Welcome to my list of top 20 techno 90s rave tunes! In the early 90s rave music was everywhere. I remember it well. I was in college at the time and living in Orlando. Back then the downtown party scene was much cooler. Firestone was around, The Edge was around. Clubs stayed open all night and nobody even went out until well after midnight. If we got bored we drove to Gainesville and went to Simons. Zen Festival was in full effect and raves were ubiquitous. Ecstasy was plentiful and we liked how that dude from Rabbit in the Moon wore that crazy mirror-jacket!
Got PLUR?
It’s hard not to listen to the music you grew up with and not have a little bit of nostalgia (I grew up in the 80s, thus I have a soft spot for 80s music, even while I understand that most of it isn’t very good). Sure, a lot of rave music, just like a lot of house music, is total crap. But some of it is really good, too, and in that spirit I bring you my personal top 20 rave/techno tunes of the early 90s – mostly from 1990-1993. Naturally, rave purists will yell at me about it (How could you not include Run Tings? Where’s the Smart-ees?! Where’s DJ Icey?! Only a poseur would include Lords of Acid!). Whatever dudes! Go make your own list!
Top 20 Techno 90s / Rave Tunes
20. Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy
(1992)
This one throws everything in but the kitchen sink. Female vocals (Dorothy Fearon), piano riffs, sirens, and at the end there’s a good amount of 303 squelches. From the Production House label, who also gave us Acen. This is a huge breakbeat/rave item and has been re-released countless of times.
19. Return of the Living Acid – Get Funky! (1991)
Return of the Living Acid is actually Tony Payne, who also did Goal Kick, which is on a 12″ white label from back in the day called “History Repeats” “Get Funky!” is my personal guilty pleasure. It’s not a complex song, but it combines all the required elements (long deep base notes, 303 acid stabs, hiphop sample) in just the right way to get the intended effect. I mean, it’s Africa Bambaata’s Planet Rock (Yo Yo, Get Funky! Yaaahhhhh!) turned into a rave anthem. Sounds good to me!
18. SL2 – On A Ragga Tip (1992)
This is the best example I can think of what they call “Ragga Techno”. It’s basically breakbeat with a reggae/dancehall influence. This song tends to make me jump up and down alot – it’s very bouncy. And I love the sampling of Jah Screechy’s “Walk & Skank” even though I have no idea what he’s saying.
17. Zero Zero – Zeroxed (1991)
A good techno tune from the early 90s is this song off the Kickin’ label that samples Jimi Hendrix (the guitar riff from “Fire”). It also has a sample of Aphrodite’s Child (“Now comes the capture of the beast”) and sirens to kick it off. It’s only for the headstrong, whatever the hell that means.
16. Altern8 – Armageddon (1992) / Frequency (1991)
Top One, Nice One, Get Sorted.
Mark Archer and Chris Peat (formerly Nexus 21) dressed up in dust masks and chemical protection suits and called themselves Altern8. I don’t think you can talk about old school rave and not mention them – they are probably the most interesting of the bunch because they aren’t your typical “faceless” techno artist. Certainly not as well known as an act like The Prodigy, but at least you recognize their look. They came out with weird shit and sayings like “Top One Nice One Get Sorted”. Yeah! What in hell does that mean? I don’t know, but it’s fun to say. Their music is total rave all the way, influenced by the Detroit techno sound, and occasionally their songs will sample old school house music, throw in 303 stabs, nice 808 kickdrums, heavy bass, etc.. “Full On Mask Hysteria” is their only full length LP and it’s worth getting if you can find it. It works as techno and as a historical artifact. My two favorite tunes off the record are Frequency and Armageddon. The first track naturally has a recurring sample of some guy saying “Frequency” and it’s echoed and faded. Armageddon is a massive stormer with Public Enemy samples (Chuck D says “Armageddon!” from when they did a live show in London). Good stuff.
Keep reading techno/90s rave stuff:
Entries 11 through 15
Entries 6 through 10
Entries 1 through 5
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nice one top one get sorted……that’s a typical english type sayin
….nice one …well thanks mate….top one….sorta the same but also number 1….get sorted ….well sort of self explanatory…get wrecked, stoned, hammered, bolloxed, caned
great times and great sounds
Im so impress in the sound of the oldskool especially those sound that will surely catches your attention , Its amazing and make a big crowd of dancers going too hype………………………..Dj Academy Philippines…….
Bill, I also was at UCF in Orlando from 1991 – 1996! I know every song you posted in yr awesome article here. My good friends opened up the Abyss & that was our hang out for the time it was there. Just wanted to tell you thank you for the walk down memory lane!! With husband and kids now I sure needed it! Thanks again, Sam
Hi – thanks for the trip down memory lane…I do a bit of dj work on the side – and have the lord of acid one in my mix. I like the momentary ‘what the f***’ face the clubbers get and then they get it. But there is one song on my old mix-cds from that time that I also play that people love and I can’t for the life of me remember who did it – can anyone help? I know it will all come to me when I know, but for the moment it’s alluding me – should have been more clear-headed in those rave years…
The two main lyrics are:
I’m on a mission from God, listen all you suckas, and
WHFD start the panic.
Hi Lainie,
I think you are thinking of “Homeboy,Hippie & Funki Dredd – Start The Panic”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw5CHxYDffk
-Bill
Yessssss!!!!
Thanks Bill!, took me a while to come back and check on a response! You’ve saved me wracking my brain until the next conundrum!
These are some great tunes – I revisit the 90-94 techno stuff fairly often, but I totally forgot about Return of the Living Acid “Get Funky” – amazing! Does anyone remember a tune that started with the Roger Miller sample that would end up years later in that annoying Hampster Dance song? It was on a comp I had back in the day & would love to hear it again, even if it’s a cheesy novelty song!
Haystack – are you referring to “Bad Base” by B.T.B.?
http://youtu.be/AB9vIovWm2g
If that’s the one, you might be interested to know it’s on Best of Techno Vol 2 (from Profile records) which also has “Get Funky” on it.
- Bill
Yes! That’s it – thanks Bill!! I guess I must have faintly recalled those tunes were on the same comp. Nice to hear them again all these years later …
did i miss josh wink’s higher state of consciosness somewhere?
Yes! they played that all the time at The Edge. Also, Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name Of and Violent Femmes. There was another one that featured a lady singing “Taaaaaaaake meeeee awaaaaaay!” and it’s been stuck in my head for years!
Andrew,
You are probably thinking of Mix Factory “Take me Away”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzku-qAVZTQ
We would like to introduce you to a little thing called STEREO.. First the bass… Then the hihat and snare osv osv. Can someone remember some of this lyrics ?
Thank you for being on top of things. Very cool to hear some lost hits from the 90′s.
Personally, I always thought “Bomb Scare”, by 2 Bad Mice was pretty bad ass too.
Thanks.