Its a long road that leads from the purchase of your first single in mid-70s to establishing yourself as a respected solo artist with gigs all over the world today. There were, of course, the first tentative steps, spinning funk and dance classics at house parties in the 80s. These led to Axel promoting raves in the early 90s with old friend and partner-in-crime Asem Shama, with whom he then built a studio, set up their first label and collaborated on the Vanguard project. Next came the fifty or so releases on respected and innovative labels like Bush, Planet of Drums, Frisbee Tracks and Spiel-Zeug, not to mention the innumerable live P.A.s and DJ sets After completing his studies in 2004, Axel was finally free to focus all his efforts on music, especially his increasingly sophisticated solo works. The fresh application of time and energy landed him one side of the now classic Speicher 26, released on Kompakts prestigious Extra offshoot.Galaxy, was a growling, bass-driven bomb and deservedly became an international smash, setting dancefloors alight. Id not had previous contact with the Kompakt guys, Axel says, But after all Id read and heard, I got the feeling we had a lot in common, and that theyd like what I was doing And like it they did, commissioning another mighty Speicher production (Was Bleibt Ist Die Musik) and acting as distributor for the newly minted Sportclub label, which Axel founded together with Franco Zeiger in late 2005. Sportclub has provided Axel with another platform from which to release his own heady brand of modernist techno - releases like Breakout, Thunk and the Hola Guapa EP have ensured a steep rise in his popularity, and put his name on the lips of DJs, labels and tastemakers across the globe. Any doubt that Axel Bartsch had truly arrived was dispelled with the release of his Light in the Dark maxi for Kompakts main imprint. I produced Light in the Dark with Kompakt in mind Axel tells us, I guess it was meant to be, kind of eerie So the roads been long, sure, but Axel remains tireless his fascination with music and clubbing keeps him happy and, luckily for us, productive. Wherever he is right now, whether tweaking away in the studio, gazing out the window of an aeroplane or maybe sweating his bollocks off after a 6-hour set at the Panorama Bar, you can rest assured: hes doing it for musics sake, and giving all hes got to enchant and enthral us with the sounds of the 21st century. Get behind him.