From breaking through in the early 90s right when things were still done wild, helming the legendary Lost club nights from 1992 onward, onto becoming a pioneering figure of the UK's underground, it's safe to say Steve Bicknell ticks all the boxes of a self-made myth in the scene. Tirelessly pushing the boundaries of techno as we know it, the British don has been carving out his name in gold letters amongst the pantheon of DJs capable to evolve and transcend both themselves and their audience through the cathartic power of music. Always a step ahead, Bicknell treats us to two hours of resolutely immersive and achingly powerful soul-search, seamlessly criss-crossing our brains with his top-of-the-range anti-bullshit techno medicine. Posology? Repeat listens until complete recovery.

soundcloud.com/steve-bicknell

Reclaim Your City  

Reclaim Your City 554 | Steve Bicknell

In The Years Ahead
Mike Parker & Steve Bicknell
Format 12" / digital
Limited copies, no repress
Pre-order: bit.ly/RYCL022_vinyl
Release date: November 18, 2024

You’ve been waiting for it, and so have we, RYC’s next frequency-jammer comes in the form of a heavyweight split 4-tracker, courtesy of two true techno pioneering figures: Mike Parker and Steve Bicknell. The continued influence of these two artists on both our early raving days and now as a team working on providing you the most exciting, boundary-pushing tech wares is second to none. As you’ll experience from the four jams constitutive of this unparalleled mindtrip of an EP, ‘In The Years Ahead’ is the living evidence the steadfastness of Parker and Bicknell's vision remains absolutely untouched. 

Zeroed in on taking ravers on an entrancing ride across pulsating corridors of whirring machine funk, sizzling acid and shape-shifting waves of sound, both sides of this EP share the best lot of both producers’ uniquely innovative approach to rhythm and production. Parker’s opening cut, ’Solar Limb’ is a textbook example of his complex, and heavily layered sound-design. An unflinching swing keeping time, brutal kicks punching holes in your head like giant steel hammers, the track may evolve slowly, repeating its post-industrial mantra over and over again, its flame doesn’t flicker one iota. Switching onto red-level dance floor menace, ‘Badlands’ pulls out the heavy artillery: an overkill bombardment of puncturing 909 drums, vortical winds blowing in the back like some solar storm of sorts, and this ebb-and-flow of FX-drenched synth ripples branded on your cortex like odd signs of cult belonging.

Bicknell’s takeover starts with the rugged and wild ‘Chaotic World’, whose title is definitely not usurped. Enter a blazing maelstrom of frantic synth assault knocked askew, intense bass tectonic movements and smashing arpeggios on the path of war. The track develops a massive momentum, swelling from primordial raw matter into weirdly arranged modular constructions, like that of Kubrick’s monolith emerging with ominous presence. ‘In The Years Ahead’ serves up a much distinctively elegant, glossy type of textural experience, synths playing pong in a hall of mirrors, interlacing and distorting as the percussive line unfolds its linear train-like groove. It dashes across landscapes of hypermodern glass and concrete with unrelenting horsepower, from techno’s early sanctuary right up onto tomorrow's temple of unmapped potentialities. 

*This much special release, so dear to our heart, comes clad in a beautiful piece of design by Atact, and will be pressed to 180g audiophile quality vinyl for an enhanced listening experience.

a1 written & produced by Mike Parker
a2 written & produced by Mike Parker
b1 written & produced by Steve Bicknell
b2 written & produced by Steve Bicknell
Distributed by Clone distribution Rotterdam
Artwork & design by Atact
Cat. no. RYCL022 – All rights reserved
℗ & © Reclaim Your City 2024
www.reclaimyourcity.bandcamp.com

RYCL022 - Steve Bicknell - In The Years Ahead

RYCL022 - Steve Bicknell - Chaotic World

RYCL022 - Mike Parker - Badlands

RYCL022 - Mike Parker - Solar Limb

On Thursday the 21st of November 2024, come celebrate the pulsating heritage of Rotterdam’s Reclaim Your City at Saüle. Part of a new event series focussed on styles skirting what is widely embraced as ’techno music’, this first airdrop of the RYC squad promises to be a satisfying moment for all lovers of bold, boundary-pushing electronics. Clad in the austere industrial atmosphere of Berghain’s experimental-oriented subdivision, Saüle, the event gathers voices from distinct geographies and segments of the electronic music scene. From British master and seminal ‘Lost’ nights founder Steve Bicknell, who will blow the winds of dubstep across Saüle’s monster sound system, to Detroit-based deck whiz Erika who will get the heart of the Motown throbbing at the pace of its legendary electro scene, to London jockey and producer Cressida, representing the more alternative confines of the techno-adjacent sonics, from proper UK sound - understand jungle and grime, to techno itself, beware the torrential cascade of roaring machines and sine waves-spoken thunder firing on all cylinders.

Thursday 21.11.2024 | Start 22:00
Am Wriezener Bahnhof - 10234 Berlin
www.berghain.berlin/en/events/78258/

Reclaim Your City x Säule | Cressida

On Thursday the 21st of November 2024, come celebrate the pulsating heritage of Rotterdam’s Reclaim Your City at Saüle. Part of a new event series focussed on styles skirting what is widely embraced as ’techno music’, this first airdrop of the RYC squad promises to be a satisfying moment for all lovers of bold, boundary-pushing electronics. Clad in the austere industrial atmosphere of Berghain’s experimental-oriented subdivision, Saüle, the event gathers voices from distinct geographies and segments of the electronic music scene. From British master and seminal ‘Lost’ nights founder Steve Bicknell, who will blow the winds of dubstep across Saüle’s monster sound system, to Detroit-based deck whiz Erika who will get the heart of the Motown throbbing at the pace of its legendary electro scene, to London jockey and producer Cressida, representing the more alternative confines of the techno-adjacent sonics, from proper UK sound - understand jungle and grime, to techno itself, beware the torrential cascade of roaring machines and sine waves-spoken thunder firing on all cylinders. 

Thursday 21.11.2024 | Start 22:00
Am Wriezener Bahnhof - 10234 Berlin
www.berghain.berlin/en/events/78258/

Reclaim Your City x Säule | Erika

Reclaim Your City x Säule | Steve Bicknell

Resident Advisor podcast

RA.582 Steve Bicknell

The techno supergroup of Luke Slater, Steve Bicknell and Function bring their explosive live show to the Resident Advisor Underground Stage at Movement Detroit.

@lsd-label
@movementdetroit

RA Live: 2019.05.25 - LSD, Movement Detroit, USA

Rotterdam-via-Berlin based outlet reuniting underground purveyors across the globe as they methodically scan and showcase various nerve centers from the techno Internationale.

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