In the 90s when I first discovered Techno (my story here) I also was told a lot of good stuff about this upcoming Swedish techno producer and DJ Adam Beyer. This guy started a label called "Drumcode" and I was introduced to one of the early releases of this label. I have no idea anymore which one that was, but I know it sounded very interesting.

Not for long, my brother asked me to join him to this techno event "Awakenings" since Adam Beyer was on the program. I didn't go to too many techno events in the Netherlands yet and never been to Awakenings, and wanted to hear this Adam Beyer guy, so immediately said yes! I do remember as it was yesterday, we arrived at the venue early, around midnight. The venue impressed me so much! It was - and still is - an old oil/gas tank used more than a hundred years ago for its original purpose and was located just outside the city centre of Amsterdam. It is called "Gashouder" or "Westergasfabriek".

We had no clue about running hours of this party before we arrived, but soon after we entered the venue we discovered the party would continue to at least noon on Sunday; 12 hours! WOW! You should know, at that time I was not that much experienced with these kind of parties, being quite newbie on the block in the Techno scene. I was impressed, to say the least. And then came the little shock. Adam Beyer was scheduled for 9am-noon, the graveyard shift as I was told later. We came early because we didn't want to miss Adam Beyer, but now we asked each other, can we make it that long? But yeh, we didn't really had a choice, since at that time our beds were more than an hour drive away from Amsterdam and we came to Awakenings for Adam Beyer. Obviously we stayed!

And what a wait it was! We enjoyed each moment of the party, and when finally Adam started to spin the wheels, I was swept of my feet! This guy was it for me! His sound touch my heart BIG TIME! Not for long - and with a bit more experience in the techno landscape - Adam became my "King of Techno" and that title he kept until years and years later - He lost me when he started to escape the underground sound and replaced it with a much more 'commercial' sound. But still, this guy always will have a special place in my heart.

Some years later, one of my first techno CD's I bought, was the first and only album released on Drumcode by mister (ex-)"King of Techno" himself. The album I share with you today. I still do love this album and get goosebumps when listening to it. It is not the techno of today anymore, and can be perceived as a little fast, but it gives me so many good memories from those days!