Adam Beyer is one of the most recognised names in the Techno scene, having helped create the infamous Swedish sound back in the 90s and playing some of the biggest parties in the world.
Releases and mix albums continually appear from the man whos pretty much done it all, and with a lot of support from the likes of DJ Mag and Radio 1 it looks like theres no stopping this Scandinavian pioneer.
His rhythmic obsession started from a young age, playing the drums laid the groundwork for the intricate patterns and beats hed be laying down for many leading record labels in the years to follow. While still at school Adam started spinning Hip Hop and Acid House records at local parties and was instantly hooked on Techno when records from Belgium and Detroit landed in 1991.
His early releases on labels like Planet Rhythm and Overdrive reflected this and paved the way for Adam to set up his own label which has been the platform for undoubtedly some of his most renowned work. He tells us, Around 94-95 I got deeper into the Techno scene and was playing out a lot of music from the likes of Jeff Mills, Luke Slater and Joey Beltram. This laid the foundations and ideas for Drumcode and the more rhythmic sound in my music.
Adams been a major player in the Techno scene for so long and the progression of his music coupled with the need to push the boundaries of the sound have kept him at the top of the game. This was shown by the creation of his second label, Code Red, after just six releases on Drumcode. Code Red was the outlet for a softer, funkier style and ran for ten releases. He points out, I go through different stages all the time and I think thats a good thing. I would have a hard time sticking to one sound throughout my career and Ive always looked to challenge myself, coming up with new and fresh ideas. Now my sound has progressed and is slightly more sophisticated than ten years ago. He continues, I still like the rawness of Techno, but need it to be more precise and on the point. Sometimes I've created trends in the scene, and sometimes Ive been inspired by them.
One of the trends Adam had a hand in setting is the hard loopy Techno sound which is produced in abundance these days by many a Techno artist. But it was in the late 90s that Adam along with fellow countrymen Joel Mull and Cari Lekebush, were a few of the first producers to push the harder grooves which became known at the time as the Stockholm Sound.
Adam points out that theres still a lot of good music to come out of Sweden today, I have a lot of cool material from new Swedish producers right now and I want to speed up the releases on Drumcode. There are a lot of very talented Swedish artists and DJs doing very well for themselves.
He does admit though that Sweden maybe isnt the hottest place for Techno in the club scene. There's not a massive bunch of things to choose from, smaller nights work better as we have more of a bar culture.
Outside of Sweden Adams very much enjoying the clubs that hes involved with: A good party for me is playing to an open minded crowd. I really enjoy playing at the bigger clubs like Amnesia, Cocoon and Fuse and I've been having some great gigs in the UK. Hats off to places like Orbit, Atomic Jam, The End and Fabric.
Indeed it was from Fabric that Adams services were called upon for the 22nd mix CD in their series and he didnt disappoint. A sublime mix was rustled up featuring the finest sounds to come out of the European scene and some damn fine mixing to boot.
These days Adam draws a lot of influence from the scene in the UK. He says, Ive always had massive respect for people like Surgeon, Luke Slater, Oliver Ho and Dave Clarke, and theres also a hell of a lot of great Electronica coming out of the UK with the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Alex Smoke.
In the past Adams released on labels like Plus 8, Rotation, Novamute and Soma, while having remixed the likes of Underworld and Carl Cox. And with three of his own labels still running at the moment he has plenty to be working on in the future, Theres going to be a special 10th anniversary release on Drumcode, and lots of new quirkier stuff on my latest imprint Mad Eye. My third label Truesoul is also open for pretty much anything I like and Im going to take it all as it comes!
Look out for all of these and much more as Adam Beyer continues to leave his mark in 2006. K1
