New Rave

New rave is a music genre that emerged in Britain during the early 2000s. It combined elements of electronic dance music, new wave and rock.

Klaxons were a key pioneer of this movement and created an entirely new scene. Other bands that have contributed to modern rave culture include:

Klaxons

London-based Klaxons made their debut with singles Gravity’s Rainbow (2006) and Atlantis to Interzone (2006), both featured on their self-titled album Myths of the Near Future (2007). Unfortunately, this album proves quite formulaic in its attempts to bridge the gap between Brit-pop (Golden Skans, Forgotten Works) and Madchester rave (Atlantis to Interzone) through recycled revisions of classic tracks.

The band’s pop side is filled with wordless “ooh” and “ah” hooks that sound like a Squeeze soundtrack. Bassist James Righton and keyboardist Jamie Reynolds drive the rhythm with relentless repetition, while Simon Taylor-Davis provides sharp guitar chords.

Lyrically, Klaxons’ songs are far more ambitious than they may appear at first glance. Rather than competing with dance music’s ‘plain’ competitors, Klaxons seeks to create something unique within that existing canon of melody and dirt.

Klaxons songs fall into two categories: Type 1 is typically Brit-Pop or Pop-Punk with touches of grunge. Check out tracks like “Golden Skans” and “As Above So Below” for examples.

Klaxons stand apart from their dance-music peers by taking an original approach and making it work for them. While their lyrics may be unusual, they always manage to transport listeners’ expectations to an unimaginable place – one both bemusing and incredible.

Their nu rave connection was evident at the show, with an enthusiastic crowd dancing and bouncing along to the music. During Myths’ “Magick,” house lights dimmed as people cheered, clapped, and waved their hands along to its infectious beat. Klaxons turned up the volume even higher for their second half performance and had everyone dancing along to its relentless beat.

Shitdisco

Shitdisco, a Glasgow band known for crowd surfing and spraying alcohol drinks at parties, have been lumped in with the new rave movement. This term was coined by NME who sponsored an England tour featuring bands like Klaxons and Shitdisco as part of their New Rave Revolution initiative.

The Glasgow four-piece have released two albums and are well known in the dance music world. Additionally, they DJ and perform at parties in Ibiza.

They’re known for their chaotic free parties – some have even been dispersed by riot police back home in Scotland. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on who you ask; nonetheless, they produce some intriguing music nonetheless.

Kingdom of Fear’ is their debut album and it offers all the ingredients for an excellent party track, featuring pitch-shifting synthesizers and body-moving drumbeats alongside sultry disco-inspired dance tunes. Unfortunately, however, its shortcomings don’t end there; its overt brashness also comes into play here.

Starting off, ‘Kung Fu’ opens with an intense vocal barrage that would fit perfectly on a Matrix soundtrack. Following that comes ‘OK’, one of the more fun tracks here but not quite up to par with its predecessors or as sultry as one might expect from a band looking to make waves in nu-rave culture.

Kingdom of Fear’ is an intense record, and at times it can seem like Shitdisco are racing to finish it as quickly as possible. Their ideas are plentiful, yet sometimes it can be difficult to keep them all in focus. The album’s final track aEURFear of the FutureaEUR(tm) particularly struggles with whether to be an ominous ending or an electro pop throwback from the 80s.

New Young Pony Club

New Young Pony Club and Ladyhawke have joined forces for a London show to raise awareness of skin cancer. Guests can win tickets by entering the competition on Cancer Research UK’s website.

The band are relatively unknown in the US, but their captivating dance-rock tracks have gained recognition across Europe. Over the past few years they’ve played major festivals like Reading & Leeds, Underage and Wireless across the UK/Europe, supporting artists like Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani.

One of their biggest hits, ‘Ice Cream’, led them to sign with Modular Recordings and quickly gained notoriety among music writers and trendy blogs. It was an exciting start for 2005 for them, but after the release of their debut album Fantastic Playroom things took a turn for the better for them.

In 2010, The Optimist marked their return with a more subdued album that seemed like they’d finally let loose some of their more intricate elements that had remained unseen for so long. Plus, they’d just recently been nominated for a BRIT Award, adding another layer to their already impressive reputation among fans and critics alike.

As one might expect, their new video – featuring them being thrown into an empty school by a pubescent siren using various teen-siren tools such as bubblegum and china buns – is quite humorous. There’s even a stop-motion blood-spilling scene and all of it is filmed with that honey-coloured light that brings back memories of summer crushes long ago.

This hazy, charming clip captures the joy the band has onstage. Their songs may not be deep, but they’re great to dance to and you can’t help but smile as you watch it.

Hadouken!

Street Fighter’s Hadouken (Bo Dong Quan, or “wave motion fist”) is one of the most renowned attacks in video game history. Characters like Ken, Ryu, Sakura and Akuma use this move to project energy from their palms towards their opponents.

When performed correctly, this move releases a powerful blue surge of spirit energy (Ki), commonly referred to as a “fireball”. The size, color and texture of the Hadouken typically reflect both an individual’s personality and level of martial arts skill.

This move requires only a trained artist to execute, and it can be used to launch an intense ball of fire outwardly. Depending on the strength of your punch button, it has various properties such as speed, damage and travel length that vary based on strength; additionally, you have the option of shooting it straight or in the air.

In the games, it’s a technique that only certain characters can master. It plays an essential role in the storyline as it symbolizes one’s anger and shows how potent and dangerous their ki is within them.

Ryu’s Hadouken is a fast-moving ball that can explode in the air if given enough joystick input, showing off his anger towards opponents. In Marvel vs Capcom 3, Ken’s version can be used in any direction as well as being an impressive super move.

New Rave music has seen a meteoric rise in recent years, with bands like Klaxons, Hadouken!, Late Of The Pier and Does It Offend You, Yeah? embodying its spirit and bringing energy to the dance floor. Some have gone on to achieve massive success while others remain popular today.

Sunshine Underground

Although The Sunshine Underground’s debut album, Raise the Alarm, was released some time ago, they remain an influential force in early rave culture. Dubbed “every bit as addictive as The Rapture’s House of Jealous Lovers”, they helped launch UK dance-punk into national consciousness by selling out London and Leeds venues during their initial headline tour and earning them Live Band of the Year at Independent Leeds Music Awards 2005.

They’re known for crafting catchy, infectious songs with vocals that sometimes echo the vocoder effects of early Nineties Primal Scream. They hold a deep admiration for acts from dance-rock’s golden age of the early Nineties who managed to stay relevant by being completely adaptable – accepting every sound as valuable material.

City Rockers released the band’s debut single ‘Put You in Your Place’ in July 2005, which showcases a hybrid of punk rock and indie with elements of electro, funk and dance music. This sound can be heard on their debut single.

“Borders,” their last single from the album, is one that everyone should have on their playlist. It’s a huge track that promises to be a big hit with fans everywhere.

They’ve also released three exclusive free downloads in anticipation of the album release this week – Monday 11th, 18th and 25th January 2010. Each has only 500 copies available so be sure not to miss out!