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10 ultimate rave anthems chosen by acid house heroes Altern-8

Mark Archer of the classic rave duo picks his biggest rave-era bangers ahead of his performance at Field Maneuvers festival later this month...

Mark Archer is a true acid house hero.

Producing music and releasing records since 1988, he was the driving force behind early rave pioneers Altern-8 and techno legends Nexus 21. He also co-founded Dansa Records in 1993 and has produced under an array of pseudonyms including Trackman, DJ Nex and Xen Mantra, amongst others.

As Altern-8 he was part of the duo responsible for 1992 album ‘Full On .. Mask Hsyteria’ as well as legendary rave anthem, ‘Activ-8’.

He spins at this year’s Field Maneuvers festival, the selector’s haven placing intimacy at the centre of the party. Ahead of his set, he’s picked his 10 ultimate rave anthems. Check them out below.

1. Jonny L
‘Hurt You So’
(Yo!Yo! Records, 1992)

“I remember buying this then hearing it the same weekend in Shelley's and losing my shit to it. One of the more musical breakbeat hardcore tunes out there and just a beautiful piece of music.” 


2. Frank De Wulf

‘Magic Orchestra’
(Music Man Records, 1990)

“One of a whole heap of absolute belters that Frank De Wulf produced and a huge influence on the Altern-8 sound. This used to get hammered at Introspective in Longton (before Shelley's) alongside many other of the belgian techno tracks.”

3. The House Crew
‘Euphoria (Nino's Dream Remix)’
(Production House, 1993)

“House Crew were there right from early on in the scene with tracks like ‘Deja Vu’ and continued to kick out absolute corkers right through. This one is again a more melodic breakbeat track and was huge in 1993.”

4. Shades Of Rhythm
‘Homicide’
(ZTT, 1990)

“Early one from Shades of Rhythm. Really distinctive sounds that have been sampled on loads of rave tracks since, and made by the nicest lads in rave.”

5. Outlander
‘Vamp’
(R&S Records, 1991)

“If this tune doesn’t get a reaction then you’re playing in a cemetery. One of the biggest tunes of the rave era, off the brilliant R&S records.”

6. The Prodigy
‘Your Love’
(XL Recordings, 1991)

“One of my favourite Prodigy tunes and another that's guaranteed to get arms in the air, a pure piano breakbeat classic from the Essex crew.”

7. House Syndicate
‘Jam The Mace’
(Dopewax, 1990)

“Wicked track from one half of Masters at Work (Kenny Dope) and a huge warehouse anthem. Proves you don't need cheesy piano riffs to have a big tune.”

8. Quartz
‘Meltdown’
(ITM Music, 1989)

“One from 1989 and I can remember hearing Kelvin Andrews play it at a club in Newcastle under Lyme when it was on promo and having to go find out what it was straight away.”

9. Cybersonik
‘Technarchy’
(Plus 8 Records, 1990)

“First heard this at the Dome in Birmingham and went and bought it off the DJ for £8 there and then. Have loved it ever since and play it most weekends.”

10. Demonik
‘Labyrinthe’
(Rham!, 1990)

“Another track I first heard at the Dome and a huge bleep track. The big ‘bleep’ noise was actually sampled on Altern-8’s ‘Infiltrate 202’. Never knew the name of this back in the day, and took me until 2005 to find out what it was.”