Plus 8
Encyclopedia
Plus 8 is a Canadian
techno
record label
, based in Windsor
, Ontario
and founded in 1990
by DJs
Richie Hawtin
and John Acquaviva
. Initial releases were by the pair themselves and their friends using aliases such as States of Mind and Cybersonik, along with other Detroit-based musicians such as Kenny Larkin
. Plus 8 was, along with Underground Resistance
and Planet E, one of the vanguards of Detroit Techno
's 'Second Wave', capitalising on the vacuum left by labels such as KMS, Metroplex
and Transmat
at the start of the 1990s.
Plus 8's initial releases were a series of increasingly faster industrial hardcore recordings. This provides a clue as to the origin of the label's name - on most turntables, +8% is the maximum amount by which one can increase the speed of playback. The label began to retreat from hard and fast tempo after the release of Circuit Breaker's "Overkill/Frenz-E" and Cybersonik"s "Thrash" in 1992. Hawtin and Aquaviva became disenchanted with the drug fueled dynamic and rave culture that was driving hardcore techno. The label's total departure from hardcore came in 1992 when Hawtin and Aquaviva found themselves in a club in Rotterdam, Holland. The club DJ was playing one of Plus 8's records, a 150bpm version of Cybersonik's "Thrash" and the crowd began to chant along to the song. It soon became apparent that the chant was an anti-semitic football chant. The pair decided to change musical direction by slowing down the tempo and bringing funk and soul back into their music.
Important releases include early 12 inch singles from Speedy J
, and Richie Hawtin
's many pseudonym
s including F.U.S.E. and Plastikman. The label was suspended in 1997 as Acquaviva concentrated on DJing and Hawtin on his new label, M nus, but releases (and re-releases of early material often licensed to other labels) have appeared from time to time, notably 2000's Plus 8 Classics triple 12 inch vinyl and CD retrospective.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, based in Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and founded in 1990
1990 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...
by DJs
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin
Richard Hawtin is an English-Canadian electronic musician and DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of Minimal techno since the mid 1990s...
and John Acquaviva
John Acquaviva
John Acquaviva is an Italian-born Canadian second-wave techno artist and club DJ from London, Ontario. His friend Richie Hawtin co-founded the Plus 8 record label with him in 1990.In 2006, Acquaviva reached #22 on the ....
. Initial releases were by the pair themselves and their friends using aliases such as States of Mind and Cybersonik, along with other Detroit-based musicians such as Kenny Larkin
Kenny Larkin
Kenny Larkin is an American techno producer from Detroit. He has been described by Allmusic as "massively influential" on American, British, and German techno....
. Plus 8 was, along with Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance is a musical collective from Detroit, Michigan, in the United States of America. They are the most militantly political example of modern Detroit Techno, with a grungy, four-track musical aesthetic and a strictly anti-mainstream business strategy...
and Planet E, one of the vanguards of Detroit Techno
Detroit techno
Detroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
's 'Second Wave', capitalising on the vacuum left by labels such as KMS, Metroplex
Metroplex (record label)
Metroplex is a techno record label in Detroit, founded in 1985 by techno pioneer Juan Atkins. Juan Atkins did most of his work for the label under the pseudonyms Model 500 and Infiniti.-Discography:* M-001 Model 500 - No UFOs/Future...
and Transmat
Transmat
Transmat is the record label of techno music pioneer Derrick May, started in 1986. For years the label "released the tracks that would fuel the Techno boom" .....
at the start of the 1990s.
Plus 8's initial releases were a series of increasingly faster industrial hardcore recordings. This provides a clue as to the origin of the label's name - on most turntables, +8% is the maximum amount by which one can increase the speed of playback. The label began to retreat from hard and fast tempo after the release of Circuit Breaker's "Overkill/Frenz-E" and Cybersonik"s "Thrash" in 1992. Hawtin and Aquaviva became disenchanted with the drug fueled dynamic and rave culture that was driving hardcore techno. The label's total departure from hardcore came in 1992 when Hawtin and Aquaviva found themselves in a club in Rotterdam, Holland. The club DJ was playing one of Plus 8's records, a 150bpm version of Cybersonik's "Thrash" and the crowd began to chant along to the song. It soon became apparent that the chant was an anti-semitic football chant. The pair decided to change musical direction by slowing down the tempo and bringing funk and soul back into their music.
Important releases include early 12 inch singles from Speedy J
Speedy J
Speedy J , is a Dutch electronic music producer based in the city of Rotterdam. His breakthrough came with the release in 1992 of the minimal techno track Pullover...
, and Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin
Richard Hawtin is an English-Canadian electronic musician and DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of Minimal techno since the mid 1990s...
's many pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s including F.U.S.E. and Plastikman. The label was suspended in 1997 as Acquaviva concentrated on DJing and Hawtin on his new label, M nus, but releases (and re-releases of early material often licensed to other labels) have appeared from time to time, notably 2000's Plus 8 Classics triple 12 inch vinyl and CD retrospective.