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If you go back in time, right when Hardcore began, there were some labels that set the foundation for a scene that was just taking shape. You might think of labels like PCP, Industrial Strength, the Rotterdam label family... and then there was Mono Tone.
Mono Tone helped define the sound of Hardcore to come, and was home to producers that soon became legends in this scene, such as Martin Damm aka The Speed Freak, or Patric Catani aka E-De Cologne / Ec8or / Eradicator.
What set Mono Tone apart from other labels of its era? Mono Tone was for those who did not like the influx of happy, easy to please "Dance Music" elements into the emerging Hardcore scene, and also for those who were into thorough sonic exploration and experiments. The result was a reduced, brutal, relentless, violent sound, that was very smart at the same time.
Mono Tone had a huge influence on the world wide Hardcore pool of producers and fans - I'm sure labels like Fischkopf or Digital Hardcore Recordings would have sound different without the inspiration Mono Tone provided.
Maybe some of this is not as obvious anymore - as many elements of Mono Tone, such as high tempo Hardcore, guitar samples, total distortion, and so on, have become commonplace in Hardcore. But I think the spark of brilliance can still be heard - and it's still energetic, powerful, mental music.
So this is a tribute to a label that was very important but is sometimes overlooked - compared to other labels of its time - but deserves its own place in the hall of fame of hard electronic music.
The output of Mono Tone was very varied, and they did not just do Hardcore - but this mixes focuses especially on this part of its history.
1.
Gringo - Executed By The FBI
2.
Mike Ink - Lovely, Ugly, Brutal World (Original Mix)
3.
Titanium Steel Screws - Slam
4.
Biochip C. - Jihad: Nightbreed vs Cenobites
5.
Biochip C. - The Nightbreed Is Back
6.
Titanium Steel Screws - Dance The Night Away
7.
Psyche Out - Man Ungginyu
8.
Search & Destroy - What Kind Of Madness
9.
Gringo - Slayer
10.
E-De Cologne - Ein Bißchen Frieden
11.
Irish Coffee - Backspace
12.
The Speed Freak - Harder & Faster
13.
Harlot - Angst Essen Seele Auf
14.
Gringo - Rules
15.
The Speed Freak - The Louder You Scream The Faster We Go
16.
DJ Fistfuck - Brontofuck
17.
E-De Cologne - Zimboculture
18.
The Speed Freak - Banging
19.
Irish Coffee - Irish Coffee
20.
The Speed Freak - T.S Dick
21.
The Speed Freak - Sine-P