CODE is now celebrating 22 years as the techno brand of the Fabrik Madrid nightclub, and they plan to celebrate in style, starting last Saturday, October 11th, with an intense lineup headed by Berlin veterans Modeselektor, also featuring names such as Juan Atkins, Len Faki, Dave Clarke, DJ Rush, Oliver Ho, Fatima Hajji, and many others covering the entire spectrum of extreme techno.
Photo credit: CODE 22 – Official
Spread across four rooms, the event divided the different facets of techno according to their intensity, with a clear predominance of harder sounds such as hard techno, schranz, hardcore, and gabber, distributed between the Main Room and the Crystal 360º room, featuring their most notable figures such as Kobosil, Stan Christ, and Fatima Hajji, who performed in an unprecedented B2B alongside Lee Ann Roberts. Both dance floors were packed practically from the start of the event, with an excellent session by Anetha in the Main Room serving as an appetizer for the main acts that followed. The audience gave their all in both rooms and, as the BPMs rose, showed their inexhaustible enthusiasm in a true communion of beats, energy, and sweat.
The Satellite room hosted sessions by true legends of global techno, starting with the purest Detroit style of Juan Atkins, the legendary member of the “Techno Trinity” who, along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, was instrumental in laying the foundations of the style. Next up was Modeselektor, the Berlin headliners who consolidated their unparalleled, eclectic, and chaotic musical vision in a brilliant set featuring their own tracks and even slipping in classics such as Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ and Cherrymoon Trax’s ‘The House of House,’ creating a truly festive atmosphere on the dance floor. They were followed by Len Faki with a flawless set that left no room for rest, a frenetic succession of tracks seasoned with effects and featuring some truly devastating moments, with a nod to acid. And speaking of devastation, the great Dave Clarke followed Faki with what could be described as a relentless steamroller of beats and a constant dynamic of tension and release, combining the elements of each track to bring them to a boiling point, then unleashing all their power on the grateful audience. Finally, as the icing on the cake, it was the turn of DJ Rush, another iconic figure on the global techno scene, who gave an effective and powerful lesson on how to keep a dance floor in full swing, delivering blow after blow from the mixing desk.
In the Club Area, the rhythms were a little more restrained, although the power of techno continued at its peak thanks to masterful sessions by names such as Oliver Ho, James Ruskin, and Lewis Fautzi, who kept the audience lively thanks to the textures and atmosphere they created from their decks. Amidst the incessant hustle and bustle of people throughout the club, this room offered a perhaps more intimate and peaceful space that allowed for a brief escape from the furious intensity of the other dance floors.
In short, the first part of the CODE trilogy was an excellent start to a cycle that continues on November 15th with The Chemical Brothers as headliners, ending on December 6th with none other than Underworld headlining the bill, accompanied by an extensive lineup of luxury acts that will leave no techno fan indifferent. The combination of CODE + Fabrik has proven to be a fundamental part of the electronic culture of the Spanish capital, so it is logical that the celebration of its 22 years of existence should be done in style, and this is exactly what they have achieved.
