Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: Drumcode brings you 'Under Pressure' the single from Kyle Geiger. Not long after his discovery of techno, it was the harder, more percussive tastes of the Swedish sound that initially inspired Indiana based Kyle Geiger as a DJ for years before the genres overall sound took a slower and softer turn. Still loving the energy and power of the earlier phases of techno, while being greatly influenced by long time friends and minimal techno veterans such as JPLS and Skoozbot, it was at that point when Kyle Geiger began to push himself harder as a producer to create music that helped fill the gap of the divide between the techno and "minimal' arenas. While the initial projects were being drawn to a completion, Drumcode label manager Adam Beyer was on the hunt for what he describes to many as a "modern techno sound" where he discovered Kyle through a mutual friend, putting the music in his hands just in time for him to put it to the test at the Winter Music Conference in 2007. Upon the invitation to come on board with Drumcode, Kyle's sound has become more refined and chiselled into what very well may be a breed of techno that pushes things forward for the next generations of techno to come, while also striving to take his widely recognized DJ sets to the next level through both technology and what many are calling the future sounds of techno.

Review: Drumcode's Elevate series hits a third instalment here and this time it is a three tracker with solo cuts from three big names. Tini Gessler kicks off with 'Nothing Expected' which is a teeth-gritting and white knuckle techno roller. Marie Vaunt serves up monstrously large and slamming kicks on 'Technology' and then runs them through with brutal synth lines that spray about with their own dark energy. It's a truly edgy cut before BEC's 'Humanoid' layers up hard tech drums that slam down firmly with a warped lead which leads you late into the night. A trio of high impact weapons, for sure.

Review: Given that it's called 'Hyper World', you'd expect New York producer Layton Giordani's latest single - his first since 2019 Green Velvet collaboration 'Fuzion' - you'd expect it to a sparkling, full-throttle affair capable of rocketing us to the fringes of deep space. It is, of course, with the Drumcode regular delivering a title track that confidently peppers a stomping, big room techno beat with psy7chedelic acid lines, fuzzy synth riffs and starry electronics. Fans of Drumcode's trance-tinged take on techno will absolutely love it. Flipside 'Astro' is arguably even more mind-altering with Giordani wrapping rising riffs and dark, foreboding noises around thumping drums and a wayward, twisted main motif reminiscent of Jam and Spoon's legendary remixes of trance classic 'Age of Love'.

Review: The mighty Drumcode has retained its position at the top table of main room techno again this year. That's through a mix of big parties, big sets from theirs Adam Beyer alongside his associates, and big tunes. The last of 2022 comes from Layton Giordani and is another one that doesn't muck about. 'Digital Age' is a steam train with powerful and immovable drums and frosted synths before a breakdown brings melodic drama. On the flip, 'UFOs & LFOs' brings some big trance energy with bright, flash synths that will get hands in the air. Two more winners, then.

Review: Adam Beyer's Drumcode imprint never disappoints with its output and in this its 10th year there will be a commemorative 10 years album released in November. Before that we have this extremely tasty 4 tracker from the massively talented Par Grindvik. As with all of Par's releases the production is truly incredible with Par showing his true ability and engineering skills. The A1 is a real killer with its rising synths and sledgehammer drums whereas the A2 is a perfect contrast with its slow intense minimal groove. The B1 again is a real floor burner with its driving groove and clever synth edits halfway. The record closes with a superb more minimal interpretation yet again. Drumcode again proves it is still one of the most cutting edge imprints around.