Adam Beyer Leaves Listeners Awestruck with First Album in 23 Years

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Adam Beyer has released the 16-song Explorer Vol. 1. Just don’t cue it up expecting the raw sort of techno that launched his career.

Adam Beyer is under no illusions that the kinds of tracks he cuts nowadays are better suited for festival stages than all-night warehouse parties. And if you can leave your own preconceived notions at the door, his new effort, Explorer Vol. 1, is a compelling collection of music guaranteed to live on for years through DJ sets across the globe.

Released via Drumcode, the record label Beyer launched in 1996, Explorer Vol. 1 marks the Swedish artist’s first studio-length album in almost 23 years, following up his 2002 release Ignition Key on his Truesoul imprint. It’s a fitting milestone, as Drumcode has come to be associated with much more accessible fare since Beyer’s last longform body of work on the label itself, which went by the name Protechtion and came out in 1999.

In this context, Explorer Vol. 1 marks a signpost in Beyer’s creative evolution. Take, for example, “Do It For The Bass,” which originally appeared on an EP of its namesake in February. While suspenseful and challenging in its own right, its warm melodies are a far cry from the hypnotic rhythms of 1999 cuts like “Collision” or “7th West.”

Singles such as “Tanit” signal an even greater departure. Buoyed by emotive chords and vocal chops strung together by an understated breakbeat, this is a song better suited for easy listening than a dancefloor where visceral core memories are frozen in time by intermittent strobe flashes.

That’s not to say Explorer Vol. 1 is wholly devoid of the techno aesthetic that defined his early discography. “Loca,” his collaboration with longtime Drumcode signee Julian Jeweil, sees him employ the tried-and-true repetition needed for the sustained moments historically associated with techno. Even here, though, an orgasmic vocal sample helps the single appeal to the TikTok generation’s shorter attention spans.

Beyer also collaborated with the likes of Chris Avantgarde and Layton Giordani on the singles “Desolate Lands” and “Alto,” respectively. The former track came out last month, leading Beyer to venture into the cinematic soundscapes common to music released on the Afterlife label. The latter sees him reconvene with another Drumcode stalwart on similarly melodic fare.

Resonate as it may with a wider global audience, Explorer Vol. 1 is sure to elicit sneers from techno purists who wish Adam Beyer had stayed true to his sound signature of old. The globetrotting DJ and producer is well aware of this disconnect, and he seems to have made peace with it in his own way.

“The beauty of real techno is that there’s hopefully always going to be an underground scene that’s free from the expectations or boundaries that other music has,” Beyer told MusicRadar. “Am I part of that scene? I’d say no — I’ve transcended into the bigger festival scene and produce a more modern form of techno that has taken a slightly different route.”

And why should Beyer limit himself to a narrow range of the electronic music spectrum anyways? Nearly 23 years — let alone the 36 since he started playing records at age 12 — is a long time to resign yourself to a style as specific as techno. Plenty of us who have been steeped in the genre’s deep end see his willingness to explore new horizons not as a strike against him, but as the hallmark of a true artist. This is the statement made by Explorer Vol. 1, and it will not be lost on the right listeners.

Cue up Adam Beyer’s Explorer Vol. 1 on Spotify or your preferred platform, and follow the Swedish superstar on social media to find out where his sonic adventures will take him next.