Hyperreal.org

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Hyperreal.org
Hyperreal Website 1996.jpg
The Hyperreal website in 1996
Type of site
Rave scene, dance music, club drugs
Headquarters San Francisco, California, United States
Editor Brian Behlendorf
URL hyperreal.org
CommercialNo
Launched1994;29 years ago (1994)

Hyperreal.org, also known as Hyperreal, is a rave culture website founded by Brian Behlendorf in 1994. [1] It is based in San Francisco.

Contents

History

It was founded by Brian Behlendorf and originated as the SFRaves mailing list in 1992, [2] before launching as Hyperreal in 1994. [3] The present website has been active since 1997. [4]

Having already discovered early newsgroups and online mailing lists such as alt.rave and UK-Dance, Behlendorf set out to create a list of rave parties happening in the US, particularly in the San Francisco area. Hyperreal would soon expand into a collection of articles about dance music and club drugs, when at the time very few resources existed online. The site name originated from The Shamen track of the same name. [5] [6] [7]

In its earliest incarnation, Hyperreal hosted the IDM List, [8] a mailing list dedicated to discussion of the music from artists such as Aphex Twin and Mu-Ziq, and associated labels Rephlex Records and Warp. [9] [10]

Hyperreal would also at one time host the first official home page for Brian Eno. [11]

Related Research Articles

Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody. It uses textural layers of sound that can reward both passive and active listening and encourage a sense of calm or contemplation. The genre is said to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual", or "unobtrusive" quality. Nature soundscapes may be included, and the sounds of acoustic instruments such as the piano, strings and flute may be emulated through a synthesizer.

Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints. It emerged from the culture and sound palette of electronic and rave music styles such as ambient techno, acid house, Detroit techno and breakbeat; it has been regarded as better suited to home listening than dancing. Prominent artists associated with it include Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, Venetian Snares, Boards of Canada, Telefon Tel Aviv, μ-Ziq, the Black Dog, the Future Sound of London, and Luke Vibert.

<i>...I Care Because You Do</i> 1995 studio album by Aphex Twin

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Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.

<i>Richard D. James Album</i> 1996 studio album by Aphex Twin

Richard D. James Album is the eponymous fourth studio album by British electronic musician Richard D. James, under his pseudonym Aphex Twin. In the United Kingdom, the album was released on 4 November 1996 through Warp. In the United States, it was released on 28 January 1997 by Sire Records, with the Girl/Boy EP included as bonus tracks. A reissue on vinyl was released on 18 September 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Behlendorf</span> American computer programmer and executive

Brian Behlendorf is an American technologist, executive, computer programmer and leading figure in the open-source software movement. He was a primary developer of the Apache Web server, the most popular web server software on the Internet, and a founding member of the Apache Group, which later became the Apache Software Foundation. Behlendorf served as president of the foundation for three years. He has served on the board of the Mozilla Foundation since 2003, Benetech since 2009, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation since 2013. Behlendorf served as the General Manager of the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) from 2021-2023 and is currently the Chief Technology Officer of the OpenSSF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windowlicker</span> 1999 single by Aphex Twin

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<i>Selected Ambient Works Volume II</i> 1994 studio album by Aphex Twin

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<i>Thursday Afternoon</i> 1985 studio album by Brian Eno

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<i>Surfing on Sine Waves</i> 1993 studio album by Polygon Window

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<i>Analogue Bubblebath</i> First record released by Aphex Twin

Analogue Bubblebath, also released as Aphex Twin ep, is the first record by musician and producer Richard D. James. The EP was released under his alias The Aphex Twin through Mighty Force Records in September 1991. It was the inaugural release for the label, which at the time was a record shop in Exeter. The record was hugely influential on the development of electronic music, particularly techno and ambient techno. Its release has been described as a key event in the history of dance music. It is the first release in what became the Analogue Bubblebath series.

Chill-out is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally refers to anything that might be identified as a modern type of easy listening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard D. James discography</span>

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Eurotechno refers to the musical soundtrack by English group Stakker for their 1989 experimental short film of the same name. The original film was an avant-garde experiment and features rapidly shifting colourful computer graphics, reflecting the influence of rave culture. Although the visuals of the film were primarily the work of Stakker members Marek Pytel, Mark McClean and Colin Scott, the musical soundtrack was largely the work of Brian Dougans, later of The Future Sound of London. The 25-minute soundtrack was recorded using a Roland TB-303, and reflects the fast-shifting momentum of the film by incorporating fragmented elements of acid house, Chicago house and Detroit techno that shift after their brief appearances, thus contributing to an intricately layered style.

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Richard David James, best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publications including Mixmag, The New York Times, NME, Fact,Clash and The Guardian have called James one of the most influential and important artists in contemporary electronic music.

<i>Succour</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Seefeel

Succour is the second studio album by British band Seefeel. It was released on 20 March 1995 on Warp and did not receive a release in the United States.

<i>Selected Ambient Works 85–92</i> 1992 studio album by Aphex Twin

Selected Ambient Works 85–92 is the debut studio album by Aphex Twin, the pseudonym of British electronic musician Richard D. James. It was released on 9 November 1992 through Apollo Records, a subsidiary of Belgian label R&S Records. The album consists of ambient techno tracks recorded onto cassette reputedly dating as far back as 1985, when James was thirteen to fourteen years old. Upon release it received widespread acclaim. It entered the UK Dance Albums Chart at No. 6 on 26 December 1992.

Drill 'n' bass is a subgenre of drum and bass which developed in the mid-1990s as IDM artists began experimenting with elements of breakbeat, jungle, and drum and bass music. Artists utilized powerful audio software programs and deployed frenzied, irregular beats that often discouraged dancing. The style was often interpreted as having a lightly parodic relationship with the dance styles that inspired it.

<i>Syro</i> 2014 studio album by Aphex Twin

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References

  1. Hyperreal Information. Hyperreal.org.
  2. SFRaves Home Page. Sfraves.org.
  3. "Hyperreal". Hyperreal.org. Archived from the original on 26 December 1996.
  4. "The Beat Generation". Spin Magazine . April 1997.
  5. Mike Brown. (Dec 2000). History of Hyperreal. Hyperreal.org.
  6. Matos, Michaelangelo (11 July 2011). "How The Internet Transformed The American Rave Scene". NPR .
  7. Sicko, Dan (1999). Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk . Billboard Books. ISBN   978-0823084289.
  8. "Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Volume II". Pitchfork . Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  9. Sherburne, Philip (14 August 2015). "Emotional Intelligence: A Guide to Melodic IDM". Pitchfork .
  10. Weidenbaum, Marc (2014). Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works, Volume 2. Bloomsbury. ISBN   978-1623568900.
  11. Duckworth, William (2005). Virtual Music: How the Web Got Wired for Sound . Routledge. ISBN   978-0415966757.