Archive 97–99 is a snapshot of someone absorbing that ethos in real time, two decades ago, and the recordings still hold up. Not because they’re groundbreaking, but because they’re honest documents of a producer learning their craft during one of electronic music’s most fertile periods.
Meant to be a taste of nostalgia
threehz is an NYC-based selector and producer who explores the emotive sides of techno, experimental, and ambient music. Archive 97–99 is a collection of recordings made between 1997–1999 that was recently released through PPRZ Records, a Vancouver-based label run by Adam 2 and DJ Hockey.
This is an archival release, so it doesn’t try to sound old school or reminiscent, it was produced during that time. This serves as old school braindance to my ears. You have your classic breaks and strings, 4/4 dancer braindance rhythms, and distorted beats with melodic strings and synths. The production captures a specific moment in electronic music history—the late 90s, when Warp‘s Artificial Intelligence series was still fresh, Autechre was releasing LP5 and Chiastic Slide, and Rephlex was pushing braindance as a way of life rather than just a genre. threehz was clearly absorbing all of it.
The standout for me was “Silver Marker”—this distorted break filtered and processed going through a series of effects as it loops. This one reminded me of old school stuff I’d hear on Rephlex. “Rayultine” is another one that stands out to me as one of those old school beats. Since this is archival, this isn’t about technique or something innovative. It got released with the intention of showing some older productions of threehz. “Guilford” is another standout with its catchy string loop and simplified rhythms.
A window into a scene that shaped everything that came after ::
This is meant to be a taste of nostalgia. As threehz mentions, he still plays a lot of these artists in his DJ sets—Autechre, Aphex Twin, early Squarepusher, µ-Ziq, Boards of Canada. That music is still a huge inspiration. It’s experimental, the sound design is fearless, and it has this thing where any sound, any idea, anything you come up with is valid. It just makes you want to try anything and try everything and make whatever feels and sounds right to you.
Archival braindance releases like Archive 97–99 serve a specific purpose. Braindance evolved dramatically from the late 90s to now—what started as a Rephlex-coined term to describe a loose collection of IDM, acid, and breakbeat hybrids has splintered into countless subgenres. Artists like Aleksi Perälä, Brainwaltzera, and RTR have carried the torch forward, refining the sound while keeping that playful, exploratory spirit intact. But archival releases like this one remind us where it all began. They capture a moment when the rules were still being written, when producers like threehz were figuring out what a TB-303 could do when paired with chopped breaks and strings, when the boundary between dance music and home listening was still blurry. These recordings don’t need to innovate, they document a time when innovation was happening everywhere, all at once.
Archive 97–99 is a snapshot of someone absorbing that ethos in real time, two decades ago, and the recordings still hold up. Not because they’re groundbreaking, but because they’re honest documents of a producer learning their craft during one of electronic music’s most fertile periods. For anyone who grew up on Warp and Rephlex compilations, this will feel familiar. For everyone else, it’s a window into a scene that shaped everything that came after.
Archive 97–99 is available on PPRZ. [Bandcamp]
