Adlas is the alias of Adam Larsen. Those who follow Answer Code Request will have noticed the name popping on the label with two releases, 2018’s Arrival By Air and 2019’s Currents. (His “Spherical Wave” track also appeared in Answer Code Request’s XLR8R podcast.) The young producer’s work is influenced by the British isles—he’s never lost the love for the UK’s “rich electronic music heritage,” he says—and, with its shimmering melodies and non-formulaic structures, it’s easy to see why it caught the ear of Answer Code Request.

Larsen grew up on the outskirts of Frankfurt am Main but moved to Berlin with his parents when he was 12. He began messing around with Ableton in 2012, drawing on a love for hip-hop, both old school and contemporary, and he sent his first demos to Answer Code Request, real name Patrick Gräser, through a mutual friend. Gräser snapped up the music right away.

“Adlas has got this fresh style with complex drum patterns, and I really like that,” Gräser tells XLR8R. “His music sounds different to the other stuff that I hear at the moment. His productions are really always on point—first class sound design.”

Larsen is also recognized around Berlin for his work with now-defunct event series called Krach, which he ran with two friends from 2015 until 2018. Among the guests were The Exaltics, Stephen Brown, Laksa, Alienata, Privacy, and Ascion.

Having recently contributed a track to ‘XLR8R+021‘ with “Turn,” released alongside exclusive work from Answer Code Request (who also delivered a sample pack) and Ryan James Ford, Larsen turns in an XLR8R podcast, recorded during lockdown in his home studio. Expect just over an hour of hazy, breaks-driven techno—a snapshot of the music that makes Larsen tick, and another taste of an artist we’re likely to be hearing a lot more from.

You can check out the ‘XLR8R+021 package here.

What have you been up to recently?

Like most people, I’ve spent a lot of time at home recently due to the lockdown. But it seems that some restrictions are being eased now and I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy the things I’ve taken for granted with a new found appreciation.

How did you connect with Answer Code Request?

In 2017 I had spent a lot of time making music and by the end of the year/early 2018 I had finished a good handful of tracks, which I had never really managed to do before, or at least seldomly.

So I thought it was time to send around my first demo and luckily a friend of mine knew Patrick [Gräser] and he sent my music to him. We then met for lunch, got to know each other, and started planning for a release.

Working with Patrick has been great as he is not just a nice guy but he has given me complete artistic freedom and never imposed any ideas on me. I’m really glad we got connected.

Which artists and labels are really impressing you at the moment

The first label that comes to mind is Ilian Tape, they’ve been on a run for several years now and I don’t think there is an end in sight. Other producers or labels that come to mind right now are Yak, Pugilist, Circuit 900, Nullpunkt, Overmono and my buddies J.Manuel and Fadi Mohem.

Where and when did you record this mix?

I recorded this mix at home in my bedroom on CDJs and a Xone92 two weeks ago.

How did you go about choosing the records that you’ve included in it?

I wanted to include a range of styles and moods but still keep the mix more or less coherent. I collected a bunch of tracks I thought would fit in a playlist and just started playing from that list to see what would work and what not. Then once I had figured out a tracklist I got to recording.

Where and how do you go about finding your music?

I find most music on the internet. Going down rabbit holes on Discogs and Youtube is actually one of my favorite past times. It can almost feel like going on an archeological expedition at times and no matter how much music you’ve already found there is alway another label or alias you didn’t know yet. I also check Hardwax and Soundcloud a lot for new releases and upcoming stuff. And if I’m lucky I get sent new music by friends. It’s been a while since I have actually gone physical record shopping but I really enjoy getting my hands dusty in a nice second hand shop as well.

What’s next on your agenda for the year?

The first ever remix I’ve done will be out later this month as part of Blue Hour’s Remixed series. Apart from that I’ll try to work on new music as much as possible and see where that venture takes me stylistically.

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to download the podcast you will need to subscribe to our Select channel. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

–

Tracklisting

01. Simo Cell “As Long as We Have Those Things” [Livity Sound]
02. Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire “Why” (Burial Mix)
03. Clockwork “Second Floor” (Deadbeat Remix) [Parachute Records]
04. Second Woman “Instant II” [Tresor]
05. Hodge “Lanes” [Houndstooth]
06. Forest Drive West “Time” [Whities]
07. Otik “Gravel” [Intergraded]
08. Bruce “Meek” [Hessle Audio]
09. Adlas [Unreleased]
10. Wen “Glisten” [Big Dada Recordings]
11. Andrea “SKYLN” [Ilian Tape]
12. Traktor “Traktor Mood” [DIN]
13. Kode9 “Correction Dub” (Drum edit) [Kode9]
14. Kahn & Neek “Random Lab” [Sector 7 Sounds]
15. Circuit 900 “Sapientia” [Monstart]
16. Syn “Void” [Even The Strong]
17. Al Tourettes “Dodgem” [Apple Pips]
18. J.Manuel (Unreleased)
19. Ratsnake “deejays” [Ratsnake]
20. Tymotica “Unreleased”
21. Boxcutter “Bad You Do” (Halfstep) [Planet Mu]