Charlie Sparks

Awakenings x 9x9 Invites ADE 2023: an event designed for the harder, faster, and frankly more chaotic end of the spectrum. Charlie Sparks’ set is a brutalist onslaught of hard techno, a sonic battering ram for a crowd that considers 158 BPM a comfortable cruising speed. The vibe is a dedicated, sweat-drenched bunker within the larger festival, a place where subtlety is left at the door and the only rule is to keep moving. Technically, this is a relentless, single-minded assault at a near-constant 158 BPM, using the intense, minor modes of keys like 12A and 7A to maintain a sense of urgent, peak-time pressure.

The energy is overwhelmingly concentrated in the low-end (0.79 avg), creating a dense, physical wall of sound where kicks and distorted basslines are the sole protagonists. Sparks’ track picks are weapons-grade. Adrian Mills’ ‘Groovearcade 2004’ sets a raw, lo-fi tone. The inclusion of the ‘Creeds Remix’ of Bollmann’s ‘Rampage’ and the collaborative ‘Run Away’ by neika & Creeds shows a keen ear for the current, trance-inflected hard techno wave.

STORM’s ‘Fire To the Roof’ is exactly the kind of incendiary, vocal-driven anthem that defines a peak moment. He kicks off with an unknown, abrasive opener, builds the energy through those crunchy, euphoric remixes, and concludes the frenzy with the relentless, acid-tinged drive of Vortek’s ‘Bring the Rave’ as the closing track.