A-SIDES VOL. 10 (VINYL 4 OF 5)

A1 Bart Skils - Solid State A2 Alex Lentini & STOMP BOXX - Expanders B1 SAMA - Into The Abyss Barcode 5057272274979 Fuelled by the extra time and space to be creative during lockdown, Drumcode™s collective of artists have stepped up. Across 17 contributions, the producers have gone deeper into their sonic repertoire, crafting powerful, yet reflective works that capture the range of the label™s sound. Jay Lumen leads the way with a rousing riff-driven weapon, ˜Galactic Rainbow™, while Ramon Tapia brings us the muscular gem ˜Drum Control™, mixing up ruffneck techno with a barrage of synapse-tickling synths in the second half. Both rousing highlights of the compilation. Victor Ruiz, Drumcode™s most prolific contributor in 2020, dishes up ˜Love Story™, led by a huge vocal lead. Zimmz also returns with ˜Tension™, which deftly combines deep squelchy grooves with a silky synth interlude. Thomas Hoffknecht follows up his debut on Vol.9 with ˜Escape™, keeping listeners on their toes with dynamic, choppy shifts throughout. Veerus joins with another stirring addition ˜I Know™, reinforcing why Beyer rates him so highly. Elsewhere a string of debutants feature: buzzy newcomer Lilly Palmer gives us ˜Amnesie™, a brilliantly pummelling and eerie cut; Alex Lentini & Stomp Boxx serve up ˜Expanders™ mixing up drone effects, trippy vocals and an unsettling melody line; and Patrik Berg™s ˜Activated™ is full-bodied techno that drops down into funky rhythms. Long-time DC family member Bart Skils brings his A-game with the thrilling no-nonsense ˜Solid State™ that hits like a steam train. Likewise, Alan Fitzpatrick who brings a momentous slab of techno energy with ˜Rochus™, while Thomas Schumacher, now feeling like a regular on the imprint, crafts another dark techno opus, this time in collaboration with CAITLIN. There™s even a special appearance by the chief Adam Beyer, who makes a welcome return with the progressive-tinged ˜Changes™, driven by organic tones and spacey atmospherics. The track stands as his first original contribution to A-Sides since 2017.