Old Liberators interview about London acid techno...
LIBERATOR DJ's - THE DEFINITIVE ACID TECHNO
Words by Mark EG
Following his momentous back to back techno set with Chris Liberator in Toronto, a knackered MARK EG holds tightly onto his tape recorder as Liberator collective - Julian, Aaron and Chris -define the truth behind the sensational acid techno/free party genre. Just when we'd read in a certain other dance music publication that all they ever stood for was illegal narcotic trading at a dodgy South London warehouse, along come the Liberators to tell WAX a different story entirely.
Racing down the motorway to catch the 7am flight to London Heathrow, a barrage of Liberator-style acid techno emits itself abruptly from our state-of-the-art, in-car sound system. Our driver, an eccentric Russian who arrived in Toronto after fleeing from his native country, regularly follows the Liberator crew around the world.
'I BLOODY love Acid Techno!' he immediately screams - a view shared by millions of people from Moscow to Timbuktu. Vigorously banging his fist on the steering wheel, every part of his flexible body seems to be moving in complete unison with the pounding 4/4 kick drum. For these diligent disciples old and new, Acid Techno isn't just a musical genre. It's a way of life. A life that began almost ten years ago.
LIBERATOR DJ's : THE HISTORY
'I'd been involved in punk rock bands and the squatting scene throughout the 80's' begins Chris, tapping his foot to a savage techno bassline. 'I met Julian. He'd moved down from the West Country to a London squat and I kept hearing about him through various people. When we met, I discovered he was one of the only people starting to buy techno. The tracks we began to buy in ‘89 were all the R&S releases and Frank De Wulf. We'd go to places like Rage and Heaven to hear the music we loved, but always felt out of place. So for the next year, Julian put on a few parties in his house with techno tapes playing in one room and punk rock upstairs.'
'We'd both make tapes for other squat parties too' continues Julian, now deciding to impose his own version of events into the story. In 1991, the free party techno scene all kicked off with the early hardcore and bleepy stuff. Early Underground Resistance tracks as well as labels such as Djax and Plus 8 were being played too. We met Aaron after hearing that there was a DJ living down the road and then went to the pub to discuss putting on a party with the three of us. Spiral Tribe had just put on their first parties and a crew called Urge was getting a name for themselves. Neither Chris nor I knew how to mix records, so when Aaron mentioned he had some decks we thought it'd be a great idea to try and use them at a party.'
The Liberators talk about the success of their first party, one that led them to DJ at countless different squat parties. By 1992 their newly formed scene was really starting to become massive throughout London. They met the Spiral Tribe crew properly after this year, Zero Gravity, Megadog, Bedlam and DJ's like Aztek and Murf. There was a coming together in the techno scene.
Aaron tells us about Euro-techno such as Frank De Wulf. Julian mentions hard and heavy R&S/Belgium Techno and Chris gets excited about the breakbeat/Rabbit City/Rising High techno style.
At the end of '92 many of the UK's techno DJ's seemed to split into their own styles. Chris tells us that Aztek was into the more gabba style while Murf played experimental techno and acid, but all three of them are adamant that they stayed with the more 'avin it techno sound. It was a time when Progressive house came along and split everything up even more.
'When we heard Hardfloor's 'Acperience' we were blown away', begins Aaron, our driver suddenly booming out a hearty approval at the mere mention of the track, 'We moved into things like Important Records, No Respect, Hyper Hype - early hard acid trance. Anything with a 303 in it and we were immediately in heaven. We didn't really go in a 'Plod' direction by playing weirder techno, but we'd listen to every style we could. We were all used to playing slower sets in back rooms but for our Liberator sets, we'd stick with the harder 'avin it acid sound.'
So like everyone else, they had changed. Although still heavily influenced by techno, they couldn't get away from the power of the 303. And this was what was the turning point that made them so successful over the next few years. The Acid Techno genre became a global movement within the free party scene. The rest is history.
THE ACID TECHNO MOVEMENT:
The Liberators have always fronted the Acid Techno movement and received most of the attention from the press and the public alike, whether good or bad. But who exactly are the unsung hero's that rarely get the credit they deserve? Chris explains, whilst bouncing up and down in his seat like a man possessed:
'As well as our acid techno label Stay Up Forever, Choci Chewns were there at the beginning. The sound is slightly different, more acid trance, but still part of everything. For the more acid techno side there's Routemaster (Lawrie Immersion's label), Smitten, Organgrinder, Hazchem (DDR's label through Kinetic), Bionic Orange (Rowland The Bastard's label), Havok from Manchester and Input from Amsterdam. We're also totally into 'avin it UK techno such as Lawrie's Technoslut label and our own Cluster label. There's Off The Wall that we do too, with Nick Spice from Solid Records in Brighton for the obscure techno music from London and across the globe.'
Also producing techno music on Eukatech (as Jack-Shit/Ha-Lo), Boscaland, and several other labels, the Liberators and their friends such D.A.V.E. THE DRUMMER, LAWRIE IMMERSION, GUY 'GEEZER' MCAFFER, D.D.R., GIZELLE, and PAUL HARDING amongst others, make quite a range of music. This is well illustrated by Chris and D.A.V.E.'s Ha-lo project which is a far cry from their usual banging acid techno. Most record buyers don't actually realise that there are also numerous labels that they're all involved in that they don't put their names to.
'These are very important to us' Aaron stresses, clenching his fist to a deep acid techno breakdown. 'The sound of the music on these labels is evolving very, very fast. It seems crazy, but labels such as Technoslut can't really sell as much as they should because they're not respected by other parts of the techno scene. There's a snobbery that runs through every scene and once people know where a label comes from, they don't want to buy it. The tracks that we all do anonymously are well respected outside of our own scene, even though we still see them as 'avin it London Acid Techno. We just want to devolop our music.'
There will always be 303-based acid techno, but the London Acid Techno crew are sure they want to explore other directions within this music too. As musicians, they're all now all making some very progressive music that nobody actually realises is them. This crew are 100% serious about their music. Acid Techno isn't just about screaming 303's - if you buy an acid techno record these days, it'll have a 303 track on one side and a few different tracks on the other. There's been a misconception about their music: Acid doesn't necessarily mean 303.
'We don't think it's good to focus on only one thing.' says Chris carefully. 'Many record buyers will see a track from one of us lot and expect it to be 303 acid techno. Now, more than ever, this is not the case. Acid Techno is open-minded music for open-minded people. If you slag off any musical genre as being rubbish you're a bigot. I don't like psychedelic trance, but there have been times when I've thought it's been right for the moment at certain parties. Now, there are people out there (such as 21:3) that are pushing this sound into new and exciting areas. You've got to keep an eye on all styles of music. Listen without predudice to all styles of music and you can't go far wrong. We reckon the future for techno lies in the funkiness. Having tracks that build, rather than ones that go round and round like a washing machine, will ensure it's success. It'll still be Acid Techno'
THE FREE PARTY SCENE :
More and more people want to put on, or go to a free party these days. But what are the real ethics behind the free party scene? The Liberators give Wax this step-by-step guide (but insist that they can't be spokespersons for such as large and varied scene).
Step 1: Forget simply banging Acid Techno. Free party rigs like Mainline, Hekarte and Aardvark do their own thing. Some of them play more dark music, some play more gabba, some play experimental French techno or drum and bass. They're all doing their own thing under one Free Party banner.
Step 2: Don't just think about London either - free parties are all over the world from the UK to Eastern Europe and The Bronx.
Step 3: Not all places are able to hold free parties due to the fact that, apart from London and a few other key places, there is no chance of getting away with squatting a disused building. This means that in many cities many cool underground clubs have sprung up with a free party mentality in the way they operate. It's what happens inside the party that matters.
'Clubs such as Trancentral are free party, pay-in clubs', maintains Chris. 'There's no dress code and it's much more relaxed with free party ethics. The clubbers who go to house clubs and like to get dressed up wouldn't necessarily like these parties! Free parties are not so much about whether you have to pay to get in. The very nature of the word 'party' means you should be able to go in, do what you like and it's not going to shut at a certain time. You can have a laugh, go in a back room and smoke a joint or you can got in the main room and run around shouting your head off. Although we're advocates for totally free parties, unfortunately you do have to pay at most of the London free parties these days. It's not so much that they charge to get in, but they will run around trying to get a donation off you in a bucket. Some rigs charge strict fivers on the door and refuse admission to people who can't afford it - which we think is unacceptable at a squat party. At the same time, a lot of people who could afford something try and blag it in without paying anything. How they expect rigs / D.J.'s etc. to function week in week out without money to buy replacement speakers, new records etc. beats me.'
'The pay party end of things can often help out in these matters giving rigs and D.J.'s a chance to earn some wages as well as providing a safe party that's unlikely to be busted. People have to get their money from somewhere - it's a myth that all free party crews sell drugs - so this provides a source of income. Unfortunately there's still some condemnation of pay parties in the London free party scene, but most of the time free parties make much more money on donations than they do! It is a lot harder to do a pay party, because as soon as the word money comes into the equation, everybody wants to get paid. In the free party scene, no-one expects anything. We'll live or die on the quality of the music - not how much money is made on the door.'
As we approach the airport, we talk about the Liberator's own Nuclear Free Zone parties in London - one place you can go to feel truly at home. It's hot and sweaty and although it's a club, you're guaranteed a special free party vibe. Check it out every other Saturday at Club 414, Cold Harbour Lane, Brixton. Five years old and still going strong !
FREE PARTY POLITICS :
Much of the free party scene is very political. It's because the people who go to the parties tend to be free thinking people. All types of cultures are part of the scene, but most of them have a family mentality that bonds them together.
'It's a place for all the misfits of society', confirms Aaron, ‘as well as normal young people who want to go out and have a good time.’ Obviously there are lots of squatters at these parties, people we've known for years - because that's where we're from. There's always a really strong traveller/squatter contingent, people that basically haven't got a lot of money and can't go to clubs. They want to go somewhere different, where they're not feeling straight-jacked by a club environment with bouncers in ties and suits looking at them.'
'Many of the free party people are used to living a pretty far-flung existence.' Chris tells us, 'They're at the bottom of the pile and because of the nature of the lifestyle you've lived on the edge and have a lot more axe to grind. You'll have heard about alternative politics and you slowly learn to have a 'just say no' policy to most things. Travellers, squatters, ravers, ex-punks and older free thinkers know what the reality of dealing with the law and conventional society means 'cos they come face to face with it every day. If you try and live your life out of the straight and narrow, you're gonna be faced with insurmountable problems - often problems with the rest of society. That makes you political, and very quickly. The free party scene didn't set out to be a political thing. We'll sometimes express how we feel in certain tracks, but it's supposed to be just music and partying. That should be the end of it. But then of course the police and the government have targeted our parties, various laws are brought in to shut down clubs because of drugs and the free party scene has taken the brunt of it. If you go and set up a sound system in an illegal place such as a squat, you are on the edge of things. It becomes a political situation by the nature of the party and you'll find yourself dealing with the police and the council.'
Whatever you do in life is political. If you just go to the pub, there's not that much political conflict. But if your dancing all night, looking different and possibly taking drugs in an illegal warehouse then you are. You're bound to attract attention to yourself. It's all part of the free party drive that has changed the way many young people are today.
DRUGS :
Many of us wish that drugs never existed. But without them, dance music wouldn't have had such a big part to play in our lives. The explosion of E-Culture in the 80''s will always be looked down upon by the authorities, but you can argue that life has become slightly better because of it. The millions of clubbers that party every weekend will have been transformed by an open-minded attitude that could never have happened were it not for E. Chris gives us an insight into how drugs are affecting the modern day free party environment.
'Ketamine is a very popular drug, but then again it's also a very popular drug in New York. I don't know what the differences are between the two scenes, but I suppose they're both quite decadent places. I reckon it's used on the free party scene because the parties aren't like a club environment. You're not going to fall over, get trampled on and then get kicked out. You can go and dance for four hours. You can sit down or whatever- there's a lot of space most of the time and the parties do go on all day. So, you can come out of your K-hole and get back into things after an hour by dancing. You're not gonna think that if you take Ketamine, you'll miss the party. Ketamine is quite good fun in the right atmosphere and lot of people like it. But it's not for me - I've had my moments on it - but I don't particularly like it. Ketamine's quite spiritual, similar to LSD when that was popular at parties. Drinking beer is quite a big thing at free parties too and if you bear in mind that a few years ago everyone was taking E's and not touching any alcohol whatsoever, this is quite a change! Beer has always been relevant because you'd always have a few cans on the morning after, but now people drink all night and have just as good a time.'
After so many years of free parties, many of those involved are becoming educated drug takers. Many won't even touch drugs. The difference with the free party scene is that you can, if you want to, get up in the morning after a good sleep and go to a party without worrying about getting tired. There are even a lot of young mothers that will get up, leave their children with someone and go out for the day without worrying about drugs. You can't do that in the club scene now, can you! The Free Party scene is a great way for everyone to let your hair down and forget the pressures of everyday life.
STAY UP FOREVER - THE RECORD LABEL :
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the key to much of The Liberator's success is their record label, Stay Up Forever. After such an overwhelming success in the early 90's it was only ever going to be a matter of time before the Liberators began to look to producing their own music. Looking back, it was a natural progression from their punk band days, especially as Chris had some equipment left over from his band days. A friend called Paul Harding added the finishing touches to their studio and all three of them settled down to begin the history of the Stay Up Forever label.
'We started off by wanting to make hard acid trance.' Julian tells us, 'We were so into 303's that it was a logical thing to try to make. Although synthesised breakdowns and keyboard parts started to find its way into acid trance, we were never really into producing like that. We wanted our tracks to be driving, not melodic. That's why we termed out music Acid Techno. We didn't have a 303 at first, so we sampled loops to make our tracks. We decided to set up Stay Up Forever, an outlet for ourselves and our friends to release music. Friends like DDR where heavily into the acid sound and so the label just seemed to go in that direction for the first ten releases.'
Then there was the signing up of DOM from Leeds, a way of interjecting a notable variety into their release schedule. Chris met D.A.V.E. the Drummer when he went to his studio to record a record for a label called ' Bag '. They got on famously and he began working with the Liberators both as an engineer and as a producer in his own right. They met Lawrie Immersion when he brought his rig to use at a Liberator/Mizbehaviour party. Again they all got on well and began doing stuff together. Gradually the acid techno family was growing stronger.
D.A.V.E. The Drummer engineered one side of S.U.F. 11' remembers Aaron, 'and Chris produced a track with Lawrie which came out as one side of the first release on Smitten ( the other side featuring Lawrie on his own)- a label set up by ex-punk rocker Steve Smitten. The summer of 96 saw Lawrie work very closely together with us. In this period we met Guy The Geezer, as he used to be in the same band as Dave The Drummer. It just became one big family as we all started to produce together. We used names such as A.& E. Dept, Lochi , Kektex, Mish-Mash, Smog Blanket and Creeper. Gizelle came into the team, as did Tasha Killer Pussies. We mainly collaborated in other people's studios'
But with the reliance on other people's equipment, The Liberators have now realised the need to get their own studio back up and running. With forthcoming releases such as Punk Floyd's debut album on Smitten, a Cluster records compilation entitled ' Cluster****' scheduled for the New Year (there's talk of a release from Mark EG and Chrissi on Cluster!), a new Ha-lo album on Eukatech, new labels from Julian and free party techno DJ Bruiser (a.k.a Dragon Disc's Mara Branco), and D.a.v.e. The Drummer, as well as a new Routemaster C.D., and new 12"s on all the labels mentioned earlier and more besides, you'd better watch out! They've got loads of different styles and projects ready and we can only wait in anticipation to see the direction that they're about to take the UK Techno scene.
Reaching the airport, we leave our mad Russian diver dribbling profusely to a hi-hat techno pattern that sounds like something out of the year 3005. We check in, skip up the escalator and head for our plane back to London.
'Oi', Chris shouts as the tape recorder starts to run out of batteries.
'If you thought London Acid Techno was just about screaming 303's, you're gonna be very much mistaken.'
LONG LIVE ACID TECHNO !
