New book, Dance Or Die, explores the history of hardcore

A new book dives into the history and culture of hardcore.

Dance Or Die by journalist, writer, broadcaster and DJ Mag contributor Holly Dicker will be published by Velocity Press on 6th June. The anthology claims to be the “first critical and expansive study of hardcore as a music, a subculture and an enduring ‘phuture’ rave movement”, collecting portraits and accounts of longtime scene figures, artists and fans from its 30-plus-year history.

The title description continues: “This book tracks those outsider youth who banded together en masse, as a crew, to party in protest, on ecstasy, in rage and escape, as a nighttime community, more family than family, who need this hard, loud, fast/slow, aggressive, noisy (occasionally silly) kickdrum and breakbeat music to connect with people, to survive the world, and get through the week.”

You can pre-order it here.

Earlier this year, Dicker produced the Rotterdam Rave Culture: 30 Years Of Heritage documentary. For DJ Mag, she has previously written about the history and ongoing evolution of gabber, and the return of Loftgroover, “the ’90s hardest-playing UK DJ”. 

Velocity Press recently published What Do You Call It?, a book about about UK rap music, as well as an examination of capitalism and dance music titled Selling The Night: When Club Culture Meets Brands, Advertising and the Creative Industries.

More titles that have the music section of bookstores this year have included Art of Dancehall: Flyer and Poster Designs of Jamaican Dancehall Culture, a photobook capturing early morning UK ravers in the late ’90s called Not Going Home, and Liz Pelly’s investigation into Spotify, Mood Machine: The Rise Of Spotify And The Costs Of The Perfect Playlist. 

Get thrown into New York’s hardcore scene with Kilbourne’s two-hour-long Recognise mix, along with an interview by Michael McKinney, here.