Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music (Expanded Edition) (Matt Anniss)

Originally published in 2019, it has now been revised, updated and expanded. Errors have been corrected, some chapters have been expanded, analysis has been added and further footnotes have been included to include even more information and citations. There’s also now an additional ‘Afterword’ chapter that reflects on the story, the author’s journey as a researcher, and changing perspectives around UK dance music history.

A mixture of social, cultural, musical and oral history, Join The Future reveals the untold stories of bleep’s Yorkshire pioneers and those that came in their wake, moving from electro all-dayers and dub soundsystem clashes of the mid-1980s to the birth of hardcore and jungle in London and the South East. Along the way, you’ll find first-hand accounts of key clubs and raves, biographies of forgotten and overlooked production pioneers, stories of bleep outposts in Canada and the United States, and the inside story of the early years of one of electronic music’s most iconic labels, Warp Records.

Includes quotes drawn from hundreds of interviews with DJs, dancers, producers and record label owners, including Cabaret Voltaire, Nightmares On Wax, LFO, Altern8, 808 State, Fabio & Grooverider, 4 Hero and many more.

Matt Anniss is a journalist and author specializing in electronic music, DJing and club culture. He began his career on internet magazines in the late 1990s before joining the staff of IDJ Magazine as Music Editor in 2000, later becoming Editor. Since leaving the magazine in 2008, he’s become a regular contributor toResident Advisor, Red Bull Music Academy Daily and DJ Magazine, specializing in historical aspects of dance music culture.

“This was a vital creative era in British electronic music that deserved deeper exploration, so Matt Anniss’ history of ‘bleep and bass’, which sets the sound in the socio-political environment of its time, is a significant addition to the literature of dance culture.” Matthew Collin, author of ‘Altered State’ and ‘Rave On’.