The 1990s: a decade that witnessed electronic music truly come of age. It wasn’t just a subculture anymore; it exploded into the mainstream, becoming the defining sound as the millennium drew to a close. This era marked a seismic shift, a musical revolution that continues to resonate today.
The nineties were the last time the underground truly dictated the mainstream. It felt like a final echo of the “every 14 years” cycle of cultural reinvention. Then came the internet, birthing a global pop culture machine that swiftly absorbed emerging trends, leading to an explosion of microgenres, almost too many to track, no matter how deep you dug. This was also the dawn of the digital age for music, foreshadowing the decline of record stores as the new millennium approached. I remember playing at an open-air festival deep in the Australian outback on New Year’s Eve 2000. It felt like a peak moment, the culmination of an era.
My twenties were entirely immersed in the nineties. After experiencing my first underground open-air rave, I felt a rebellious urge to break free from my existing major label contract, which had confined me to producing strictly underground techno. I embraced the freedom to release vinyl records in limited runs, staying beneath the commercial radar, and carving out my own path ever since.
The 90s were about more than just music; gathering and dancing together under the open sky or in a dimly lit club for days on end was a powerful act of unity, a political statement in itself. It was about community and shared experience.
The 90s, a time when the energy was pure and unadulterated.
