What is hardcore? It means many things to many people, and they’re all correct. It’s best described as a feeling, an attitude, a way of life. Dance or Die is the first critical study of city-based hard dance communities spanning three decades of musical reinvention mapped to sweeping gentrification, political intervention and seismic societal change.

From Rotterdam gabber to Scottish tartan techno, from the Industrial Strength beats of Brooklyn to the hedonistic mayhem of UK hardcore, this book explorres some of the lesser-documented areas of rave culture with enthusiasm and journalistic vigour, affording them the historical significance they deserve.’ (Matthew Collin, author of Dream Machines, Rave On and Altered State)

Hardcore has shattered into a myriad subgenres and discrete club tribes, but the core of hardcore has always stood for marginalised people worldwide finding family and acceptance in extremis, and in extreme sounds. Featuring exclusive archive materials and personal anecdotes from veteran Godfathers and contemporary stars of the digital diaspora, paired with voices from trans trailblazers and heroines behind the scenes, Dance or Die is the queer, activistic, and flawed history of hardcore that has never been fully told before.

About the Author

Holly Dicker is a dedicated hardcore raver since 2005, as well as a freelance club culture journalist living between Berlin and Rotterdam. The material from this book has been compiled over the years, from radio broadcasts, interviews, articles for music magazines and field reports.

Paperback, published in 2025, 281 pages.