All of a sudden, like a clap of thunder in a clear sky, house music exploded in Amsterdam. It was September 1988, the end of the summer that the British had already dubbed "The Summer Of Love," and the birth of a new era in the capital.

Shrouded in steam and smoke, lit by furious, flashing strobes, Eddy de Clercq stands behind the turntables at the RoXY. Beaded with sweat, in deep concentration and completely at one with the music, he builds a compelling, hypnotising soundtrack of electronic beats and basslines. Uplifting house tracks alternate with beautiful, vocal garage and abstract, futuristic Detroit techno. Waves of energy shudder through the crowd, who whoop and cheer with each subsequent track. Football whistles blare, a siren begins to wail. Can you feeeel it? The temperature reaches boiling point as the dance floor explodes in yet another ecstatic climax. But then the DJ makes a radical change in tack. The musical rollercoaster hurtles on into the depths of the night, driven forward by an intense, biting acid track that makes the floor shake. Strange and estranging and going so deep that we seem for a moment to step into an intoxicating dreamworld where time no longer exists.

In the late summer of 1988, over the course of only a few weeks, the RoXY, a stylish, former cinema on the Singel in Amsterdam, grew into a veritable house temple: the dazzling centre of the capital's young house scene and a club whose fame in the years that followed would take on almost mythical proportions. Not only because of the music, but also due to the extravagant clientele, who knew how to create an amazing party atmosphere.

[00:00] Rhythm Is Rhythm - Strings Of Life
[03:48] Djum Djum - Difference
[05:33] Nightmares On Wax - Aftermath
[07:06] ?
[10:27] 4 For Money - Its A Moment In Time (Rising High Dub)
[13:07] Liaisons Dangereuses - Peut Etre...Pas
[18:12] Jamie Principle - Your Love
[22:25] Pete Shelley - Witness The Change
[26:31] The D.O.C. - Portrait Of A Masterpiece (Hip Hop 12" Extended Mix)
[30:45] ?
[33:50] Master C&J - Face It 
[35:55] Reese - Just Want Another Chance
[39:22] Lovechild - Sweet Ambience (Deep Dub)
[46:50] ?
[42:54] Chapter 1 - Unleash The Groove (E-Funk Mix)
[48:58] Suburban Knight - The Art Of Stalking
[51:01] Tyree - Acid Crash
[56:15] Ron Trent - Altered States

Comments, hints and suggestions are always welcome!

Derrick May @ RoXY, Amsterdam   28.09.1990

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 ELECTRONIC MUSIC FAN SINCE 1992
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Sporadically producing. Releases falling somewhere between techno and house. Currently working with two aliases: Exploiting trip-hop vibes as 313 Cinema and rewriting Detroit techno as part of Prosthetic Hands (with Joshua Harrison). Vinyl and digital releases and remixes on Planet E, Faith Beat, Beretta Grey, Cryovac, Motech, Out Of The Box, Ferris Park, Thoughtless Music, Detroit Underground, maybe a few more.

keep the oldschool alive!
and support the artists!

Derrick May @ RoXY, Amsterdam 28.09.1990

corecracker