Drumcode Sweden Vinilo y CD

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: Drumcode is heralded around the world as one of the leading techno labels for big room sounds. It has been that way since the 90s, but this new one from Drumsauw chimes with the current climate in that it brings some trance influences to its synths. 'Empire' has Goa vocals laced into the driving beats and strong-lit pads, then 'Cycles' has flashy melodies over rugged beats and 'Collision' pairs things back to a deeper but just as physical world of drum funk. 'Comet' shuts down with the most raved-up and peak-time sound - it is intense and inescapably big.

Review: Oscar Escapa continues to carve out his space in the techno scene with his latest offering, a pair of tracks that are as compelling as they are inexorable. Hailing from Barcelona, Escapa has made a name for himself with productions that blend hard-hitting rhythms with atmospheric intricacy. On 'Enemy Returns', he delivers an unremitting onslaught of hyperactive techno, driven by a pounding kick drum, a gnarly bass riff and dissonant industrial stabs that dart in and out with menacing precision. The track's chaotic energy is held together by subtle shifts in texture, creating an almost hypnotic effect despite its aggression. Flip-side, Escapa teams up once again with Joanna Dark for 'It's My Life', a track that balances industrial intensity with an odd sense of melody. Dark's robotic vocal, repeating the track's title like a mantra, contrasts sharply with the swirling percussive layers and fuzzy bass arp. The track's unsettling atmosphere is heightened by unexpected guitar notes, which provide a brief respite from the techno madness. Escapa once again proves his mastery of balancing fierce, implacable energy with nuanced, finely-tuned composition, solidifying his role as a rising star in the genre.

Review: HI-LO, the darker techno alias of Oliver Heldens, is no stranger to the techno world, having already established himself on Adam Beyer's Drumcode label. His latest collaboration with LUSU on the track 'DIZZY' is an electrifying take on hyperactive techno, blending frenetic percussion with driving synths. The track's use of a pitch-shifted vocal sample from Game's 'U Turn Me On' adds an extra layer of playfulness, yet the bassline ensures it stays grounded. The EP's second track, 'Mesmerize', offers a more emotional depth, with its Moroder-inspired bass and jazzy melodies carrying the track forward while keeping it high-energy.

Review: Manifest drumcode signee Mha Iri shares her latest 'Neon Storm', where geometric blitzes and "get-down" vocals excoriate the dancefloor. The lead track screams with colossal, sinking-feeling synth design, as though a War Of The Worlds tripod were heard stomping on skyscrapers a city away, and that this could possibly an exciting, not terrifying experience. 'Moving Machines' firms the bio-mechanoid vibe, with its added chord crimps, glottal mids and ultra-processed kick centres.

Review: Phat bottomed Drumcode techno of grander proportions by way of festival favourite Massano. Following his stellar three-track EP 'Telepathic', the Simulate label head and future-thinker now offers us a stark mix of choppy leads and spitting, pressure-release snares here, in the form of 'The Lights'. His signature use of momentary 32nd notes, and a lasery lead line, functions as a nod to adjacent "big room" techno styles, while a modal swirling about a suspensory tonal centre offers much towards the way of a faintly Middle Eastern melody. As its many multilayered lead lines grow increasingly twinging and chaotic, so too does an atmoss of shocking tension grow in the rave-hangar.

Review: Big room techno duo Pig & Dan bring their monstrous sounds to suitable supersized techno label Drumcode here. The ever-present pair open with 'I Need You', which pairs have marching drums with a raw, frazzled lead synth that brings texture and unsettling energy to some atmospheric pads. It all leads to a breakdown which in turn builds towards a heavy, raw as you like drop. 'Activate' is much more on its toes and keen to push on with hooky end synth motifs, chunky drums and a sense of unstoppable motion that washes over you time and time again.

Review: Led by a title track that proves to be a powerful, futuristic romp, a peak-time anthem, designed to electrify crowds, Konstantin Sibold's 'Lost In Space' EP is energetic techno carefully crafted for festival main stages and late-night club settings. 'The Arrival' follows with a shift in mood, more atmospheric and trance-tinged techno, evolving through sweeping pads and layered percussion, pushing forward a sense of anticipation and energy that will deliver a proper, soaring build in a DJ set. Rounding off the EP, 'Dark Matter' takes a more melodic approach, weaving intricate synth lines and evolving textures. A well-rounded exploration of powerful, yet nuanced techno, perfect Drumcode gear.

Review: Up-and-comer techno stalwart Bart Skils drops two new rather exciting menace-mongerers for Drumcode, 'Nexus' and 'Set It Right', both of which make up the brilliantly Japanese music-infused 'Sakura' EP. Bringing pentatonic scales and synth koto emulations to an impressively towering pair of propulsions, the selection is fittingly frenetic and yet remains sure to be a unique standout in the Drumcode catalogue; listen out for some prime vocal work on the B-side too, giving rise to a supreme pluck-led drop.