Q and A with Adam Beyer

After a two-year absence from our shores, Adam Beyer is back. The globetrotting DJ/producer behind seminal labels Drumcode, Code Red and Truesoul and leader of the Swedish techno renaissance is playing Transatlantic 6 this Saturday. He took a few minutes out of his schedule to answer a few questions.

Q. It's been two years since you last graced us with your presence, what have you been up to-
DJing, travelling, producing, changing distribution and partying.

Q. You were supposed to play at Two Tribes earlier this year, why did you pull out-
I didn't actually pull out - the booking wasn't ready when it was announced. I was scheduled to play in Europe and the people selling me in Australia announced me before they should have.

Q. Does your training in drumming influence your approach to techno-
I think it definitely helped me when I was learning how to DJ but that was so long ago. It's not really a big influence any more. My interest in grooves and drums still remains though.

Q. You were seen as one of the main proponents of the hard, percussive, loop-based style of techno that came to prominence in late '90s. What motivated your shift to the more melodic style you're pushing now-
I'm still pushing the hard stuff that I think is good. I've just become a lot broader in my DJ style in the last couple of years and started playing more different stuff. I've always been into Detroit techno and minimal stuff. Right now I find there are more records of interest to me that are minimal and groovy rather than hard.

Q. What directions are you and your labels Drumcode and Truesoul pushing in at the moment-
Drumcode is for proper techno mainly produced by myself and my fellow Swedish producers, whereas Truesoul is more for conceptual projects and clubbier stuff.

Q. What releases are coming up-
Drumcode is releasing a 5 part album from Hardcell & Grindvik this fall and Truesoul has 2 albums, one from (Cari) Lekebusch and one from Henrik B as well as a few 12" ´s in the pipeline.

Q. Who are you collaborating with and whose productions are you getting into at the moment-
I've been working with Jesper Dahlbäck earlier this year and so far we've done a record for Soma and one from Novamute with vocals by Tiga. I hope to continue the Novamute project as soon we find some time. There is a lot of good minimal stuff around at the moment and I think that's where the biggest progression in the scene is right now.

Q. What can Melbournians expect from your set at Transatlantic 6-
A mixture of everything from all corners of the techno scene.

Q. Were your labels affected by the global downturn in the dance music industry- If so, how and if not, why do you think this is-
Yes, we were all affected by it. I don't think techno was the style that suffered most though. All the major and more commercial labels have an even harder time because it's not as easy for them to adjust as fast. Record sales are a lot lower than they used to be, the reason for that is still hard to say, but people don't seem to see the same value in music anymore, part of that probably has to do with the fact that you can get it for free whenever you want.

Q. Techno appears to be experiencing a bit of a revival in Melbourne, do you think this is true elsewhere-
Europe is and has always been very happening when it comes to techno; the only place for the moment that you can feel a big difference from a few years ago is Germany where the scene is suffering quite a bit.
South America is going off at the moment but I guess you can't really call that a revival.

Q. You attributed the decline in attendance at events like Love Parade to an overcommercialisation of the music. Is this the direction you still see dance music heading in- Where do you see techno heading in the future-
I never said I won't attend the event because of commercialism, I just said I preferred it much more before. Parts of the scene are very commercial still and the gap i Tags

• adam beyer