Hardkiss is the group moniker of San Francisco electronic music pioneers Scott (who died on March 25, 2013 [1] ), Gavin, and Robbie Hardkiss. The trio formed a record label called Hardkiss Music in San Francisco in 1991. Initially promoting underground raves and dance parties where they would DJ, with Hardkiss Music they began to produce and release a catalog of vinyl records which stirred international recognition and launched DJ and production careers. Scott Hardkiss (real name Scott Friedel) worked under the pseudonym God Within. Gavin Hardkiss works under the pseudonym Hawke. Robbie Hardkiss has worked under the pseudonym Little Wing. They also released music by a myriad of other artists including Rabbit in the Moon, Symbiosis and TTauri. Their music started as a mixture of acid house music, trance music, and breakbeat techno. [2] Hardkiss Music became a blueprint for DJ owned boutique record labels.
In 1995 Hardkiss released a compilation called Delusions of Grandeur featuring the best selections of the early vinyl releases. Delusions of Grandeur was distributed through Caroline in the US and was signed to L'Attitude on Parlophone in the UK. The album was a benchmark in the development of US electronic dance music.[ citation needed ]
Hardkiss Music stopped releasing music in 1997 in order to sign a recording deal with Columbia Records (Sony Music).[ citation needed ]
The label re-launched in 2014 to release a new Hardkiss album titled 1991.[ citation needed ]
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's Black gay underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.
Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop music, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Hardcore is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorted sawtooth kick, the intensity of the kicks and the synthesized bass, the rhythm and the atmosphere of the themes, the usage of saturation and experimentation close to that of industrial dance music. It would spawn subgenres such as gabber.
Altern 8 is a British electronic music act, comprising Mark Archer and Chris Peat, until Peat left the group in 1994. Best known in the early 1990s, their trademark was electronic rave music with a heavy bass line. Notable Altern 8 tracks included "Activ 8", "E-Vapor-8", "Frequency", "Brutal-8-E", "Armageddon", "Move My Body", "Hypnotic St8" and "Infiltrate 202".
Bouncy techno is a hardcore dance music rave style that developed in the early 1990s from Scotland and Northern England. Described as an accessible gabber-like form, it was popularised by Scottish DJ and music producer Scott Brown under numerous aliases.
Kevin Maurice Saunderson is an American electronic dance music DJ and record producer. He is famous for being a member of a trio, along with Juan Atkins and Derrick May, who came to be known as the Belleville Three, who are often credited to being among the pioneers and originators of techno: in particular this act helped define Detroit techno, the earliest style of this music genre. Born in New York, at the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, where at Belleville High School he befriended the other members of the trio.
N'Dea Davenport is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and producer. She was the lead vocalist in the UK acid jazz band The Brand New Heavies and made pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz.
Carl Cox is a British house and techno club DJ, radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Frankston, Victoria, Australia.
Simon Lewicki, also known as Groove Terminator and GT, is an Australian electronic music artist.
Candy Flip were an English electronic music duo from Stoke-on-Trent, who were associated with the indie dance music scene in the early 1990s. They are best remembered for their cover version of the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever", which was a No. 3 hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1990.
Roberto "Robbie" Rivera is a Puerto Rican house music producer and DJ. He has an extensive catalog of original productions and remixes to his credit, ranging from tribal to progressive house, as well as incorporating garage and Latin elements. He and his wife Mónica Olabarrieta have homes in Miami and Ibiza. On October 28, 2009, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, with Rivera placing number 95.
Miguel Steward better known by his stage name Miguel Migs, is an American deep house DJ and producer and the founder of Salted Music, an independent electronic dance music record label based in San Francisco, California.
Matthew Nelson, better known as DJ Slipmatt, is a British electronic music producer and DJ. He was one half of breakbeat hardcore group SL2, who had a 1992 UK hit with "On a Ragga Tip".
Rabbit in the Moon is an American electronic music group that formed in 1991. Their style draws from psychedelic trance, house music and breakbeat, along with other diverse influences. They were among the first to mix theatrical stage performance with rave music.
Gavin Hardkiss is an electronic musician, DJ, label owner, producer, remixer, author and artist who has performed under the name "Gavin Hardkiss" and "Hawke". He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and immigrated to the United States to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he got a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991. In the early 1990s, along with faux brothers Robbie and Scott, Gavin Hardkiss helped pioneer the American electronic music scene with the record label Hardkiss Music. Hardkiss rapidly accrued international attention, and his double album Delusions of Grandeur reached number one on the Rolling Stone alternative charts. Under the name Hawke, Hardkiss has produced experimental albums remixing artists such as Youssou N'Dour, Mazzy Star, Elton John and Michael Franti, and has performed alongside Afrika Bambaataa, Derrick May, Snoop Dogg and Buena Vista Social Club. In 2010, the song "Mundo Via Afrika" was featured on the official Sony World Cup album "Hello Africa", alongside the best of contemporary African musicians. In 2013, Hardkiss self-published a novel titled Cubic Lust.
Robert Solheim is an electronic music composer from Norway. His styles are techno and deep/tech-house, downtempo and electronica with a strong emphasis on Nordic sound. Influenced by all kinds of electronic music, he has developed his characteristic style from his first ambient and ambient-techno releases in the 1990s, through down tempo and deep/tech-house and techno for clubs and home entertainment.
Dustin Fuselier, known in his stage name D:Fuse, is an American producer, remixer, and DJ based out of Los Angeles, California.
Empirion are a British industrial dance music group, originating from Essex, England. They were formed in 1993, and the original line-up consisted of Austin Morsely, Bob Glennie and Jamie Smart.
Vision Four 5 was an Australian dance music group whose performances featured interactive video technology. They were formed in 1990 in Brisbane, Queensland with Noel Burgess and fellow students Gavin Sade, Harry Ho and Ben Suthers while studying Music Technology at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. The lineup changed through the first few years to settle from 1993-1997 with members Noel Burgess (Music), Tim Gruchy (Video/Interactives), Ben Suthers (Music) and Al Ferguson (Video/Animation).
Wade Randolph Hampton is an American DJ, film and music producer, and recording artist. He is known for his contributions to electronic music and the North American rave scene.