Gabber
| Early hardcore | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early 1990s, Rotterdam |
| Typical instruments | |
| Derivative forms | Mainstream hardcore |
| Subgenres | |
| Speedcore | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Other topics | |
| Happy hardcore | |
Gabber (also Gabber house) (/ˈɡæbər/; from Dutch: [ˈxɑbər]) is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno.
Although a house variant from Detroit, gabber music reached Amsterdam in the late 1980s, and it was the producers and DJs from Rotterdam in the early 1990s who evolved it into a harder house variant which is today known as "gabber".
The specific sound of Rotterdam was also created as a reaction to the house scene of Amsterdam which was seen as "snobby and pretentious". Though house tracks from Frankfurt's Marc Acardipane were quite similar to the Rotterdam style, it was the popularity of this music in the Netherlands which made Rotterdam the cradle of early hardcore. The essence of the early hardcore sound is a distorted bass drum sample, overdriven to the point where it becomes clipped into a distorted square wave and makes a recognizably melodic tone.
Often the Roland Alpha Juno or the kick from a Roland TR-909 was used to create this sound. Early hardcore tracks typically include samples and synthesised melodies with the typical tempo ranging from 150 to 190 bpm. Violence, drugs and profanity are common themes in early hardcore, perceptible through its samples and lyrics, often screamed, pitch shifted or distorted.
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