Like Fractures single. They played All My Friends in their Outbreak set , where they were also joined by Malevolence’s Alex Taylor for this song. Malevolence were also the secret set on the Friday which was awesome.
Superheaven – Around The Railing – Superheaven played on the Sunday which was what I had waited all weekend for as I had want to see them for years, their 2013 Jar album is one of my favourites of all time – I have mentioned it before as I’ve featured Knew from the album in my On Repeat series before. It was so good to finally hear some of their songs from Jar played live as well as other songs from their second album Ours Is Chrome, which came out in 2015.
Basement– Bad Apple – One of the sets I was looking forward to the most and one of my favourites all weekend was Basement’s, where they did a ten year anniversary set dedicated to their albums, Colourmeinkindness and I Wish I Could Stay Here. Bad Apple was the second song on the setlist and it’t one of my favourite songs they have done, it’s a metaphor for a person who is enticing and delicious on the outside but bitter and problematic on the inside. I think this was my third time seeing Basement and they were brilliant as always.
Turnstile –Alien Love Call – Another one of my favourite sets that weekend was Turnstile’s, who are one of my favourite bands. I saw them for the first time in January this year in Nottingham on the T.L.C tour and they were amazing so it was great to see them again, but this time at a festival. This time around at Outbreak was the better time I saw the of the two, it was so much more fun in the big warehouse where the main stage was with so many other people there. Their set was crazy and fun-fuelled, and I came out wet through with sweat! Alien Love Call is from their latest album Glow On and is one of two songs on the album featuring British alternative R&B producer Blood Orange, AKA Dev Hynes. This is one of their slower, sadder songs but it is such a flex for a hardcore band to be collaborating with Blood Orange.
Fiddlehead – USMA – Another band I have been listening to since early 2020 is Pat Flynn’s band Fiddlehead, consisting of other Have Heart members and members of Basement also. They played Saturday afternoon on the main stage and I really enjoyed their set, I have become really fond of them over the past two years and they mean a lot to me. USMA is from their 2018 album Springtime and Blind and is one of the singles released prior to the album. This is a song about grief, in which Flynn reflects on the death of his father, so there’s something I can really relate to and resonate with in this one.
Loathe – Two-Way Mirror – Loathe are a band I hadn’t listened to much at all before Outbreak, but after seeing their set on the Sunday it definitely made me want to listen to them more, which I have been doing. Something about Scouse metal bands seems funny, especially the way frontman Kadeem France asks the crowd if they’ve been drinking enough water. Two-Way Mirror has incredibly strong Deftones vibes (no surprise why I picked this song for them!) I really love the ambient, dreaminess of this song and it is certainly far away from their heavier, screamier songs which are also just as sick.
Drug Church –Weed Pin – We managed to catch a bit of Drug Church on the Saturday as well and from what I saw of their set they were really good. Not a band I massively listen to, as I went for their more popular songs that I knew (Million Miles of Fun, But Does It Work?, for example). Weed Pin is from the band’s 2018 album, Cheer and is a satirical take on social and political matters of adulthood, finding work when you don’t know what to do with life.
Thank you so much for reading, the On Repeat playlist has been updated below, and I hope to see some of you at next year’s Outbreak Festival at Mayfield Depot!
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