What sprung from the fertile Swedish techno scene of the mid-‘90s has not only become the genre’s most influential and highest selling label, but a culture-defining movement. Just ask the millions who listen to Drumcode Radio each week or the hordes of ravers who attend Drumcode branded events and festivals across Europe, North and South America throughout the year.
Drumcode history is techno history. As the label has evolved, so too have a legion of careers been born. Artists whose story is intertwined with DC – from Joseph Capriati and Alan Fitzpatrick, to Layton Giordani and Enrico Sanguiliano. Producers whose first big career moments were tracked through highlight releases on the label and have gone on to build towering careers for themselves since.
The ’30 Years of Drumcode’ compilation is a retrospective, but not in the traditional sense. For Volume 1, Beyer commissioned a collection of the label’s most vital artists to create new reworks of some of their best-loved Drumcode releases, giving new life to 14 standout cuts from the DC discography.
A valued member of the family, Amelie Lens is an essential addition to the project. Not only did she contribute to the label’s landmark 200th release with two outstanding remixes of Adam Beyer’s ‘Teach Me’, but she’s been a constant at key Drumcode events and showcases over the years, while in 2024 she shared the stage with Beyer at Junction 2 in a rare b2b for the two artists. Her contribution to the compilation is a thrilling revamp of her 2017 label debut, ‘In Silence’.
Drumcode stalwart Alan Fitzpatrick transforms his classic ‘Skeksis’ into a rolling, heads-down rework. Listen closely to ‘Love Story’, Victor Ruiz’s stunning cut that never got the rinse it deserved when released in 2020 due to the lockdowns. He takes it to another level with this epic version.
Another notable comes from long-time DC friend Nicole Moudaber, who gives her 2014 percussive jam ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’ a polished update. Moudaber is a Drumcode veteran who first released on the label back in 2012, leading into an album ‘Believe’ a year later. She’s been a constant contributor ever since, with regular features on the A-Sides series and spots on DC line-ups throughout the years.
Further highlights comes from OG Drumcode favourite Joel Mull, who gives his 2012 release ‘Rimson’ a punchy new look, while Beyer reimagines his stellar ‘Don’t Go’ from 2024, taking it in a fresh direction.
Drumcode is honoured to release a new version of ‘Traction’ (The Way We Used To Do It) from Charles D and the late great Cevin Fisher, who sadly left us last month.
Volume 2 is the remix edition – past meets present via six carefully chosen re-rubs that showcase the broad range of the Drumcode sound. Jesper Dahlbäck – a Swedish legend in his own right whose connection with Beyer dates back to the label’s earliest days – reworks ‘DC01’ in an exciting full-circle moment; new-school heroes HNTR and KASIA add their pumping, full-bodied touch to ‘Space Date’, the now-classic collaboration between Adam Beyer, Layton Giordani & Green Velvet; while repping the Italian techno sound that’s been an integral part of Drumcode’s journey, Veerus & Mattia Saviolo deliver an excellent remix of Adam Beyer & Joseph Capriati’s ‘Congenial Endeavor’ from 2012. Included is a huge flip of Maceo Plex’s ‘Conjure Dreams’ from Beyer and long-standing label favourite Bart Skils that’s already generating buzz.
‘30 Years of Drumcode’ is available here