Back catalogue: Techno (All)

Review: Gargantuan-room techno trailblazers Drumcode return with 'The A Sides Vol 11 - Pt. 7'. If the title is any indicator enough - and no, it's not irony - this is a stonking closer to a mammoth seven-12" compilation series. The love-em-or-hate-em label always deliver a rave romp for titans, barging past polite types with frick-off bits from A.D.H.S., Julian Jewell, Marco Faraone and Gary Beck. Topping off a project originally conceived in 2012, this is a pulsing sensation suitable for both budding techno enthusiasts and chinstokers willing to let their hair loose for once.

Review: Some serious peak time weapons for the main room on offer here, from the ever reliable Swedish label Drumcode. Usual heroes of the label such as Luigi Madonna, Sam Paganini and Joseph Capriati step aside for some other equally reliable staples. On the A, side label boss Adam Beyer teams up with Enrico Sangiuliano on the evocative and life affirming "Preset Heaven" which takes its cues from early trance with its amazing chord progression. It is something more typical of the label next, on the pummelling warehouse stomp of "Muzik" by Bulgaria's Timmo. On the flip, there's more trance nostalgia on offer again - this time from legends Pig & Dan on the hypnotic/melodic bliss of "La Bruja" which we could imagine melting the minds of festival crowds well into the new year. Finally they save the best for last with French peak time specialist Julian Jeweil, serving up the furious, tunneling and strobe-lit ultraviolence of "Nasa" which will have your adrenaline going from the first beat. It has been a stellar year for the powerhouse label, with great releases by Moby, Dubfire and newcomer Layton Giordani.

Review: The legendary techno pioneer that is Josh Wink is still managing to turn out sleek and fresh cuts decades after he changed the game with his seminal 'Higher State of Consciousness' tune. The Philly-born and bred artist lands on Swedish behemoth Drumcode here with some mighty fine weapons - 'Mind's Eye' is first up and is a bulky and muscular roller with prickly acid and gritty cosmic melodies. 'Caterwaul' has screeching vocals as the title suggests it might and hefty drum funk down low. 'Mind's Eye (acappella)' is a freaky vocal tool for twisted late-night deployment by adventurous DJs.

Review: Julian Jeweil returns to Drumcode with his first EP in two years, nailing the label's buildup-drop ethos with dreamworld textures, deep thumping kicks and delayed stabs. Jeweil refreshingly brings new experimentation to the format: 'Time' has an especially resonant kick, perhaps ousting the top spot for most rumbly techno bass drum we've heard in recent years. Meanwhile, farty electro clashy techno is scaled on the B-side track 3 'Reverse', which with badman precision and a delicate hand, throws us straight back in time.

Review: Adam Beyer's ever reliable Drumcode imprint returns with the eleventh edition in its trusty A Side series. On this one, we've got Aussie Juliet Fox with some pure peak time energy on "Evolution Of Thinking" followed on the A side by Thomas Hoffknecht's "Break Free" - an absolutely euphoric main room affair featuring classic trance motifs. Over on the flip, the reins are handed over to Timmo who wastes no time getting down to business on the steely heads-down number "Community Tool", followed by the pummelling warehouse techno epic by Andres Campo - "Cyclops". Serious!

Review: Drumcode's first big release of 2019 comes courtesy of Julian Jeweil, a relative newcomer to the Swedish label who originally built his reputation via years of releases on M_Nus, Plus 8 and Cocoon Recordings. "Transmission" is not only his long-awaited debut album, but also a far more spacey and intergalactic proposition than much of Drumcode's output. Of course, the majority of the tracks are still underpinned by relentless techno rhythms and gnarly electronic stabs, with plenty of darkness amongst the stargazing grooves. Intriguingly, there's also a little more variety than you might expect, with the deep and woozy "Planet X", acid-fired heaviness of "Astral" and glassy-eyed early morning ambient of "Final" catching the ear.