Drumcode Sweden レコード& CD

Review: The Dutch techno veteran Bart Skils is back with another impressive release on the mighty Drumcode. 'Horsepower' is a relentless peak-time techno track that is sure to captivate dance floors and have the crowd moving with its chugging energy. It builds steadily, leading to an epic breakdown before unleashing the full power of its steely groove, making it perfect for those heads-down moments in the main room. On the B-side, 'Sunshine In The Dust' takes a more straightforward and functional approach with its variety of female vocal parts, catchy bongo drums, and a sexy horn sound. It's a groove-driven track that is both sultry and infectious.

Review: With a career reaching back some 20 years, Bart Skils has remained committed to the art of the techno 12", with not a single album to his name. Instead, his focus has been on a staggering hit list of legendary labels from Pure Plastic to 100% Pure, Break New Soil, and since 2012, primarily Drumcode. As part of Adam Beyer's core contingent he's played a major part in shaping the sound of the label, and so he continues on this exemplary two-tracker. 'Roll The Dice' is a muscular yet lean workout for the bigger kinds of spaces, playing around with some monotonal vocal threads and laying down the b-line throb you expect from a Drumcode A side. The flip offers something a little different as 'Into The Clouds' takes some looped guitar licks as a vessel for transcendence, atop a steady trucking techno undercarriage, of course.

Review: Bart Skills is a veteran techno producer and Drumcode is a veteran techno label, but neither shows any signs of age here with Weska also joining in for a pair of highly potent and weaponised new cuts. They take up one side each and first is 'Something More' with its sweeping blasts of white noise, factory floor sound effects and unrelenting drums that will demolish any dancefloor. 'Palm Strings' then carries on the party with a more stripped-back sound initially, but eventually, the rising synths take over as the gritty drum loops pound away below. A pair of big room monsters for sure.