VII Records

VII Records was launched around 2016 by British DJ-producer John Askew as a 7-artist tech-trance collective and label, distributed via Black Hole Recordings. The project gathered Askew with peers including Simon Patterson and other harder-trance specialists, giving the collective an institutional home for the more technically demanding side of the trance spectrum. VII's catalogue is built around the collective's solo releases (Simon Patterson's "Always," "Bulldozer," and many more, alongside material from Askew and the other members) plus the VII-branded compilation series. The label has been an editorial home for the tech-trance / psy-tech crossover that emerged in the late 2010s. Alongside Subculture and Outburst, VII is one of the genre's most respected boutique outlets for the harder end of contemporary trance, and the imprint's events at clubs across the UK and EU continue to draw a dedicated 138 BPM audience.