Drumcode Sweden Vinyl & CDs

Review: For his first outing of 2019, Adam Beyer has turned over the parts to his 2014 single "Teach Me" to Belgium's first lady of banging, acid-fuelled techno, Amelie Lens. She subsequently serves up two throbbing, peak-time ready revisions, with the A-side "Main Mix" offering a near perfect blend of booming, kick-drum driven beats, military snare fills, cut-up late night vocal samples and distorted, mind-altering riffs. As the title suggests, the flipside "Acid Remix" sees Lens indulge her love of mind-altering TB-303 acid lines, brilliantly wrapping them around a springier drum track, EBM-influenced melodic motifs and more pulsating, manipulated vocal loops.

Review: Drumcode supremo Adam Beyer has become increasingly more prolific in recent years, signalling a creative renaissance that recalls the undoubted quality of his work in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His first outing of 2024, which follows a quartet of EPs last year, is predictably strong and packed to the rafters with future Drumcode anthems. Fittingly, he starts with 'Let's Begin', where mutilated vocal loops, mind-mangling rave noises and unsettling melodic motifs dance atop a typically thunderous and breathless big room techno groove, before opting for a dirtier, acid-flecked groove, metallic noises and sped-up hip-hop vocal samples on 'Computerized' (hip-techno anyone?). To round things off, he goes darker and denser still on the loopy techno power of 'Red Room', which pleasingly also boasts the same Aisha vocal sample as the Orb's 'Blue Room'.

Review: Two right legends of techno unite here for the latest release on Drumcode. Label chief Adam Beyer presents 'Restore My Soul' featuring Chicago hard techno veteran DJ Rush, their relationship stretching back nearly three decades from when they both started out in the' 90s. The title track is aimed squarely at the main room dancefloor; a seething, mental groove featuring Rush's stern vocal delivery atop, before taking the energy levels into the peak time on the adrenalised thrasher 'Control'. Over on the flip, you are treated to a rework of the title track by DJ Rush himself in his typically stomping and orotund style.

Review: The latest from Swedish techno legend is a full-throttle techno assault, pushing Drumcode's legacy forward with relentless energy. The title track is a peak-time juggernaut, built on heavy chords, pounding kicks and a futuristic intensity that commands the dancefloor. With its driving momentum and anthemic hooks, it's a high-octane statement from two producers at the top of their game. On Side-2, 'Living In The Moment' ventures into atmospheric territory, teetering on the edge of trance with sci-fi textures and sweeping builds. Its long, tension-heavy progression culminates in devastating drops, overloading the senses with a euphoric yet punishing crescendo. With Drumcode nearing its 30th year, this release proves there's no slowing downithe label continues to deliver high-impact techno designed for maximum effect. Beyer and Brown's collaboration is a successful dose of tension, release and unrelenting intensity.

Review: The big room techno don that is Adam Beyer is back with more potent techno weaponry on his own Drumcode label, this time with part two of the 12th volume of his A-Sides series. His 'Take Me There' is first up in remix form and Carl Cox flips it into a surging peak time roller. Matt Guy's 'Give Me What I Want' is an emotive banger with big synth energy and reverberating vocals while ADHS's '2STEP' hits hard with its flaming drums and trance-y synths. Kaiserdisco then brings dark, stomping warehouse energy to their raved-ready 'Get On The Dancefloor.'