Steve Rachmad/Various

If you're looking for the slamming side of techno, this is a mix album worth checking out. Steve Rachmad, a Dutch DJ and producer best known as Sterac, whips through 17 tracks of modern techno in a good mix. This is not music for home listening or chilling out; it's serious sweating music. Melodies and breakdowns are out, kick drums and synth loops are in. Artists include many of Europe's leading techno lights, such as Surgeon, Jeroen, Gaetek, Steve Stoll and the Advent. The album was recorded live at an Amsterdam club without an audience, which gives the album a live feel, but without annoying crowd noises or any signs of being retouched.