Techno preorders

Review: Swedien's Adam Beyer returns with eight new tracks, his first full-length collection in over two decades. The sequencing folds in recent collaborators while staying rooted in the clean, functional techno that's long defined his output. 'Taking Back Control' opens with a tightly programmed groove, minimal in arrangement but tuned for high-impact play. 'Alto', co-produced with Layton Giordani, pushes into more melodic territory with airy synth leads offset by a hard-edged rhythm section. 'Explorer' and 'Desolate Lands' - the latter with Chris Avantgarde - maintain a linear structure, with subtle modulations and atmospheric textures. On side C, 'Loca' (with Julian Jeweil) drives the tempo higher but keeps effects restrained, followed by the solo cut 'Boundless', which leans slightly darker in tone. 'Hypnotic', a collaboration with HNTR featuring vocals from Kyozo, edges toward big-room styling without slipping into excess. Closer 'The Distance Between Us' finishes on a more expansive note, with a wide stereo field and loosely arranged elements. It's a measured update rather than a reinvention - consistent, clean, and executed with intent.

Review: Spanish techno powerhouse Andres Campo hits hard with four uncompromising club weapons for DCLTD. 'Conte Bleu' wastes no timeiit's heads-down tunnel techno with acidic flashes, reverb-drenched vocals and glimmering melodies swirling inside the chaos. 'Nuit Blanche' flips the script with a more syncopated, breaksy structure, its flickering metallic textures and jazzy FX giving way to an enormous vocal-led breakdown that manages to be both weird and raucously effective. On the B-side, 'Ligne Jaune' is all pressure and paranoia: distorted spoken samples swim through the mix as punishing percussion surges forward. 'Pois Gris' closes the set in sci-fi mode, splicing synthetic sirens, looping vocal chants and relentless stomping drums into something as dystopian as it is danceable. Designed for big systems and dim lights, this is techno with teeth.

Review: Italian producer Marco Faraone returns to Adam Beyer's Drumcode label with a no-nonsense 12" for zenithal audiozones. On 'Open Your Eyes', an infectious vocal loop coils around a cavernous breakdown before the kick slams in, a pure sonic push-pull. 'Enigma' dials into trance-techno, all gleamy synth lines and rollage. Turn to the dark side for 'Convert the Energy', with its pummelling pace and festival-flummoxing intensity, while 'Haze' lands on a more celestial note, riding a steady pulse through spiralling arpeggios and widescreen pads.