‘Tales of the Unexpected’ Chapter 3 sees the mighty acid house heroes Hardfloor take to the controls. Over 2 CDs worth of predominantly nostalgic club music the German duo splice together tracks from the likes of Andrea Parker, Sterling Void, Djinxx, Damian Schwartz, Joris Voorn and Edwin Oosterwal, Andy Stott, Neuropolitique, Convextion, Heiko Laux, Alter Ego, Robert Hood, Nightwriters and of course Hardfloor themselves.
There’s a place in the record collection of every DJ worth his or her salt for good German acid techno and, as the undisputed kings of that particular scene, you can expect to see Hardfloor representing the genre in most record boxes…
Oliver Bondzio and Ramon Zenker met in a club in 1991. With their musical minds beating in synch, they began recording together. Almost instantaneously, Hardfloor hits were ringing out from underground clubs, dancing Europe to life. The “Acperience 1“ single (’the best acid record, ever’ Muzik Magazine) is their best-known work; however, Hardfloor’s story isn’t just one of techno. In fact, they credit 1980s Chicago house for inspiring that distinctive funk that seeps out of all their releases. Layers of depth, oodles of soul, and bundles of thick, heavy acid lines fused a signature groove, winning them millions of adoring fans throughout the Nineties and still filling dancefloors to this today.
Since embarking on a lifelong love affair with the Roland TB-303 bass synthesiser, Ramon's spent the best part of two decades amassing a grand collection of analogue machines. He and Oliver work with all hands on decks, in his studio on the outskirts of Düsseldorf, their arms flipping like tentacles between three machines and one bassline control. The pair fell deeply for 1980s electronic music – Kraftwerk in particular – but were unable to afford to replicate the sound. The invention of the Roland 303, whose affordable synthesized loops became the norm during the acid house era, was life saving.
“When I listen to records from back in the day, they can’t compare to today’s music. That raw feeling can’t be heard in our current environment where everything seems to over rely on digital production,” reflects Oliver passionately. Just as Hardfloor won’t download music for free, they don’t record with digital software, the latest development in music technology that professes to duplicate the original machines. “There’s something missing from those computerised packages that you just can’t get without a 303.”
This nostalgic theme forms the essence of Hardfloor’s new mix CD. A trip back to acid house's hey day, the tracklisting is four-parts-to-one a selection of classics. Unlike many 2-CD packages, Oliver says that this is one long mix cut in half, with a 50/50 ration of clubby to home-listening cuts. He says, “there’s not a big difference between the two discs, the compilation starts at 120bpm and builds to 137bpm. You could spend ten minutes changing from disc one to disc two and immediately get right back into the same vibe.”
A lot of artists will use a mix CD to license or promote their own hits. Not so Hardfloor who’ve included one single track, ‘The Trill Acid Theme’, taken off their latest artist album ’The Life We Choose’. “I love it, I’m really proud of the whole LP,“ Oliver enthuses, “but this is one of my favourites.“
As for other tracks, Hardfloor smoothly embrace grooves that are melodic and moody, electronic and emotional. “We started with a shortlist of 40 tunes then had the hard task of whittling it down to 30” says Oliver, happy to have had the perfect excuse to visit his local vinyl dealer four times a week.
You’ll find just two vocal numbers on ‘Tales 3’. As if to compensate for this instrumental bias, they’ve used the full, non-edited version of the seminal ‘Nightwriters – Let The Music (Use You)’. Oliver explains, “It was the ultimate vocal house track that showed dedication to the power and force of music. As such, we felt that it was too perfect too interfere with. I swear every time we hear it we have an emotional breakdown!“
From Frankfurt to Detroit, via Spain and Holland, this mix features international artists whom Hardfloor see as being key figureheads in the passage of acid house. Whether you belonged to the scene when it started, or if you’re just tuning into techno and house wavelengths for the first time, this is Hardfloor’s legacy to dance music.
Hardfloor, you know the score!
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