As a musician, DJ and co-founder of the Leisure System record label, Sam Barker has helped push the boundaries of dance music in Berlin, looking beyond the realm of 4/4 techno to explore left-field sound design and rhythmic complexity. His musical approach unselfconsciously combines bass music tropes, breakbeat, dub and ambient elements while still maintaining a strong connection to the dancefloor.

A classically trained musician, British-born Barker is also an active instrument designer and builder who combines coding skills with analogue, electric and acoustic instrument construction under the name Voltek. Most recently, he worked with Underground Resistance’s Ray 7 on a sonic architectural exploration of empty factories in Detroit using self-programmed analogue percussion instruments.