''Make 'Em Mokum Crazy'' is a compilation album of music by various artists released in 1996 by Dutch record label

Mokum Records Mokum Records is a Dutch independent record label specialising in early hardcore and hardcore releases. They have released about 100 single and EP vinyl records between 1993 and 1999 and more than 80 since 2004. Fred Berkhout (Freddy B) created ...

. The album, which consists solely of music from the label's catalogue, displays the happy gabba or "popcore" sound that had emerged from Dutch underground raves during the mid-1990s and had partly started to reach mainstream success, such was the case with the album's lead single "

I Wanna Be a Hippy "I Wanna Be a Hippy" is a song by English electronic group Technohead. The vocals were taken from David Peel's song "I Like Marijuana", which he sung in the movie '' Rude Awakening''. It first appeared as the B-side to the group's ''Mary Jane ...

" by

Technohead Greater Than One is an English electronic music band, founded by husband and wife Michael Wells and Lee Newman in 1985. They released many albums under this name, and also under the names Tricky Disco, GTO, John + Julie, Church of Extacy, Sign ...

. Upon its release, the album received critical acclaim for its upbeat, manic tone and happy spirit. Robert Christgau named it the 53rd best album of 1997, and, as an example of its acclaim had continued over years, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' named it the 30th greatest

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

album ever in 2012.

Background

Dutch

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

record label

was founded in 1993 by Freddy B. Originally releasing intense gabba music, such a "I'll Show You My Gun" by Annihilator, the label eventually started to release the lighthearted, "hilariously giddy" tone of happy gabba music over the ensuing two to three years. Happy gabba, and its darker originator gabba, have been described as taking "the sound of Dutch Nineties

skinheads A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

who liked their drugs speedy and their music even speedier." The label described the happy gabba music it released as "popcore", and its releases were popular in Dutch underground raves being held in

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

s. After the label had seen international success with "

" by

in late 1995 and early 1996, the ''Make 'Em Mokum Crazy'' compilation album was conceived by Mokum in attempt to document their catalogue and how the "popcore" sound was transitioning from its underground origins "to the top of the Euro pop charts."

Music

The liner notes of ''Make 'Em Mokum Crazy'' describe the music as "hyper speed happy anthems" and "the new sound of popcore", further noting that the songs emerged from the "underground warehouse raves of Holland." Music critic Robert Christgau described the music as "happy tunes" in "high registers that range from unnatural to very unnatural," advising listeners to "apply the broad brush it deserves and call it ''

The Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three ...

Go Techno''." ''

'' describe the album's happy gabber content as "hilariously giddy." More broadly, the ''Babysue'' zine described the music as "goofy

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

's "

", which was an international hit earlier on in 1996, quotes David Peel with its lyrics and features the lyrics "I wanna get stoned – on thuuuh marijuana" yipped by "a maniacal sprite." The song appears twice on the album, first in its original version and also with a remix by Ilsa Gold. ''Lollipop'' noted that the album "revolves around" the inclusion of "I Wanna Be a Hippy". Technohead also appear with the "Mobile Mecca Mix" of their song " Headsex" and with "Happy Birthday" which samples a

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

speech." Party Animals appear with a recording of the traditional "

Hava Nagila Hava Nagila ( he, הָבָה נָגִילָה, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora. History ...

" and a "ride-the-lightning cover" of "

Have You Never Been Mellow ''Have You Never Been Mellow'' is the fifth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 12 February 1975 by MCA Records. Reception Both the title single and the album rose to the top of their respective US charts ...

" by

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Release and reception

''Make 'Em Mokum Crazy'' was released in Holland by

on 9 September 1996. Later on in 1996, the label released the album in the United States, where it was marketed by Roadrunner Records and distributed by

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...

, while

Attic Records Attic Records was a Canadian independent record label, Modino Graphics are credited for the packaging's graphic design which features figure illustrations by Peter Conlon. The album was released to critical acclaim. Music zine ''Babysue'' described the music as "way upbeat and funny": "Techno bands take themselves way too seriously much of the time, but that's certainly not the case here. This almost sounds like techno/ house music if it were combined with Saturday morning cartoons."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

rated the album four stars out of five. In ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', Robert Christgau rated the album "A−", indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction." He praised the good-spirited "idiotic" nature of the album and said that the album was "intensely irritating, perversely delightful, and (trust me on this) just the thing for a 12-year-old's coming-out party." He ranked the album at number 53 on the "Dean's List" of his favourite albums of 1997, curated for the annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

critics' roll. Chuck Eddy of '' Spin'' magazine called the album "deliriously cute." In his 1999 book ''Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture'', Simon Reynolds cited ''Make 'Em Mokum Crazy'' as key happy gabba release. Critical acclaim has continued to greet the album over time, and in 2012, ''

'' ranked the album at number 30 in their list of "The 30 Greatest EDM Albums of All Time", calling it an "insanely fun comp."

Track listing

– "

I Wanna Be A Hippy "I Wanna Be a Hippy" is a song by English electronic group Technohead. The vocals were taken from David Peel's song "I Like Marijuana", which he sung in the movie '' Rude Awakening''. It first appeared as the B-side to the group's ''Mary Jane ...

" – 3:17 # Technohead – "Headsex" (Mobile Mecca Mix) – 5:08 # Party Animals – "Hava Naquila" – 3:46 # Party Animals – "Wapperdewap" – 1:37 # Milk Bar – "Friday Night Can Kill Ya" – 4:17 # Technohead – "I Wanna Be A Hippy" (Ilsa Gold Mix) – 5:22 # Party Animals – "Aquarius" – 3:13 # Back 2 Bass – "I Wanna Be With You" – 3:39 # Soap – "Happy Tunes" – 3:31 # Party Animals – "

Have You Ever Been Mellow "Have You Ever Been Mellow" is the first single of the Party Animals and was released on their debut album '' Good Vibrations''. The track was released in 1996 and became their first number one hit in The Netherlands. The song contains a sample o ...

?" – 3:05 # Technohead – "Happy Birthday" (Timitico's Party Blast) – 5:11 # Search & Destroy – "Deep in the Underground" – 3:34 # Wildchild – "All Together" – 3:25 # Zieke House – "Loose Fragments" – 0:18 # Back 2 Bass – "I Wanna Be With You" (Spoetnik Mix) – 5:43 # DJ X-Play – "Dreams" – 5:43 The American version uses the "Flamman & Abraxas Radio Mix - Clean Version" of "I Wanna Be a Hippy" instead of the explicit original.

Personnel

*Modino Graphics – design *Peter Conlon – figure illustrations

References

{{Reflist 1996 compilation albums Gabber albums Dance music compilation albums Happy hardcore music Pop compilation albums

Background

Music

Release and reception

Track listing

Personnel

See also

References