radio station. These were pre-internet days.”
With both the STORMraves and current EDM events hosting thousands of fans at their gatherings, we ask Adam to share any advice for new party goers in America. “Call the music you like by it's actual name,” he says. “No one in Europe calls the music they listen to EDM, we call it techno, house, dubstep, trance, etc. Also, look past what acts the festivals are booking. There is much better and more underground music out there.” Indeed, while an influx of corporate and major label cash has created a slew of dance acts touting masks and lavish stage performances, he points out that the techno scene is, “quite void of both. The overall focus in techno is on the music. Stage shows and costumes are not going down in this scene, only great music is.”
It was his explorative nature that led him to journey into techno friendly Europe, where he became a driving force and active member of the German dance music community. “The first event I was involved with in Berlin dates back to 2007. It was called Crossing The Parallel, which was a collaboration with the biggest industrial promoter in town, Schlagstrom, and myself. The theme of this party was to book two well know live acts from the industrial/EBM/rhythmic noise scene whose music had techno leanings, and two live from the techno scene whose music had industrial/ EBM/rhythmic noise leanings. I would open and close the night with a DJ set of music from all the aforementioned the scenes.
“Thus we were Crossing The Parallel between scenes and genres. This was at a time in Berlin when there were very few hard techno parties. It was a success for us, usually bringing in around 500-650 people. During the same time I started a more techno/ electro related party called Electrodes & Wires. I booked many key players who had not been playing in Berlin much at the time, acts like Dopplereffekt, Monolake, Surgeon, The Black Dog and Legowelt, plus the first live shows ever of Ancient Methods and TR-101. I also had dozens more play for me in that calibre. All these events were at the now defunct Maria Club in Berlin. In recent years I have been very busy with my own gigs, so I have not thrown many parties since 2011, but I still organize Sonic Groove label nights two or three times a year at Suicide Circus club in Berlin.”
TRAVERSABLE WORMHOLE Starting in 2009, Traversable Wormhole started out as a series of vinyl only releases with Mitchell describing the sound as, “more sci-fi outer space sounding. Also, it's deeper and more spacial and not as industrial as Adam X productions.” Inspirationally described as, “the act of traveling through the universes faster then
the speed of light,” it's also grown into his most popular experiment to date, Adam's fan base increasing steadily as each new release crept into the bags of unsuspecting techno DJs.
With re-pressings in high demand, word eventually got out that he was the project curator and with Traversable Wormhole now ten releases deep, two CDs collecting half the series each, remixes have been provided by prestigious peers including Surgeon, Peter Van Hoesen, Sleeparchive, Monolith, Marcel Dettmann, Chris Liebing, James Ruskin, Terence Fixmer and Kevin Gorman, while the project has also morphed into a live act.
MASS-X-ODUS & ADMX-71 Constantly putting new creative twists on the mechanical and industrial influences in his music, Mass-X-odus – Adam's latest endeavor - was created as a catalyst for a more sinister sound. “It's origins stem from my 2007 production work as Adam X when I was making some very heavy industrial techno music,” he explains. “It's influences come from the rhythmic noise industrial scene and also old school hard techno from the early '90s. 'Gang Wars', the debut release, was to be included in my 'State Of Limbo' album back in 2008 but couldn’t fit on there. There was some demand for the track because of a YouTube video of me playing it in Scotland. After that, it was licensed for a documentary about techno in Berlin and Paris, and the director of the documentary asked to release it on her label. I decided to do it, but release under a different alias as I had more recent production work I wanted to put out as Adam X. I also wanted to start a new project to release my hardest and heaviest works. I intend to make even harder tracks for this project down the road”.
Never one to sit still, the industrious composer also continues to push boundaries in the experimental arena using the moniker ADMX-71 for what he labels, “conceptual downtempo electronic music.” 2009 saw a collection of diverse tracks released on German label HANDS and in 2012 he followed this up with 'Second System', a second LP released via his Sonic Groove Experiments imprint.
The chameleon producer takes his art seriously, the attention to detail and feeling behind the music is evident. When it comes to finishing tracks, he says he feels he is done, “when I test it out at an event and it sounds good and creates the atmosphere I'm looking for.” Whether it be traditional techno, EBM, industrial, rhythmic noise or sci-downtempo, Adam has always broken down boundaries and thought outside the box, as well as banging it. The successful 20 year long career of Adam X speaks for itself. His advice to others? “Don't copy others, be original and think!”
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