I always had higher regards for Adam Beyer as a DJ than as a producer. While I have (or I like to think so at least) listened to all his albums, despite their quality, few tracks really last, and after a while, the initial gloss seems to fade out. You could argue and say that the same can be applied to most artist albums, but when it comes to Beyer's DJ mixes released on CD that I have heard thus far ("Essential Underground Vol. 9", "Stockholm Mix Sessions", "Fabric 22" and "Time Warp Compilation 3"), they are all top notch!
"Fuse presents Adam Beyer" is no exception. Even though Beyer goes with the flow here, and drops a set packed in the trendy minimal vein, he once again does it with might and places himself two bars above the competition.
Hypnotic, at times melodic and at times stripped and percussive, this one will have you bouncing all over your room. The flow is impeccable, and while not all the tracks grab my full attention, the mix is so flawless and interactive that if you don't pay attention to the index points, you'll just roll along and get the impression of listening to one extended musical piece. There are breaks, followed by crescendos and more upbeat segments too, so it is not like you will be exposed to seventy nine minutes of bleeps and blops taking turns.
I have to admit here, while I am not very fond of the direction many of my former heroes are taking, Adam Beyer proves yet again that he still keeps it wet behind the ears, be it hard techno he rocked many years ago, or more subtle realms of electronic music. Together with Voorn's contribution to the Balance series, this is among my favorite DJ mixes in the last four year period.