Drumcode Sweden Vinilo y CD

Review: With a career reaching back some 20 years, Bart Skils has remained committed to the art of the techno 12", with not a single album to his name. Instead, his focus has been on a staggering hit list of legendary labels from Pure Plastic to 100% Pure, Break New Soil, and since 2012, primarily Drumcode. As part of Adam Beyer's core contingent he's played a major part in shaping the sound of the label, and so he continues on this exemplary two-tracker. 'Roll The Dice' is a muscular yet lean workout for the bigger kinds of spaces, playing around with some monotonal vocal threads and laying down the b-line throb you expect from a Drumcode A side. The flip offers something a little different as 'Into The Clouds' takes some looped guitar licks as a vessel for transcendence, atop a steady trucking techno undercarriage, of course.

Review: The Dutch techno veteran Bart Skils is back with another impressive release on the mighty Drumcode. 'Horsepower' is a relentless peak-time techno track that is sure to captivate dance floors and have the crowd moving with its chugging energy. It builds steadily, leading to an epic breakdown before unleashing the full power of its steely groove, making it perfect for those heads-down moments in the main room. On the B-side, 'Sunshine In The Dust' takes a more straightforward and functional approach with its variety of female vocal parts, catchy bongo drums, and a sexy horn sound. It's a groove-driven track that is both sultry and infectious.

Review: Bart Skills is a veteran techno producer and Drumcode is a veteran techno label, but neither shows any signs of age here with Weska also joining in for a pair of highly potent and weaponised new cuts. They take up one side each and first is 'Something More' with its sweeping blasts of white noise, factory floor sound effects and unrelenting drums that will demolish any dancefloor. 'Palm Strings' then carries on the party with a more stripped-back sound initially, but eventually, the rising synths take over as the gritty drum loops pound away below. A pair of big room monsters for sure.

Review: Here's a big old belter on that biggest of techno fortresses, Drumcode. On this two-track slammer, Adam Beyer and Bart Skils' monster track 'Your Mind' gets revisited by New York up and comer Charles D. After releases on Say What? and Pryda, D is able to show off his skills twice over, on the A-side living up to the billing of the 'Epic mix' of 'Your Mind' by bringing in the big, swelling pads that can fill a stadium and get hands raised aloft. On the flip, the 'Acid Line' version unsurprisingly brings a little 303 action into the mix, and makes sure the undercarriage is a thunderous juggernaut of supersized techno.

Review: Unbelievably, Drumcode Records celebrates its 25th year in business in 2021. Adam Beyer's popular imprint has already delivered a swathe of must-check releases this year, and this collaborative outing from Pig & Dan and Victor Ruiz is another that label fans would do well to take note of. A-side 'Consciousness' is particularly potent, with the trio adding gnarly, mind-melting, dark room-ready riffs to a throbbing, trance-inducing techno groove. If tech-trance/neo-trance isn't your thing, turn to the flip. They're you'll find the moody and stomping big room techno of 'Music Takes You' - all doom-laden stabs and kick-drum driven heaviness - and the more melodious, colourful and rushing peak-time bliss of 'Silk', whose lengthy breakdowns are likely to send shivers down the spines of suitably refreshed dancers.

Review: The all powerful Drumcode label still does a fine line in big room techno after countless years and even more releases of the stuff. This third part of the A Sides collection brings together a towering selection of names from that scene including Tiger Stripes with the smooth cruise that is 'Altar'. Veterans Pig & Dan vs Gregor Tresher get more intense with frosty loops and dubby hits building a vibe and Wehbba ups the ante with acid daubs and fizzing drums on 'The Next Step.' Nicole Moudaber's 'Come To My Beat' (feat Romina) then hammer home a hefty techno groove.