Electronic music in the UK changed massively between the years of 1987-1992.
And even by 1991 dance music was sounding tougher, faster, and more polished. New music technology was allowing producers to make weirder, louder, and more professional sounding tracks.
At the same the clubbing and rave scene was going through a metamorphosis. Ministry of Sound has opened the first super club – heralding a new direction of the new UK club scene.
More dance tunes were breaking the charts too, Carl Cox’s ‘I want You’ peaked at number 23 in the charts.
And Altern-8 famously turned up at Shelly’s in Stoke with a truck loaded with full sound system. They then went ahead to play to leaving clubbers and filmed the whole experience for their track Activ8. Eventually the police turned up and shutdown forced everyone to move on.
As you can see 1991 was an eventful year with lots happening. So let us now take a peek at some of the best rave records from that year.
Table of Contents
By the way…Whilst you’re here
Do you like 1991 rave tunes and top scratching. Check out this scratch video i did where i cut up some sounds over Timebases 1991 classic – Unity.
Sorry, shamless plug i know but i thought i’d throw this in here….
If you like the sound be sure to like and subscribe to my channel. Got some video mixes coming with top tunes and top scratching.
1. Collapse Hold Me In Your Arms
Banging record by Italian producer project Collapse.
Although Collapse only released several records, the members behind the outfit were responsible for a large portion of Italian house, euro and rave tunes which were popular in the 1990s. ‘Sharada House Gang’, ‘Mig 29’, and ‘With It Guys’ are just a few of the aliases which this group of producers released records under – there were many more. Any knowledgeable classic house DJ knows that those three groups alone produced many famous Italian House and Techno anthems.
Now, both mixes of this track are superb. But it’s the storming breakbeat stomper ‘Dope Mix’ which was popular at the raves around the time.
If you listen closely to the beat on this record, you’ll quickly realise it was used in the ‘Prodigy’s’ massive 1991 hit ‘Charly’.
Another reason to own this record is for the acapella, which was sampled heavily. The vocal is superb and it’s a great track to play over the top of other records to create your own acapella versions.
2. Rhythm Section - Comin’ On Strong EP
This is a great EP which has some big popular tracks from 1991.
Superb piano/bass breakdown, a very well-produced tracks – which is remarkable when you consider a lot of music from this time was made using Akai samplers with one megabyte of memory.
Rhythm Section was an group of music producers, namely Nicholas William Arthur Scott, Rennie Pilgrem, Richard Thake, and Roy Collins.
Rennie Pilgrem is a very prolific producer and has been steadily releasing records since the Rhythm Section days. He played a large role in the Nu Skool Breakbeat scene which was popular around 2003 in the UK.
One of the other famous producers in Rhythm Section a man named Roy Collins; otherwise known as Ellis Dee. Ellis Dee has (over the years) played pretty much every type of dance music there is: He started playing acid house; then moving to rave and hardcore; and later playing jungle and after that Drum & Bass.
3. Xray Xperiments – Kick the Bass
Another super EP which has many great underground tracks.
For me the highlight is ‘Kick the Bass’ track.
The strings and 4/4 kick drum at the start of this track make it feel like you’re listening to an early techno track. However, by the thirty second mark the hoover stabs and breakbeats start to kick in, plus the repetitive vocal.
‘Kick the Bass’ is a very well-produced record which still sound great today.
This record has climbed up in price over the years, but it can still be bought at a reasonable price.
Recently this vinyl EP has been re-released and remastered by MPS vinyl.
4. Zero B – Module E P
I couldn’t have a list of hardcore and rave tunes without including ‘Zero B – Lock Up’.
This record is timeless. It still sounds as fresh today as it did when it was originally released.
I’ve heard this track at house, hardcore and even techno nights and the results were the same: it tore the place a new one.
‘Lock Up’ is such a simple track; it’s quite sparse sounding record when you really listen to it. But it’s the choice of samples and sounds which is nigh perfect. I must say that it’s probably one of my – and many other DJ’s – all-time favourite records, and one of the best hardcore/rave records ever.
The beat was sampled from a KC and the Sunshine Band.
And most of the other sounds come from a Yamaha TG55.
Lastly, the rest of the tracks on this EP are also worthy of a mention. They’re all great records in their own right. Whether it’s the dark and moody ‘Module’, the bleepy techno classic ‘Spinning Wheel’, and ‘Eclipse’ (which sounds like a mashup of ‘Lock Up & Module’). Honestly, if this record isn’t in your vinyl collection you’re missing out on a piece of rave history.
While researching this article I came across and interview with Zero B where he discusses the making of this record (thank you FoodMusicUK for the great interview).
‘Lock Up’ even used to get played at the local Retro Nights by Paul Taylor. Which is surprising as it used to be known more for playing classic house and piano tunes. But I guess that shows you how powerful of a track it is.
5. Urban Shakedown – Some Justice
If you’ve ever bought an oldschool rave compilation with tracks from the 90s, you can probably guarantee that ‘Some Justice’ will be on it.
Urban Shakedown consisted of two producers; Claudio Giussani, Gavin King (otherwise known as Drum and Bass legend Aphrodite).
‘Some Justice’ starts with that famous distorted stab pad. It’s a sample which is immediately recognisable. As the first minute of the record progresses more percussion is added and then the famous uber deep bass kicks in. The bassline is lush and one of the most memorable basslines of that year and era.
Added to this mix is the clever vocal which is played at the first breakdown. The vocal sample is from ‘Someday’ by ‘Ce Ce Rogers’ and it says ‘We’ll live as one family’. It’s a vocal snippet which really encapsulated the ecstasy driven feeling of that time, namely that we’re all us ravers were one big family.
This record is a masterclass in sampling and sampling use.
Lastly, it’s still a sought after record, with original copies fetching in excess of £25 at this time of writing.
6. Sonz of A Loop Da Loop Era – Far Out
Classic hardcore breakbeat stormer released on Suburban Base Records.
The producer behind ‘Far Out’ is a man called Danny Breaks. And as a scratch DJ myself I must say the man has some scratching skills. This is especially so considering he was performing his cuts using DJ mixers, turntables and cartridges (Stanton 500’s probably) from the early 90s – you had no Rane mixers with super light magnetic crossfaders back then.
As for ‘Far Out’: what a euphoric tune. The record has a massive uplifting piano, catchy vocals, coral chants and that classic speaker blowing oldschool bassline.
A while back I came across a short but great interview with Danny Break where he discusses making Far Out. But for the life of me I cannot seem to find it on YouTube. If you find it, please let me know as I wouldn’t mind adding it to this blog post (just leave the link to it in the comments below). Thanks.
7. The Prodigy – Your Love
Did you know that ‘Your Love’ by The Prodigy was actually a B-Side? It was on the other side of the record to The Prodigy’s most famous (or infamous) track of that year: ‘Charly’.
Charly is a track which divides many ravers and DJ’s of that era. Some consider it a great and well-produced track, while others see it as the harbinger of doom heralding the commercial death of rave.
Arguably, after Charly’s stella success The Prodigy and Liam Howlett wanted to put the record behind them. This was because the record ushered in a spate of copycat sounding records of questionable quality (Sesame’s Treet and Trip to Trumpton are just two cringy examples).
Meanwhile, while Charly was causing the demise of the rave scene, many DJ’s were canning the B-Side and playing ‘Your Love’.
‘Your Love’ was a record which you would hear everywhere and often it was played as the last tune of the night.
The record is a very euphoric track, and it’s memorable piano hook, clever vocal hooks and great production made it the perfect track for ending a night. That and it was quite a fast record so it was a great way to deliver one final burst of energy to a crowd which might have been dancing all night – one last rush before sending them on their way home.
And that’s why I made it the last track in this list. What a perfect tune to end another ravey trip down memory lane.
Conclusion
So, I hope you enjoyed my list of the best hardcore and rave tunes from 1991.
Obviously, there were many more anthem played back then and this article has only scratched the surface.
But if you’re unfamiliar with that year this guide should give you an idea of the how the music was becoming faster and how it was changing.
While you’re hear, if you want some free music with some dope scratching skills, be sure to check out my oldschool DJ mixes. They’re all free to download and stream (no sign up required), and they contain many similar and popular tunes to the ones on this list. You can also listen to them on a free podcast which can be found here.
Lastly, if would like me to send you more music recommendation lists like this one, join my mailing list here.
Keep on scratching and peace.
James DJ Kippax