Dyewitness – Seven Days

Another amazing record by the legendary Dyewitness. This record is significantly harder then his previous releases, which may have been influenced by the harshness of 1994 Dutch Gabber and his successful work with The Nightraver, producing the first release on a label called Terror Traxx and the Gabber classics, So and We Are From Rotterdam.

Seven Days is an energetic rave tune, starting off with some catchy synth stabs and moving into a more chopped up high end synth, all within the first minute. The more serious Hoover riff in the middle definitely keeps up the energy. About three quarters in, I like the little bleepy twinkling sound, the raw Dance music keyboard riff and the unusual skipping drum pattern. The track ends on a higher riff leaving you wanting more. Seven Days was a popular song in the Australian rave scene. Good start to the record.

The A2 track is a harder and faster update on the classic tune, Only If I Had One More. The beat seems like it came out of a TR-909, but really bouncy, plus there's a chunky old school Breakbeat as an added bonus. The juicy Hoover/Mentasm synth riffs are upbeat reworkings of the original and in my opinion, an improvement. There's also a very simplistic stab that rides the beat way better then it should. I like the way Dyewitness time stretches "the law" sample. Speaking of which, the Public Enemy sample is sped up in this remix adding more intensity to proceedings. Hazy Shade Of Criminal is a long forgotten song by Public Enemy, it's a highly political song, and it's really really weird to hear it in a Techno track! If you want to hear this Public Enemy sample at normal speed with crushing Hardcore kickdrums, may I recommend Neighbourhood Crime by Bodylotion. Fun and vibrant remix!

Arguably the best and most famous tune on this record is Brrrr, the song NOT the record label. I've always felt this was Dyewitness's attempt at Hardcore Gabber, and my god its fucking good! As soon as you hear those hard bouncy kicks, extended claps, that serious Techno riff (with that extended stab at the end of the pattern) and when that pounding percussion takes over, it's on like Donkey Kong!! For me, those breakdowns are crazy good, intense mysterious atmosphere with those stabs hovering over the tune and when the beat kicks in, pure mayhem. I like how the Techno synth is cut up to great effect towards the end. Interesting to note the "Jiiieehaaaa" sample from Sir Mix-A-Lot - Square Dance Rap that would become famous a year later..... Lee Newman (rest in peace) from Technohead licensed Brrrr to the wonderful Technohead 3 Out Of Control compilation. She was quite picky about what should be on these compilations, which is a compliment to the greatness of the tune. Certified Early Hardcore anthem that still gets played to this day.

Seven Beats (Mellow Remix) despite its name is an upbeat House remix of Seven Days, not my cup of tea though.

It is actually remarkable to have three well known rave tunes on the one record, a testament to Mischa van der Heiden's skill as a producer and the popularity of the Dyewitness project. Mischa was on a roll in 1994, in the same year he would help produce the Hardcore anthem The Future with The Nightraver, MC Cyclone and DJ Trevor ("in control of the 303!"). The name Dyewitness comes from a US hand held spray used in self defense that would turn would be attackers green, which is why there are green monsters on most of the Dyewitness record covers!

Hard to find a banger to equal "Brrrr" the drums and percussion do all the damage!!! short and sweet at 3.28 but that's enough time to pulverise any listener into oblivion !!!!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Classic Dutch Rave Track!