Harlecore

The British producer came up with the concept for his debut album—the soundtrack to a nightclub that exists exclusively online—well before clubbing became virtual by necessity. But the music of *Harlecore* holds up outside of the interactive online rave that accompanied the album’s release: a euphoric, chaotic mash of trance, Eurodance, gabber, and any other strain of maximalist dance music on the far end of the “tasteful” spectrum. (One of Harle’s many collaborative alter egos on the record, MC Boing, functions like a modern-day Crazy Frog chirping over bonkers piano house and Spanish makina beats; you’ll either love it or hate it, and more power to it for that.) Like any good club night, there are dramatic highs and lows, from the soaring arpeggios and DJ Sammy-esque hook of “Do You Remember” to the hypnotic chillout of frequent collaborator Caroline Polachek’s features under the alias DJ Ocean; together, they sound like a promise that the rave will never die.

The PC Music alum surveys the history of rave, sucking serotonin from its gleaming extremes: teeth-chattering trance, Thunderdome-worthy techno, and psychedelic chill-out.

While ‘Harlecore’ may be primed to bring the party, it’s just not quite the mad one we were hoping for.

Uniting Caroline Polachek, Hudson Mohawke, Lil Data, Danny L Harle transports you to a multi-room club where anything can happen.

Like most members of the PC Music collective, Danny L. Harle's releases were usually EPs or the purest unit of pop music, singles.

Popular music has been borrowing '80s synth sounds for what seems like a while now, both in the Top 40 and otherwise, with some examples sou...

Go clubbing from room to virtual room courtesy of the producer and assorted mystery guests

PC Music super-producer manages to conjure up the weirdness of the present and the joy of the club on the batshit Harlecore