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Music

Nine Vital Techno Tracks from 2014 That You Might Have Missed

Under the radar, into our hearts.
Photo by Kurt Vandeweerdt

Since sharing is caring, we figured we would offer a playlist of 2014's essential techno gems from labels that have likely flown under your radar. In no particular order:

1. Alex Davis - "Don't Stop Lovin'" [Blend It Records]

Alex Davis is a French producer and resident DJ at the renowned club

Le Dandy

, located in the neighbourhood of the

Moulin Rouge

. He regularly shares the decks with some of the legends in deep music: Andre Lodemann, Larse, Pupkulies & Rebecca, Vakula, Simon Baker… you get the picture.

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Even Marco Carola—a DJ renowned for rarely, if ever, repeating himself—closed at least three huge summer gigs with this track. The Maestro's endorsement of this track should be more than enough proof.

Follow Alex Davis on his website.

2. Sam Ball - "Jack Daw" [Form]

Sam Ball is a talented British producer that should be believed in. If this bit of driving, industrial techno that's dripping with attitude doesn't make you a supporter, we're not sure what will.

Follow Sam Ball by clicking here.

3. Biella And Astral & Toni Vidas - "Feel My Sound (Seeward Remix)" [Family Grooves]

You can hear the international flavour at work on this 40th release by

Family Grooves

. It was made in Croatia by label residents Biella And Astral, tweaked by fellow Adriatic resident

Toni Vidas

, then remixed by Italian DJ and producer Seeward. It also possesses an undeniable militant drumroll that we can't get enough of.

Follow Biella And Astral by clicking here or Seeward here.

4. Lukas Trunk - "Go Back" [Beat Frequency Records]

The same kind of eclectic, surprising and determined elegance that marks Lukas Trunk as a producer is embodied all over this signature track. The piece was a fixture on the underground circuit ever since its release earlier in the year, especially thanks to love from Loco Dice, tINI, Magda and Richie Hawtin.

Follow Lukas Trunk by clicking here.

5. Davhelos - "Let Me Love You (Nanobeat Remix)" [Locked Records]

Massive kicks. Hypnotic loops. Sharp hi-hats. Spacy vocals. That's what's up.

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Davhelos is a Belgian DJ and producer and also the co-creator of the label Parallel Music. The spirit of his imprint is to be able to help artists evolve through a professional and flexible structure. Through deep house, tech house and techno house accents, the various influences Davhelos unleashes through Parallel express themselves freely, while sharing plenty of musical surprises.

Follow Davhelos by clicking here.

6. Sven Tasnadi - "Feel Good" [Moon Harbour Recordings]

The positive response to Sven Tasnadi's productions is reflected in his DJ calendar. The number of sets is increasing every year for Sven, with gigs that include parties at renowned clubs like

Cocoon Club

in Frankfurt and

Plastic People

in London.

Supported by Steve Lawler, Dubfire, Adam Beyer, Marco Carola, Davide Squillace, Booka Shade, and Pan-Pot … just to name a few. Need we say more?

Follow Sven Tasnadi by clicking here.

7. Felipe Puertes & Robel - "Through Your Eyes (Volkoder Remix)" [Go Deeva Records]

This year has been a great one for Volkoder. Since January, he has signed with massive labels like

Hot Creations

,

Toolroom

,

Suara

,

Kittball

,

Snatch! Records

and

Material

. Other DJs like Carl Cox, Marco Carola, Claude Vonstroke and Nic Fanciulli have played his hot tracks throughout the summer, as well. It's no wonder either. The numbers prove this: Volkoder featured 15 songs on the Beatport Top 100 in 2014. The best news on top of that? There's much more to come.

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Follow Volkoder by clicking here.

8. Pascal Hetzel - "Feel That Beat" [Upon You Records]

A superb beat that will enter you into a proper meditative state, whether you're up and two-stepping on your feet or not.

Since blossoming out of the south of Germany in spring 2013, it hasn't taken Pascal Hetzel long to become one of the city's most promising upcoming talents with regular gigs at Panorama Bar, Watergate and Sisyphos.

Follow Pascal Hetzel by clicking here.

9. Hermanez - "Whatcha Gonna Do" [Leena Music]

A big one by Hermanez closes out our list. It's a powerful groove with a sexy vocal, or as one

SoundCloud listener

commented, "Oh shit, 'dis vibe is so mad!" Our thoughts exactly.

To see Hermanez—the Belgium-born DJ and producer with Latin roots and heritage—rise to the top of the crop, it seems like a natural progression. Hermanez is perhaps mostly associated with his grooving and tribal-flecked tech-house productions, which keep finding favours with the greats like Luciano, Loco Dice and Reboot, to name a few.

Follow Hermanez by clicking here.

You can follow Christopher on Twitter at: @theCMprogram