For over a decade, Max Gardner has dedicated himself to techno. He’s a constant presence in the Bay Area scene, playing clubs and warehouse parties, hosting his own events, and producing his own hammerhead machine music, performing all-hardware live sets solo and in collaboration. In 2011, Gardner co-founded Direct To Earth, a San Francisco based party and event series. Through his work with DTE, Gardner has hosted, promoted, and DJed beside some of the world’s most well-regarded techno talents — in dirty warehouses, hazy afterparties, and top-tier clubs. His DJ sets run through the gamut of techno in its purest forms, inspired by the heavy, synth-forward sounds of Detroit and Berlin classics and new-school players from the Netherlands, Latin America, and the U.S. Midwest. He focuses on driving rhythms and intricate, long-form mixing — hypnotic blends that provide just the right amount of subtlety to whipped-up dancers. Gardner has also been producing his own material for years, and in 2018, he released his first 12″, an EP entitled “Broken Knives & Pinkies” on Bay Area imprint Excise. Besides his solo productions, Gardner also collaborates with San Francisco hardware technician Marc Kelechava as Transpose, an all-hardware techno duo whose debut performance tore the roof off a MUTEK San Francisco afterparty. He’s been busy for years, but Max Gardner’s just getting started in 2019. Watch this space.