Altern-8 Live DJ Set @ The Clarence, Sligo, Ireland - 18th April 2009

If you have read some of the earlier posts on this blog you'll know that old skool breakbeat hardcore will be a regular fixture. This Altern-8 set is a real gem and thanks to DeeGun on dnbforum for fixing this up. Altern-8 were one of the most well-known production duos of the era - not just for their very recognisable tunes but equally for the chemical warfare suits and bright yellow face-masks that they wore...making them a very popular inclusion in both pro- and anti-rave articles in the press.

Here's a little extra information on them from Wikipedia:

Altern-8 tunes changed the world of Rave music, influencing many artists, with their mixture of the sounds of the Roland TB-303, 808 and 909 with breakbeats and familiar samples. At the time in the UK, outdoor rave events were legal, and Altern-8 had a reputation for turning up to play at major unofficial events. They helped to define harder House tracks relying more heavily on bass and volume. The use of more bass and eclectic noises gradually evolved Altern-8's music away from the earlier House music style. The duo, dressed in chemical warfare suits and dancing "like electrified monkeys", took part in a large number of live performances.

Notable Altern-8 tracks include "Activ-8", "E-vapor-8", "Frequency", "Brutal-8-E", "Armageddon", "Move my body", "Hypnotic St-8" and "Infiltrate 202". The band produced an album on the Network Records label in 1992 called Full On... Mask Hysteria. However when hardcore-styled rave music went out of fashion they started to get involved in the development of commercial house music. In 1992, Peat entered as a candidate for the Stafford constituency in the General Election representing the Hardcore (Altern8-ive) party. He polled 158 votes and finished in fourth place.

Strangely enough I remember reading a music magazine around that time that featured an article on Chris's election candidacy...he didn't do badly, did he? Still, this set was recorded last year and is in crisp 320kbps quality so download here and enjoy. Check the tracklisting in the comments to see what a great selection of early 1990's breakbeat/old skool hardcore this really is. Shades of Rhythm, Prodigy, Stevie V, Adamski, Inner City and, of course, Altern-8 all represented.