Drumcode faves <3

Joseph Capriati - Gashouder

Having developed an impeccable reputation in the past twenty years since delving into the word of turntables and mixtapes at an early age, Sims can be called a genuine legend in the world of techno. As a producer he has remixed Jeff Mills, Chris Liebing, Adam Beyer and Kevin Saunderson as well as releasing on just about every seminal techno imprint there is. As an A&R he’s been at the helm of nine labels, including the highly influential Ingoma and KB Records inc, and continues to steward Theory and Hardgroove towards the boxes of the discerning fans. 

Most recently the London-based producer has seen his ‘Way Back Wednesday’ (with Tony Anderson), ‘Funk You’ and occasional disco radio shows garner huge support while ploughing further energy into the futurist techno club night “Machine’ alongside Kirk Degiorgio. 

It’s with Sims’ multitude of achievements and notoritey in mind that the knowledge that ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ is his debut LP is somewhat unbelievable, but fact it is. After initially hooking up with Adam Beyer’s Drumcode imprint late in 2010 after a long standing friendship, the affable and dry witted Sims’ was persuaded to deliver an LP and the lengthy writing and selection process began. The result is 11 superb productions which showcase Ben’s talents, influences and perhaps most importantly, his vision of what techno can and should be. 

From the off ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ is a technicolour affair that refuses to sit too comfortably into one groove, preferring to pull the listener through a range of vibes that, while disparate, flow together perfectly. As the album moves, snippets of new vibes bleed through before developing into themes and this is one of the brilliant elements of ‘Smoke & Mirrors’.  

The rousing and prophetically titled ‘Riots in London’ opener leads us into a frenetic, dub-tinged and filter-driven aesthetic which is neatly carried on in ‘Descent’ but subtly augmented with almost-there soulful vocal samples. This nod to soulful elements is then carried on in the less pacey, house referencing ‘ The Snake’ which fuses stabbing keys to a skipping beat which is as much New York as it is Detroit, London or Berlin. 

As ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ develops, suprises like the out-and-out tech-funk of ‘Back To The Pod’ and the street party disco of ‘Can You Feel It?’ are hinted at but never lack surprise when dropped. The emphatic drive of the huge sounding ‘I Wanna Go Back’ featuring Blake Baxter takes things back to techno territory and does so with real purpose while darker edged tracks such as the lethal ‘Bullet’ and the late-night discordance of  ‘The Afterparty’ ramp up the tension. 

The twilight sections of Sims’ debut are perfectly judged. The dubbed (and blissed) out title track lightens the mood before the slightly more aggressive but widescreen ‘The Calling’ trips proceedings out in anticipation of the closer, the Tyree Cooper vocalled and aptly titled ‘I Feel It Deep’

‘Smoke & Mirrors’ has been more than worth the wait. It’s as balanced, entertaining, engaging and powerful as you’d expect from such an artist as Ben Sims and, complete with artwork from Alan Oldham and collaborations from Blake Baxter and Tyree Cooper, is essential stuff.

Ben Sims - The Afterparty

Since 1996, Drumcode has grown to become an institution in the global techno scene, encompassing a radio program, an event series, and a home for the musical vision of its artists and founder, Adam Beyer. “15 Years of Drumcode” celebrates this landmark by focusing on the present.

There are no throwbacks, rehashings, or remixes of the label‘s back catalogue. Instead, the 28-track compilation showcases the newest work of Drumcode‘s current roster alongside fresh material from some well known names from the labels history and special contributions from some of techno's undisputed heavyweights. 

DCCD06 - 01 Grindvik and Billie - Hold, Doubt, Back

DCCD06 - 13 Joel Mull - Shake Trip

"! 5/5" - Adam Beyer
"Bass heavy spaced out techno? Superb - full support for crude! 5/5" - Len Faki
"Crude is a BOMB!!!! Have been playing it in almost every set since I got it. 5/5" - Ida Engberg
"Wow amazing EP, really love "Crude" but i will play both tracks for sure! Bomb again on Drumcode! 5/5" - Joseph Capriati
"Finally some good techno!" -Butch
"I love Crude. Patrick has the Funk!! Been playing it since i got it from Patrick in Malmö. Give me more!! :D 5/5" - Joel Mull
"Firing!!! will blast the fuck out of this! 5/5" - Pig &amp; Dan
"Again good stuff from sweden! 5/5" - Stephan Bodzin
"Big tracks from Patrick, will play a lot!" - Gregor Tresher
"Dancefloor killer! Max support! 5/5" - Jesper Dahlbäck
"Again a great Drumcode release. Both tracks are perfect for me." - Karotte
"Another superb release from Drumcode. Bad Carnival is the top one for me. Full support 5/5" - Mistress Barbara
"2 Special tracks for me!! really loving the work on the percussion in this shot! many thanks! Flavio 5/5" - Flavio Diaz
"Very impressed with Patrick Siechs EP. Have been playing these a lot! Bad Carnival is my fav! 5/5" - KIMONO
"PHAT! Love both mixes, will play and chart! 5/5" - Sasha Carassi
"Cool one thanks!! 5/5" - Dubfire
"Ohhh yesss - I like that a lot - Full support from me on both tracks" - Laurent Garnier
"Fucking A - love them both - "Crude" just edges it - full support" - Slam
"Loving Bad Carnival! Will play at the Brazilian carnival soon indeed…" - Andre Sobota
"Really liking this!" - Kyle Geiger
"Great cuts from Patrick!" - Nihad Tule
"Very good one !! Loving Crude !! :) Thanks !!" - Tom Hades
"This release is off the hook! Full support!" - Nima Khak
"Crude is my fav, support" - Technasia
"100% Support!!" - Alexi Delano
"Definitely will play Crude, nice groove!" - John Selway
"Nice one thanks!" - Kaiserdisco
"Bad Carnival = Baaaaaadddd! Great techno!" - Michel de Hay
"Good stuff!" - John Digweed
"Excellent!" - Christian Varela
"Love this. Top release and great start for new producer!" - Alan Fitzpatrick


Patrick Siech - Crude [DRUMCODE 72]

Joey.Beltram.-.Striking.Distance.(Original.Mix)

Germany 
Techno & House 
Alles hat ein Ende nur der Rave hat keins ...


Drumcode faves <3

Dr. Hieran