Rotterdam Records Explained
Rotterdam Records was a Dutch record label founded by Paul Elstak in 1992. It released hardcore and gabber music. It stopped in 2012 and restarted again in 2018 with MP3 releases.
History
The label was set up by Paul Elstak who around 2000 quit to start his own label Offensive Records at Rige Entertainment.[1] DJ Neophyte and DJ Panic took control of the label and three other labels (Forze Records, Neophyte Records and Terror Traxx). The label stopped in 2012 when Mid-Town Records went bankrupt.[2]
Alongside Mokum Records in Amsterdam and Lenny Dee's New York based Industrial Strength Records, Rotterdam Records was an influential label in the early 1990s gabber scene.[3]
Releases
Founded in 1992, the label brought out over one hundred vinyl hardcore and gabber releases as well as CDs, DVDs and other merchandise. Sublabels included Forze Records, Rotterdam Records Classics, Rotterdam Records Special, Rotterdam Tekno and Terror Traxx.[4]
An early release was "Poing" by Rotterdam Termination Source (Maurice Steenbergen and Danny Scholte) which went to number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 and became world famous.[5] [6]
It also released tracks by the Euromasters such as "Amsterdam waar lech dat dan?" (Amsterdam? Where's that?) which stoked rivalry with Amsterdam.[7] As Elstak moved towards releasing happy hardcore and softer music in the mid to late 1990s (for example "Rainbow in the Sky"), the original fans voiced their anger. Nasenbluten released the diss track "Rotterdam Takes It Up The Ass".[8]
Notes and References
- Web site: Offensive Records . Discogs . 19 July 2020 . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20190607024456/https://www.discogs.com/label/5122-Offensive-Records . 7 June 2019 . live .
- News: 13 October 2012 . Rotterdams gabberimperium Mid-Town failliet . RTV Rijnmond . Rotterdam . 9 September 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160919012526/http://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/94294/Rotterdams-gabberimperium-Mid-Town-failliet . 19 September 2016 . live .
- Web site: Thunderdome: 25 years of hardcore . Resident Advisor . 19 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190528141740/https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3149 . 28 May 2019 . live .
- Web site: Rotterdam Records . Discogs . 19 July 2020 . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20190607095304/https://www.discogs.com/label/1374-Rotterdam-Records . 7 June 2019 . live .
- News: Deboick . Sophia . The Vengaboys, Eurodance and beyond: is Rotterdam the port of pop? . 19 July 2020 . The New European . 17 May 2020 . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20200705191154/https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/rotterdam-as-the-port-of-pop-1-6653792 . 5 July 2020 . live .
- Web site: Weird Hit Wonder #5: Rotterdam Termination Source – Poing . 3voor12 . 4 May 2020 . Vpro . 19 July 2020 . nl . https://web.archive.org/web/20200518034206/https://3voor12.vpro.nl/artikelen/overzicht/2020/Weird-Hit-Wonder/Weird-Hit-Wonder--5--Rotterdam-Termination-Source---Poing.html . 18 May 2020 . live .
- News: Foster . Richard . A Quietus Interview: Hard Voor Weinig; Klopt! Rats On Rafts And Rotterdam . 19 July 2020 . The Quietus . 20 April 2015 . en-us.
- Book: Reynolds . Simon . Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture . 2013 . Routledge . 978-1-136-78316-6 . 19 July 2020 . en . eBook.
