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Gabber is just the craziest there is.
And whoever doesn't love it should just *** off, yea.
What did you say?
Whoever doesn't love it should *** off.
Gabber is just ours and it's the best there is.
We were Gabbers.
Most of us were from Rotterdam, where Gabberhouse was born.
In the media we were portrayed as drug addicted, bald weirdo's, with idiotic dance moves in silly tracksuits.
Well, maybe it was like that.
But we felt differently.
Gabber gave us identity, fun and power.
They were the best years of our lives.
And now, years after Gabber died...
We tell our story.
Gabber is a music style, organized for the youth.
Initially to keep criminals off the streets.
Which didn't really work.
It's a summary of different beats, after each other, in quick succession.
While using lots of drugs and lots of dancing, sociable amongst each other.
Pills, snorting and hardcore will never die.
In the 60's and 70's they had their own music too.
Now it's the 90's and we have Gabber.
I don't know how it got to be either, but i'ts cool.
Gabber is my life. It's great music.
And it's just everything.
Gabber is now.
Filled with people, yea.
Yea, the atmosphere, and...
When we were at Central Station, everyone would look at us.
Good.
Let them watch.
Central Station, at the lockers, yea.
Always letting go a little before heading towards 'de Energiehal'.
I've been there a lot of times, was always good fun.
Everybody would arrive there by train, so it was a real 'meeting point'.
Somebody would always have one of those portable disc mans or something.
And that music blasting through the station.
But yea, all those Gabbers united at those lockers, that was a standard meeting point.
And afterwards we would all meet up there again.
Until, I don't know, in the morning.
I was roaming the streets a little.
And that's when I kind of met those Gabbers and we would always stand around at Central Station.
And that's how I ended up on those parties with all those guys.
All street roamers, *** sort of, rejects.
It's basically all people with the 'black sheep policy', you know.
So they'd find each other.
And from Central Station we'd form a big line towards 'de hal'.
Goosebumps.
Stomach cramps while just heading over, totally worried about having forgotten your entrance ticket while driving over.
Well, I was dropped off by my mom...
And I would sit in the car all cramped up, and my mom would go: what's wrong.
"Energiehal, Energiehal, so awesome, you should know how awesome it is!"
That feeling.
And when you arrive there, the sound you could already hear outside...
And then you enter and its one big black hole, and all those lights and speakers, just...
That was IT, for me.
Gabber heaven.
Yea, Gabber heaven.
Look, when you were outside you could already hear the indefinable unts unts unts..
Those indefinable basses, you know.
And you were all like: "man, I wanna go in. I wanna go in".
But first there was the line, and then through those glass doors.
You had to pass through security where they would frisk you and stuff.
And then you would end up in some sort of pre-entrance, which was a tunnel.
And that tunnel was amazing.
'Cause in that tunnel, the closer you got to the hall, the more the music started to transform.
And it went like unts unts unts unts...
And eventually you'd enter the hall and it was mental.
I would often sit in that tunnel, I loved the sound.
And then eventually through that tunnel, it was a sort of walkway, after which you'd end up in the hall.
All the way at the start of the hall.
That's where it all went down.
I'm Gabberin.
Can you say that to me?
I'm Gabberin.
'Energiehal' was, yea, heaven on earth you could say.
It was at a time...
What you see at parties now are people getting spoiled and everything has to be decorated.
And there it was just a hall, and it just had really loud bass.
Maybe it's cause that's where it all started and everything was new.
But 'de Energiehal' is just 'de Energiehal', nearly impossible to describe.
I don't think you'll ever find such a place again.
Yea, that was the place to be for house music.
For Gabber, hardcore, that was THE place.
Everybody would shake your hand, everybody happy, that's really amazing.
You won't find that in a club.
I don't find that anywhere anymore these days, the way it was then.
I would start getting nervous on Sunday for the Saturday coming up...
Not to brag, but Gabber is still the only youth culture that started in The Netherlands.
Started in Rotterdam.
And like someone once said: 'Being a Gabber is no shame'.
Yea, what would you do.
Walk around, look at people, senseless conversations, popping a pill, hakken.
All night, hakken, ***...
Hakken..
Everybody had their own moves.
Mine was really backwards hakken.
Can't show you now because of my leg.
But backwards hakken was really stomping.
On the bass, the faster the better.
You're just concerned with the music and dancing.
And when you see someone else enjoying in his own way, you just appreciate and respect it.
It's all your feeling, can't put it any other way.
And the silly thing is, if I hear the track again, I'll do the exact same thing, at an entirely different event.
It's really weird.
If someone tells me to do it such and such, I can't.
It's all based on feeling, nothing else.
It took a couple years until I really got the hang of it.
But I never really was a dancer, in that sense.
I do dance at events, to the point my muscles would hurt and you'd walk to the subway and go:
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, yea it was an awesome party".
Yea, that's fun.
The bedroom of my parents had a wall of mirrors, the closet.
And with a radio and some music I would look in the mirror and make my own dance moves.
Can you show some?
Yea, those Rotterdam guys would usually kick forward.
Like so.
And I thought: "if I pull through and put it on the spot of the other foot.." It will end up behind, like so.
That's how I did it in the mirror.
Yea that's everything, listen to it man.Perfect.
Fast, faster, that's the best.
And bald, bald, fast.
I'm just hooked, you know.
Every weekend.
It's just an addiction, I have to 'house' every weekend or I'll go mad.
Throwing all your frustrations aside in the weekend, going crazy, yeap.
Do you even know how sociable it is inside.
Do you know how great that is.
When you were this age you also looked for something that fits you.
When you would look at 'de Energiehal' from above, you would find the majority in the center.
Where people were just doing the hakken dance.
Around that was a ring of people, who were just walking around.
All night, walking in circles.
Really something that belonged to Gabber, walking around.
Everywhere, looking around everywhere.
You'll meet someone and you just see a lot.
Conversations are about nothing.
If you would sit in between two of those druggies on a bench...
One is talking about his garden gnome and the other about his job, and they're talking to each other.
One says something and the other responds, but totally unrelated, really funny.
There would be an outer ring, and people there were just watching.
Or they were catching their breath.
What was funny: on the floor you could still see the lines for the sports field.
Because on Monday it would be open to sports again.
Now I'm going to 'Parkzicht'.
Now we're going to 'Park', party.
Continue on a little longer.
I'll see myself on tv soon.
Yea and my mom too.
Later!
'Parkzicht' didn't start out with Gabber.
When I started 'Parkzicht' in '89, it was live music on Fridays, and Disco on Saturdays.
Then the House started.
We were allowed to stay open until 9am.
And at first they'd play Hardcore from 8am until 9am, it was called something else then.
And that would gradually start earlier, from 7am until 9am, from 6am until 9am..
And eventually it moved back.
It became really popular back then.
The point was, we weren't allowed in anywhere with our trainers and bald heads.
But here we were, 'Parkzicht'.
There was no door policy, so everyone would come here.
'Parkzicht' had a bit of a dodgy reputation, a bit of a dark corner.
The image in my head: everywhere there's lights, except for there.
We'd have people from Urk, from Groningen, by bus from England, by train from Antwerp...
They just came to party.
Guys from Urk would come straight from the boat and bring eel for the staff.
Fresh eel by the bushel, and they'd drop it off.
My mom was at the cash register, handing out eel and they went partying from Friday to Saturday.
And Sunday morning they had to get back to Urk, probably to church.
That priest must've had a funny look on his face.
But they were just great guys.
Ok, Rotterdam right, it is Rotterdam, Gabber.
Is Gabber Rotterdam?
Of course, it's from Rotterdam, right.
It's just Rotterdam really.
Invented at 'Parkzicht'.
DJ Rob invented it at 'Parkzicht'.
Gabber is from Rotterdam.
I always had a free hand at 'Parkzicht', for 5 years.
It was all just perfect, I could do what I wanted.
When I would go someplace, I would go to England, Germany, Belgium.
When I heard music and thought:" I need that music", I would just get it to Parkzicht.
It was just looking for a certain path, and when you find it and people respond well to it, you continue down it.
At first I thought:"what a load of noise".
I'd go to the DJ and say: "*** of with that noise".
But after a few weeks it gets fun.
This is it: The Gabber Machine.
This is the b... a 909.
Extreme sound, synthesizers, juno 1's racing by, airplanes flying over...
Hard snares, bass drum that goes right through your head...
Most Gabbers love different stuff.
Some just like bass, others the rhythm, I love the high tones.
It gives you that flying sensation, really.
Most people think its noise.
Well that's their problem.
If they want feel annoyed by it being noise I just think: 'your vision is here and your hearing is up to here, and whatever goes beyond that..'
You could never explain it to those people anyway.
What was special about that music?
It's music..The bass, definitely.. Yea, the bass.
That's something you lose yourself in and you forget your worries for the moment.
You could just forget everything for a night.
You know the good part?
The music was so loud, it would crack the walls.
For most outsiders it was pure musical terror, but gold for us.
Everybody is friendly, it's just wonderful.
Full on party tonight, going mad, nothing more.
Do you have something against people with hair, or something?
Louder, louder, again.
What am I supposed to say?
Same thing.
Do you have something against people with hair?
Gabbers suck, Gabbers suck, Gabbers suck.
I shaved my hair at the very start too.
My mom totally freaked when I got home.
I only had it for a year, then everybody started doing it and I let it grow back.
When you're sweating with a bald head, it runs off more easily.
And what I personally liked was to wear track pants.
It's a little more 'airy', so it would cause less problems dancing.
Jeans get wet, start to feel tight and get uncomfortable.
I think a Gabber doesn't look a particular way.
Most do dress one way: bald, bomberjack, 'Aussie'..
But there are also guys who dress normal and go to loads of parties, who are basically more Gabbers than those dressed up ones.
What does a gabber look like?
Usually the same: jeans, track jacket, bald head, drugged all night.
Bomberjack, Nike sneakers, sport socks: the average Gabber.
A couple earrings...
Everything was new.
It was a real happening, you'd have lots to see.
The way people dress, what they look like..
And pretty soon things like track jackets, sneakers and a bald head were 'in'.
Really, I love it.
This is my third 'Aussie'.
I bought it cause I thought it was so awesome, somewhat trippy..
That xtc from back then of course, when you look at it for too long you already start tripping, me at least.
I really had a lot of 'Aussies'.
I had an entire wall of them, all different kinds.
And I never bought one of them.
So yea, I did have lots of 'Aussies'.
We would pretend to be security and completely undressed guys, all of us.
People often thought we were poor in those tracksuits.
But do you even know what they cost!?
With an 'Aussie' you are somebody.
And people often thought Gabber is one thing, but then they don't look close enough.
All those 'Aussies' and Cavello's, really nobody is the same.
And if you spotted someone with the same jacket, you'd have a new one the next week.
Look, and this is Koen's breakfast.
Sorry, what was the question?
I'm totally against drugs.
You don't need drugs? No, don't need them. All pointless, drugs.
Gabber is bouncing around, no drugs.
Trips, speed, pills, you name it, coke, as much as possible.
Taking pills, snorting, everything, and a tight beat, everybody going wild, all together.
Pills, pills and beer. Beer, beer, beer, beer.
Tell me a story, howsit?
Niceeeee
Just having fun together, you know.
Just, everybody is at the same level due to the drugs, that happens, you know.
But a Gabber doesn't need to be bald, could also be someone with hair on his head.
That's ***, that he needs to be bald and you know what. It's all nonsense.
And that its aggression is also nonsense cause it's more fun than when you put a couple thousand people together who drink.
They cause much more trouble than a couple thousand people who snort and pop pills, you know.
You pop pills?
Yes, I pop pills, can you tell?
Nah, you can't tell, can you?
What did you take then?
I took 'pidgeons' and 'playboys'. This way please.
Pidgeons and playboys.
Doesn't matter anyway, otherwise you get all these stories, you know.
I could completely let go to it.
If I took a pill and a couple snorts I could completely let go, forget about everything, stomping really hard.
And going on, that's what I loved the most, it would last so long.
Endlessly, from 10 to 10.
Earlier I would experiment with everything, everything except a needle in my arm.
Never that, that's really a no.
Just the Gabber things: pills and speed, for me.
People would use coke too, never did that.
But your friends offer speed or pills and you give it a try.
I have to say, it does enhance the experience at a party.
It's one big dream world you enter.
Most important were the xtc pills and the speed.
Coke was hardly ever used, maybe on the Sunday after to chill out.
Sunday we would go on to 'Pompei' where we could go hakken all day from 12 to 6.
It was a small youth shelter, where you'd always find the same people.
And that's where DJ Panic started, and I don't know who.
They would all play weekly, including Forze DJ Team, and just..
It was a really small place but it was so much fun, the atmosphere was so great.
That was really special.
When there was an event at 'de Energiehal' everybody would leave for there, and if there was nothing everybody was at 'Pompei'.
You weren't just a Gabber in the weekends, but on weekdays too.
You were always looking for the latest track, the latest beat.
Our music confused the older generations.
But the young ones couldn't get enough.
Gabber is music that lets you go all the way.
Many use drugs, but drugs don't make the Gabber, I think.
What does?
The sociability, the music, the atmosphere and stuff.
Tell me your name and age?
I'm Barbara, 15 years..
Ohh, if your mom sees this...
It's a shame you get all these young kids inside these days.
They're all stuffed with pills and walking around telling big stories about having used 15 grams of speed and so many pills, which is biologically impossible.
And all these big stories to each other, I don't need all that.
Nowadays I think it looks more like 'Telekids'. To many small people.
Kind of Telekids-like.
How come?
How come... I don't know
Commercialism eventually discovered Gabber too.
Silly artists made so-called funny parodies of our music.
And the crowd got younger too, from grownups, adolescents and eventually just kids.
'Daar is Gabbertje' ?
*** off.
You were starting to feel ashamed of your bald head.
You'd let your hair grow back, as protest.
Gabber had gained a bad reputation at that point.
You know, crime, drugs..
I think that played a part, definitely with the bomberjacks with the Dutch flags and racists.
While it really wasn't like that.
It would attract more 'wrong' people.
Opportunists, dudes with flags and slogans.
People who started to abuse Gabber for a political statement.
They maybe looked like us, but were totally different.
We wanted to party, they wanted politics.
How stupid could one be...
The fun of Gabber was that it was just for fun!
I think it should have stayed ours.
Then maybe it would have stayed with a small audience.
At one point you get people who don't really belong there.
They could talk whatever they wanted, that it was over, that the atmosphere was gone.
But I kept on hakken, I had lots of energy to get rid of.
For me it remained about the music, always.
This is in Gabber-time too.
I don't know why this one is here, but it's at Sinterklaas.
And here I was about 19, 20 years old.
But this was in my Gabber-time, I still had one of those rings.
I still completely loved going to those events, but I knew I wasn't going anywhere in life.
Party every weekend.. That's all you end up living for.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday cranky, Thursday, Friday happy cause you could go again.
It was the same pattern over and over, and I got tired of it.
Totally wasted every Sunday, didn't feel like anything, just sleeping.
And Monday you had to work and it sucked, Tuesday sucked, Wednesday was a little better and Thursday you'd be back in party mode.
It was a pattern you got stuck in, not very good.
I really thought I'd never snap out of it, what would I do then?
That's how I felt: Then I'm no longer a Gabber, then what?
You don't know, 'cause when you were supposed to grow up, from 17 to 23 or something, that's all you did.
You kind of postponed the rest of your life.
Just everything for Gabber, it's the best thing in all the world.
They say Gabber is bad, but that's just because of the guys who make it so.
They're shutting down parties at de Energiehal, that's just because of those guys.
It's *** Energiehal is closing.
Where do we go now? We'll be out on the streets. Police isn't going to like that.
What else can we do?
What could we do? Where could we go?
We definitely couldn't go to de Energiehal, that was torn down.
THE Gabber symbol.
Just torn down.
Unceremoniously, no involvement.
A lot of people cried a little when it was torn down.
Really, if I die I want my ashes to be scattered there.
Later it became a parking space and they built a hotel, so maybe they had different plans.
And maybe they didn't want it in Rotterdam anymore.
It was something strange, after all.
Too strange.
Yes, maybe too strange.
Maybe we hold on to the past too much, I don't know.
Do we think we can step right into de Energiehal every weekend?
Pompei is history too.
Parkzicht. Yea...
It turned into a great place.
But I think it lost its soul.
So much happened in Parkzicht.
Not just through me, but before too.
All big names in the world have been there.
And now it's just a restaurant, just a seafood restaurant, that's it.
I think Parkzicht was so special because it was new.
A lot of new stuff happened there.
And in a time when different music than before started to grow.
I always compared it to the era of the Beatles.
They always say: It will never die.
But as far as I'm concerned it's pretty dead.
I always had a good feeling with it.
It was a nice escape for me.
And made good money.
Gabbers for life, right. Hardcore will never die.
It's just in your blood.
Gabber is everything.
Gabber is everything.
Well this one I got on Valentine's day 2008, I think.
And 'Gabber'... '98 I believe.
And this one I only got 5 years ago too: "early girl '95"
'Early girl' is a Gabber name from back then, 'early', 'early reefteef'.
And '95 was my first party I just told you about, and that's been the start of my life.
Gabber chick for life.
Definitely.
Look, it gives me goosebumps, see?
On my leg, all goosebumps.
You only need to mention it.
I've been going to parties for over half my life.
And I think when I get the chance, or when I'm in a retirement home, I will still put on a liveset by Paul, or..
Yea, that stays.
Hardcore for life, for sure.
It gives me energy, I don't know. It makes me a happy person.
It makes me smile.
I get up in the morning and think "there" and then I listen to all those records.
I get goosebumps from some tracks and I think "soooo" and I'm just happy.
It did change.
But it really didn't die, surely not.
There are still so many people who listen to it, enjoy it, definitely not dead.
Hardcore for life.
I'll put that on my tombstone, I'm certain.
Look, this is how I see it.
The music never left, but the Gabber died.
It's no problem, the hippie is dead, the punk is dead and emo isn't doing well either.
But what matters, is that you were there.
And we were there.
We were Gabbers.