speedcore
{{Short description|Form of hardcore electronic music genre}}
{{About|the electronic music genre|the faster form of hardcore punk|Thrashcore}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Expert needed|music theory|ex2=electronic music|talk=Academic sources needed|reason=Sources more rooted in academic music theory are needed to either backup, refute, or clarify the somewhat extraordinary claims this article makes about musical tempo|date=March 2023}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=March 2023}}
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{{Infobox music genre
| name = Speedcore
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Hardcore|breakcore|gabber}}
| cultural_origins = Mid-1990s
| derivatives =
| subgenrelist =
| subgenres = {{hlist|Extratone|Flashcore|Splittercore}}
| fusiongenres = Cybergrind
| regional_scenes = {{hlist|Germany|Japan{{Cite web |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/2018/04/26/j-core-japanese-electronic/ |title=Beyond J-Core: An Introduction to the Real Sound of Japanese Hardcore |last=Jenkins |first=Dave |date=April 26, 2018 |website=Bandcamp |access-date=April 26, 2018}}|Eastern Europe}}
| local_scenes =
| other_topics = {{hlist|Digital hardcore|grindcore}}
}}
Speedcore is a form of electronic music that is characterized by a high tempo and aggressive themes.{{Cite web |author=Ishkur |authorlink=Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music |url=https://music.ishkur.com/?query=Speedcore |title=Ishkur's guide to Electronic Music |date=2005 |accessdate=August 9, 2015}} It was created in the early to mid-1990s and the name originates from the hardcore genre as well as the high tempo used. Songs are usually classified as speedcore at around 300+ beats per minute (BPM), but this can vary.{{Cite book |last=Bennett |first=Andy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14bt9rd |title=Music, Style, and Aging: Growing Old Disgracefully? |date=2013 |publisher=Temple University Press |jstor=j.ctt14bt9rd |isbn=978-1-4399-0807-5}}
Characteristics
Aside from the very fast tempo, speedcore can often be distinguished from other forms of hardcore by an aggressive and overridden electronic percussion track that is often punctuated with a hyperactive snare or tom-tom fills. Most producers will overdrive their kicks so far that they become square waves.{{Cite web|url=https://corehistory.blogspot.com/2009/12/speedcore.html|title=Core History|date=December 2009|website=Blogspot|access-date=April 9, 2018}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2022}} Speedcore DJs often use violent, vulgar, and offensive themes in their music to push the boundaries of the genre.{{Cite web|url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/2018/04/27/an-introduction-to-extratone-the-worlds-fastest-music-genre/|title=An Introduction to Extratone: The World's Fastest Music Genre|last=Jenkins|first=Dave|date=April 27, 2018|website=Bandcamp|access-date=April 27, 2018}}
Since the 2000s, the use of digital audio workstations (DAWs) has grown versus the use of analog synthesizers or trackers.
History
= Origins (1992–1993) =
Speedcore is a natural progression of hardcore techno. Hardcore was already considered fast, however, there were those who were not content to stay at the established speed. Early speedcore was about pushing the limits of BPM and aggression level. One of the first songs to explore higher speeds was "Thousand" by Moby in 1992, which peaked at approximately 1,015 BPM.{{Cite book|editor-last=Buckley|editor-first=Peter|title=The Rough Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to More Than 1200 Artists and Bands|date=2003|publisher=Rough Guides|location=London|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse/page/683 683]|edition=3rd|last=Luke|first=George|chapter=Moby|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&pg=PT690|accessdate=June 2, 2016|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse/page/683}}
= Early speedcore (1994–1999) =
File:Disciples of Annihilation - NYC Speedcore.ogg
The term speedcore in reference to high tempo hardcore/gabber can be traced as far back as 1995.{{Cite web|url=https://partyflock.nl/en/party/195274:Dead-By-Dawn|title=Techno Speedcore Party|date=1995|website=Partyflock|access-date=April 9, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://datacide-magazine.com/test-tube-kid-interview-1995/|title=Interview with Test Tube Kid|last=Krämer|first=Patrick|date=1995|website=datacide|access-date=April 9, 2018}} Disciples Of Annihilation coined the name of the genre with their track "NYC Speedcore". Belgian artist DJ Einrich refined the sound in the late 1990s, using oscillators to transform fast kick drums into notes in octaves.
It was not until the early 2000s that the genre was commonly referred to as speedcore. Before then, many tracks that would be considered speedcore were referred to as "gabba".{{Cite book |last=Riccardo |first=Balli |url=https://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/dancecult/article/view/523/495 |title=Apocalypso Disco: La Rave-o-luzione della Post Techno |publisher=Agenzia X |year=2013 |isbn=978-88-95029-69-6 |language=it |oclc=857387083}}{{Cite journal |title=Gabber: Raising hell in technoculture1 {{!}} Intellect |url=https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/mms_00057_1 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=intellectdiscover.com |doi=10.1386/mms_00057_1|url-access=subscription }}
= Spread (early 2000s) =
= Internet growth (2010s) =
The 2010s saw a large growth in netlabels. DAWs made it cheaper and easier for new musicians to make experimental music. The internet allowed producers from around the world to communicate with each other and share their works through netlabels. Compilation albums became very popular for artists to share their music as they could get more exposure than by themselves. A large portion of the speedcore scene now occurs online from netlabels to speedcore promotion channels on YouTube. Speedcore was no longer restrained to localized areas where raves occurred and records were released.
Subgenres
=Splittercore=
Speedcore is often called splittercore when the BPM count is between 600 and 1,000. Splittercore is subsequently identified with kick patterns resembling machine gun fire. In the 1990s splittercore was sometimes referred to as nosebleed techno.
= Flashcore =
Flashcore is a genre that grew out of speedcore, industrial hardcore and IDM. While being originally related to speedcore, flashcore is defined by its complex avant-garde structures and abstract sounds, making it more similar to electroacoustic music and experimental music rather than any mainstream EDM genre. Most of the genre's works focus on intense, rhythmic, and layered soundscapes.{{Cite web |last=Weinel |first=Jon |date=May 20, 2007 |title=Flashcore {{!}} Earth, Atomizer, Let's Go! |url=http://www.spannered.org/music/1181/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513065807/http://www.spannered.org/music/1181/ |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |access-date=November 18, 2022 |work=Spannered}}
= Extratone =
Speedcore with a tempo of 1,000 or higher is called extratone. In this range of tempo, the separation between kicks are negligible to the human ear and thus the beat sounds like one constant note with a shifting pitch; extratone often has sudden increases or decreases in tempo to change the pitch of the tone. The name "extratone" originates from combining the two German words extrahieren (to extract) and tone (sound).