Mark Reeve - Irregular Choice - DC248

Altered Consciousness

Altered Consciousness (Extended Mix)

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Hollen - Rack Modulation

A testament to the growth of Adam Beyer’s scene-leading label, Drumcode annual A-Sides Vol.8 is the brand’s biggest yet.

The 25-track strong compilation features standout cuts Beyer has received over the last 12 months, but been unable to find room for in Drumcode’s regular release schedule, such is the volume and high standard of music that’s submitted.

The highlight-rich compilation includes Jamie Jones & Darius Syrossian’s buzzy Drumcode debut ‘Eyes of the Night’, Nicole Moudaber’s first DC release in 5 years with the mesmerizing ‘This Is Us’, Will Clarke’s bass-drenched re-work of Adam Beyer & Bart Skils ‘Your Mind’ and Joey Beltram’s first Drumcode release in 11 years with the retro-tinged ‘Can You Feel It’. 

The beloved Alan Fitzpatrick returns to the fold with the searing ‘Heiße Rakete’, alongside label mainstays Layton Giordani, who drops the stirring chord-driven ‘Chrome’ and Wehbba with ‘Mantra’, combining techno classicism with future-focused groove.

There’s a troupe of debutants donning the Drumcode jersey for the first time, including BEC, Shelley Johannson, Anthony Castaldo, Avision, Zimmz, Woo York, SAMA (in a terrific collaboration with Secret Cinema) and Ilija Djokovic, who delivers a shimmering highlight with ‘Aura’, a particular favourite of Beyer’s over the last year. Raxon also debuts on the label after a couple of quality additions to the Truesoul back catalogue.

Exciting young guns Weska and Juliet Fox bring heat to the compilation, while Veerus and Timmo follow up strong DC releases with a repeat dose. Elsewhere faithful contributors Ramon Tapia, Jay Lumen, Luca Agnelli, Marco Bailey and Mark Reeve craft powerful dancefloor weapons.

Buy all

Mark Reeve — Get It — A-Sides Vol. 8 — Drumcode — DC211

The first part of Pig&Dan’s ‘Tunnel Vision’ EP lands in transcendent style. 

Since their debut on Drumcode in 2016 with ‘Mexico’, Pig&Dan have firmly established themselves as one of the label’s most vital acts. They’ve dropped four memorable EPs, including a standout four-tracker with Adam Beyer ‘Capsule’, all of which reinforced their uncompromising production standards.

‘Tunnel Vision I’ is this accomplished talent in full bloom and the first of a two-part EP series that will hit across March and April, 2020. Rather than release an album and potentially explore less dancefloor-orientated tangents, the pair opted to present eight tracks the represent their high-impact, euphoric take on techno. The cuts have done damage at events such as Warehouse Project, Drumcode Halloween and Dockyard Festival.

‘Slave to the Rhythm’ hits like a hypnotic steam train, led by crisp drumlines before a massive synth lead comes into view complemented by a muscular bassline. Trippy synths and a propulsive groove give ‘Tunnel Vision’ its bite. ‘Fracture’ marches forward with plenty of low-end technoid swagger, before a synapse-tickling riff delivers a peak-time hit. ‘Traces’ brings proceedings back to earth, creating an evocative technoscape fit for welcoming the dawn.

Tunnel Vision I

Pig&Dan — Tunnel Vision — Drumcode — DC221

Stream FULL album: https://fanlink.to/LitAoM
Picking up where 2018's debut album left off, Pleasurekraft continue their foray into the Cosmic Techno sub-genre they ushered into the dance music lexicon, with their new LP "Love in the Age of Machines."
Arriving exclusively on Spotify initially on April 10, with other streaming platforms to follow a week later, Pleasurekraft had one of  the biggest tracks last year on Drumcode with their remix for Adam Beyer's 'Space Date,' always bring forward thinking grooves embellished with astral melodies and spaced out synths that make for emotional as well as physical experiences. 
"Love in the Age of Machines" is in no short supply of the sonic signatures the production duo have become known for, and there is a clear maturation at work here.  The album's non-techno tracks showcase an artistry rarely seen in conventional dance music and techno in particular. From the gritty dystopian future that establishes the album's themes at the onset in "Last Sapien", to the dark, rainy, urban-lit textures that form the spine of "Nostalgic for the Future", there is a sense of impending self-wrought catastrophe, tempered with a sense of wonder of all that is, and all that could be if humanity somehow overcomes its hubris. 
Things get more intense and turbulent on "Panopticon (The Patron Saint of Global Surveillance)" [ft. Thomas Gandey] before the voyage to the edges of our galaxy continues on "I Sing the Body Electric" & "Main Sequence" which keep up the enthralling techno atmospheres with increasing pressure, before the tension is released with the cinematic grandeur of "Novacene." Two more hard hitting bangers in "At the Mountains of Madness" and "Primordial" then rebuild the all consuming techno mood before you're left adrift in the cosmos with the album's swan song "Requiem For the American Dream."
As Kaveh Soroush of Pleasurekraft puts it, "Without sounding too reductionist, humans are simply a bundle of biochemical algorithms with a few holes at either end, who mistake their sensory experiences as objective, and their sense of self as something concrete, when in fact science reveals to us with each new finding that our basic intuitions about reality and the world around us have not evolved much from our first ancestors, who just wanted to make sure not to get eaten for long enough to feed and procreate on the African savannah. While there are certainly wonders about the Cosmos we have discovered given our enlarged frontal lobes, and technologies that we've invented dating back to when the first tool was built thanks to an opposable thumb, we haven't been the best custodians of the only planet that can sustain us, and history makes it abundantly clear that our wisdom lags far behind the technological advancements we develop with each new day."

Despite the overtly pessimistic tone, ultimately there is a sense of potential change on the horizon. That perhaps a species which has come up with abstract ideas of love, justice, liberty, and created works of immense artistic and scientific beauty, might just find a way to correct course before it's too late. This sense of wonder is on full display on "The Occupant" and the potential seed for our enlightenment is planted in "Corpse Reviver Number 3", a track brimming with homages to the love of philosophy and its place in navigating a more examined life.  
Ultimately "Love in the Age of Machines" feels like a dystopian sci-fi soundtrack written for optimists who want to change humanity's looming fate.  While still firmly rooted in the techno genre, the album evokes themes and ideas that are universal to the human experience and our place in the Cosmos, and it is this aspect of the album that makes "Love in the Age of Machines" such a rewarding musical experience.  It's techno that is at once accessible and intelligent, a combination rarely heard in today's endless sea of dance music.

Love in the Age of Machines

Pleasurekraft - Last Sapien

Christian Smith returns for his first solo release on Drumcode since 2016, re-contextualising a classic vocal work. 

The Sweden-born journeyman has been friends with Adam Beyer since dot one. In the rare instances he has released outside his own label Tronic, Drumcode has received the fruits of his studio labour. Besides the recent contribution to this year’s A-Sides Vol.9 compilation, we haven’t seen a stand-alone Drumcode release from Smith in four years, when his excellent ‘Force Majeure’ stood as one of the year’s label highlights.

‘Your Lovin’’ is his fifth release on DC, taking inspiration from a ‘90s D&B classic. Driven by a Minimoog bassline and hypnotic arpeggios, Smith, a renowned perfectionist, made six versions before settling on the final cuts. The original is stripped back and searing, perfect for late night moments as restrained vocal grabs add colour to the techno palette. The ‘Ombi Dub’ is a straight-up propulsive tool that hits you straight between the eyes.

Christian Smith — Your Lovin' (Dub) — Drumcode — DC233

Independent record label owned by Adam Beyer.

Mark Reeve - Irregular Choice - DC248

Drumcode

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