DJ Psycho – Turn It Up

In 1995, the Scottish style of hardcore (known locally as bouncy techno) had successfully spread to mainland Europe, and the Netherlands in particular. Whilst many Dutch labels released their own take on this sound, it was the various Combined Forces labels (Dwarf, Babyboom & Rave) who embraced it the most - putting out many classics not only by Dutch artists, but a few of the leading Scottish producers too.

Like this one by Vince Watson - now a legendary techno producer, but at the time better known as Technosis. This is the Scottish style in its purest form - stripped back to focus on the most important element: endless rave stabs. The A side version of "Turn It Up" is the track I fell in love with, courtesy of Marc Smith's excellent "DJs Delite" mix CD. There's a nice twist on the breakdown, where the stabs initially follow one sequence, only to switch into a different, more energetic shape when the kick reappears.

The other two tracks are pretty similar - the B2 track even has the same title, and is basically the A but with a different stab sound. And the A side itself is very similar to "Hyperbass", released the same year on Screwdriver as "The Maniac". I'm sure this is not an EP the artist looks back on that fondly - being the polar opposite of the deep, emotional music he's known for now (and would probably be justifiably baffled by anyone taking this time to write this nonsense about it!)

But that's part of the fun of hardcore, where unsophisticated tunes thrown together quickly can still capture a certain naïve joy all these years later.