Hardfloor

It all started with the acid record Hardtrance Acperience, played to death by countless DJs and becoming one of the anthems of electronic culture. In 1992, this already classic eleven-minute track was released by the guys from Düsseldorf Oliver Bondzio and Ramon Zenker, who had formed the duo Hardfloor a year before. The single Hardtrance Acperience became their first step on the road to fame, followed by several more releases that allowed critics to dub Hardfloor "techno giants" and rank their works alongside those of Sven Väth and Richie Hawtin. The duo Hardfloor, one of the first electronic collectives, set a trend for mixing various styles. Oliver and Ramon boldly experimented with sound, mixing hip-hop, acid house, and electro with a hard techno beat. The signature sound of Hardfloor became the specific sound of the Roland TB 303, which the musicians maintained through the years. "The TB 303 was considered the instrument of Hardfloor, and Oliver took this instrument to the max," recalls renowned techno-electronic musician Pascal F.E.O.S.: "And when any other musician approached the TB 303 and tried to do something, everyone would say: it sounds just like real Hardfloor." Experiments with sound, Oliver and Ramon's active interest in hip-hop and breakbeat led to the creation of a side project with a nearly unpronounceable name, dadamnphreaknoizephunk. Tracks released under this pseudonym became extraordinarily popular in Japan, allowing the musicians to record nearly a hundred remixes for Japanese artists and release a track for the video game "Ghost in the Shell." As Hardfloor, Oliver and Ramon worked on remixes for Depeche Mode, New Order, Human League, and Mike Oldfield. The duo's "live" shows became an important part of the programs of famous festivals MayDay, Tribal Gathering, Time Warp, and Nature One. In January 2006, Hardfloor, after almost a seven-year break, released a unique mix Our Acid Experience, consisting of rare tracks from the early '90s. This CD brings dance music fans back to the glorious time of the birth of acid-trance culture.