Ruffneck Records

Founded by Patrick van Kerckhoven (aka DJ Ruffneck) as a home for his own unique sound, which would later come to be known as 'artcore'. The intent was to bring breakbeat hardcore to the Netherlands, but not everyone fully understood this. Breakbeats have always played a very important part in all releases on the label and combined with tearing Juno synths and heavily distorted kick drums it has left its permanent impression on the entire hardcore scene. This genre was usually labeled as "bouncy techno" or "happy hardcore" by some people tho. XSV were the financial backers, but in reality all A&R, and other duties, were handled by Patrick van Kerckhoven. At the end of 1997 van Kerckhoven sued XSV Music to claim the rights of Ruffneck. The court decided the music belonged to van Kerckhoven but the licensing of the logo was in the hands, and stayed in the hands of XSV Music. Without the music XSV had a worthless logo and decided to put it on sale. ID&T hesitated and eventually , from Rige Entertainment, bought the logo and exploited it for commercial reasons; merchandising for t-shirts, slipmats and so on. Van Kerckhoven, frustrated as he was, continued releasing his music on a new label he called "Gangsta Audiovisuals". The Ruffneck label could not be used since the logos weren't his. This lead to a kind of listing where the Gangsta Audiovisuals catalogue numbers continue where Ruffneck Records ended (RUF 049-2). The first release on the Gangsta label (G 50-5) was called "The Quest For Justice", and this showed Van Kerckhovens frustration about the court's decision. The new logo of the Gangsta Audiovisuals label was an update of the old Ruffneck logo, created by . In 2000 Ruffneck changed names to Ruff-Teck. Releases RUFF000 to RUFF051 can be found here on Ruffneck, whilst RUFF052 onwards can be found on In 2018 Ruffneck revived this label with new releases in the old Ruffneck style. It has no connection with XSV anymore and is (self)managed under the umbrella of Tower Music. Serie: Ruffneck Collection covering the Ruffneck records CDs. Special Series covering the Ruffneck records 12". Publishing company: Ruffneck Music Ruffneck Studios: The Tower (2)