What defined United Beats Records
United Beats Records was launched in San Francisco in 2011 by Mad Maxx, Dual Core and Liam Shy. From the beginning it was conceived as an international label , not a purely local American imprint, using psytrance as its centre while leaving room for progressive, downtempo and other electronic directions.
The label’s long-running roster connects major scene veterans with newer producers, giving it a distinctive position within North American psytrance: US-rooted in organisation, but global in both artists and audience.
How United Beats Records developed
United Beats established itself with releases around Mad Maxx and Mekkanikka before expanding into a much other releases. Over time it became a release home for artists including Talamasca, Alien Project, Stryker, Nax and other established psytrance names, while continuing to foreground projects tied to its founding network.
The label remained active through the 2020s and its current channels show a steady flow of contemporary singles and collaborations , not a legacy-only catalogue.
People, organisation & management
Max Peterson—Mad Maxx—is a co-founder and owner. Dual Core and Liam Shy were part of the original founding group. United Beats was designed from the outset to combine international artist relationships with a North American base, instead of functioning as a narrowly regional label.
Sound, roster & A&R direction
Psytrance is the label’s strongest identity, especially full-on and driving festival material. Its founders nevertheless described a broader ambition that included progressive trance, chill-out and other electronic styles, so the catalogue should not be reduced to one psytrance subgenre.
Place in psytrance history
United Beats helped provide a durable US-linked platform for internationally recognised psytrance artists during a period when much of the genre’s label infrastructure remained centred in Europe and Israel.
Scene impact & cultural reach
The label’s structure reflects the borderless nature of modern psytrance: founded in San Francisco, run through international artist networks and consumed by a scene in which geography matters less than touring, collaborations and festival circulation.
Key releases & catalogue moments
Early Mad Maxx and Mekkanikka releases established the label, followed by a steadily widening international roster. Later milestones include work with Talamasca, including The Four Seasons, and continuing releases by Mad Maxx, Stryker, Nax, Alien Project and related artists.
Artists connected to the label
Alien Project
Israeli producer Ari Linker’s long-running psychedelic-trance project, active since the 1990s and closely tied to the international full-on movement of the early 2000s.
Mad Maxx
French-American producer Max Peterson’s long-running psychedelic-trance project, known for a powerful international full-on sound and extensive collaboration across the global scene.
Mad Tribe
Psytrance collaboration of Mad Maxx/Max Peterson and Space Tribe/Olli Wisdom, formed in 2005 and centred on high-energy psychedelic dancefloor material.
Mekkanikka
Swiss producer Nicolas Oesch’s veteran psytrance project, linking the early Spirit Zone era with later full-on and international festival networks.
Save The Robot
Collaborative project of Ari Linker (Alien Project) and Ido Liran (Quadra), with a catalogue spanning Psytrance and later electronic crossover phases.
Talamasca
Cédric Dassulle’s long-running French Psytrance project, evolving from mid-1990s Goa roots into a highly melodic, high-energy international festival sound.