Drumcode Sweden Vinilo y CD

Review: Befitting of the label's name, Drumsauw aka. Joseph Sutherland keeps to the Code with a fresh three-tracker of megatechno heaters. Starting things off with the entraining but no less driving dreamer 'Focus', we're met with riveting sixteenthy knocks and dour breakdowns, a formula devoutly followed throughout; the B offers up two further alarmist pummellings of the third kind, with 'Set Back' repeatedly jabbing the podiatric floor with pressurised weight-kicks and offhand "push it" voxxes, and 'Escape' continuing to sound said alarm while insisting that we "escape" the laboratory, now quarantined to sift out those hesitant to dance.

Review: Kaiserdisco bring some big room techno energy to the one label in the world that is most synonymous with that sound - Adam Beyer's Drumcode. Opener 'In The Music' is a dark and driving cut with an acid tinged bassline over hard, hammering, flat footed drums. Add in a dark vocal hook and you have a real monster. 'Error In The System' on the flip is another moody techno pumper for the main room with hefty drums, eerie siren sounds and of plenty squelchy designs. It's a real headwrecker to close out a big 12".

Review: Strap in for another rollercoaster ride through the Drumcode tech-scape as we get an authoritative workout from four essential new talents. First up is Mha Iri, whose 'Bel' centres around a catchy vocal hook and darkly seductive synth snarls, before Marco Faraone nods back to some classic Wildchild and locks it to a steely pulse. Balthazar & JackRock offer up something epic on the B-side with the towering electro house synth touches of 'Andromeda', and LO'99 links up with Ray Foxx to round the record out with the playful vocal hiccups and undulating big room groove of 'Skydance'.

Review: Adam Beyer's notable techno label Drumcode seems to be as busy as ever of late. The label here rolls out a fourth part of its ongoing A Sides series, which is now up to volume 12. Though the Swede himself doesn't feature, some of his trusty sidemen do starting with Chris Avantgarde who brings big room, hard techno energy to 'The Last Time'. Bry Ortega keeps it just as intense with the machine-gun like synth fire of 'Discover 9', Massano brings some brighter synth loops to the stomping 'Betraya' and Spektre shut down with a mix of hardcore, trance and techno potency on 'Too Far Gone.' Some great DJ weaponry here, for sure.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***


Alan Fitzpatrick returns to Drumcode, marking his first appearance since late 2016 when he remixed Moby's hit "Porcelain".The release opens with "Brian's Proper Dun One", a track which caused a storm on his Twitter profile when he first started playing it last year. Loaded with sharp and pounding drums, this is a no holds barred, certified main room anthem! "Wait A Second" has been getting a lot of play on Drumcode Radio of late. This rave inspired track takes a raw, stripped back approach and delivers a killer blow. Alan sampled the vocals of MC r1bbz from an LTJ Bukem tape pack from the early 90s and the record tips its cap to early jungle raves around the M25. The release closes with "Trance, Init?" a homage to Fitzpatrick's days as a raver before he became a DJ. The breakdown is sure to be a hands in the air moment at festivals all over the globe this summer.

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.'

Review: Mighty European powerhouse Drumcode rolls out more of its techno tsunamis here with part one of the 12th volume of its A Sides collection. The boss himself, Adam Beyer, offers up one of the biggest cuts - 'Heading South' is a surging, straight-up techno weapon rippled with deft synths that ever forever on the move. Danny Avila's 'My Crew' (feat Flowdan) is built on a foundation of earth-shattering kicks and rolling bass with hellish stabs and vocal fragments making for an intense atmosphere, and Simina Grigoriu's 'Flight Tracker' is the sort of quick-moving techno sound to lock you into a trance. Add in LAAT's 'The Age Of Juno' (oi oi!) and you have a very useful and high impact EP of contemporary techno.