Some tracks don’t just define a genre—they detonate it into existence. Joey Beltram’s Energy Flash is one of those. Released in 1990 on R&S Records, this isn’t just a techno track; it’s a seismic shift, a dark and relentless pulse that reshaped electronic music forever.

At just 19 years old, Beltram, a New York native with a taste for the underground, unleashed Energy Flash onto the world, unknowingly forging the blueprint for what would become known as dark techno. The track’s sinister bassline doesn’t just rumble—it prowls, an ominous, hypnotic force that demands total surrender. Then there’s that whisper—“Ecstasy… ecstasy…”—not a lyric, but a spell, a mantra that perfectly encapsulates the hedonistic energy of the early rave scene.

Unlike the euphoric, piano-laden house music that dominated dancefloors at the time, Energy Flash was pure, unfiltered machine funk. Stripped of excess, driven by raw percussive power and rolling sub-bass, it was a warning shot that techno wasn’t just about bliss—it had a dark side, a relentless drive that would shape the harder, industrial strains of the genre for decades to come.

Beltram himself never liked being boxed in—he’s always maintained that Energy Flash wasn’t just techno but a fusion of everything he loved: hip-hop, electro, house, and warehouse grit. But whatever you call it, there’s no denying its influence. Carl Cox, Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin—legends across the board cite it as a game-changer. And more than 30 years on, it still obliterates dancefloors with the same menacing intent.

Put it on. Crank it up. Let the machines take over. This is the sound of the underground.

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