DJ Sprinkles is the artist name of Terre Thaemlitz, a genderactivist, writer and artist.

To prelisten to some of S. tracks, go here to get an impression of the style. It’s political flavoured minimal house maybe… In the set there were no tracks like the one I linked as an introduction, it was not a presentation of own stuff, but more a party-orientated set of course. I don’t know so much about the background and all the concepts of this artist yet, I was told some stuff by a flirty gay at the party, but well people tell you anything to flirt

It started by reading an interview and digging up some info, after which I was eager to go to Panoramabar in Berghain last friday, I wanted to see the person behind this postmodern queer radical theories play music.

At the beginning, I was a bit surprised, no queer extravaganza on the first sight (apart from maybe in the music, the opener track was just happy electronic music to me). But maybe that’s the artistic concept, not to fullfill the expectations that you might have associated with queer and trans style. Because in the end it’s about that, getting over the categorizations that are made through outward appearance, to make room for diversity.

So on the one hand I was delighted by the subtle and interesting set, where “politics” only appeared in the selection of vocal tracks and in the general artistic attitude. But on the other hand I was suprised how well the music flowed in the background as entertainment while people where flirting and bragging in all the old patterns.

Dear Berlin,

Thank you SO much for having a legible, well-pointed sign on every single corner of every single street. Without this simple but oft-forgotten manifestation of the German obsession with ordnung, I would have been lost in sub-freezing temperatures at least twenty times by now.

With that said, I would love, simply LOVE, to know just how you managed to get by all these years — being the uber-organized, ultra-bureaucratic, and and generally OCD culture that you are — without the use of apartment numbers??? It truly baffles me! After tromping through the icy streets until all toes and fingers are burning, the last thing I need is to arrive at someone’s door, get let in by the buzzer, then realize that I have no idea whether they live in the front house or  the back house, on the first floor or the fifth floor, whatever. This numberless chaos has left me shuffling on the ground floor too many times.

Regards,

Sarj

Apartment numbers aside, Berlin and I are pretty tight. Last weekend was, to say the least, the BOMB. Will and I had the tremendous pleasure of helping our housemate (Jackson) to DJ the middle school disco at the school where he works. I guess with a middle school disco, things could really go either way, but in this case the way was Awesometown. The kids were totally adorable (picture this: 12-year-old bartenders delivering virgin mojitos and pina coladas to the DJ booth), and they were even fairly responsive to the older tunes we packed in with the much-requested Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and Black Eyed Peas. I was especially pleased with their enthusiastic response to one of my own middle school faves, “I believe I Can Fly.” (And they went crazy for OMD’s “Enola Gay” — whodda thunk?)

World's greatest virgin cocktail bar, with world's most adorable bartenders

After the dance we went on to Weekend (club in Alexanderplatz) for a bit. The occasion was Sammy Dee’s birthday, featuring Dan Bell, Bruno Pronsato live, and of course Sammy himself. We basically just stopped in for a bit to hang out with Bruno and his adorable French girlfriend Anne-Cecile, both of whom have been exceedingly kind to us since our move to Berlin. We boogied pretty hard to Dan Bell while we waited to make contact with them; the man is a truly exceptional DJ. Even so early in the night, he was able to get so funky without getting too big to show-up the performers coming on after him. Serious subtlety, I’m so glad he lives in Berlin and plays here so often. (We later saw him in the crowd at Pbar.)

Unfortunately for us, Levon Vincent was due to go on at Panorama Bar at 2am, and we didn’t want to miss him, so we left just as Bruno was about to start his set. (Sad of course, but not too big a deal since we’ve seen him three times in the last year and are going to see him often in the coming year.) When we arrived at Berghain the line was about halfway down the gates (maybe 100 people? I am so bad at guessing numbers of people), and it was fucking freezing so we just sort of stood there quietly and waited to get in. The beats from Panorama were shaking the whole building– the rattling was almost terrifying. They still had the blinds open up in the Panorama Bar, so you could see the party inside from the line below. Pure torture.

There was a huge turnout — it was the reopening of Panorama after a refurbishment (two thumbs up), and this Underground Quality mini-tour seems to have been quite a hot item — so the uber-intimidating doormen were turning away tons of people. My heart was obviously beating pretty fast by the time we got to the front of the freezing-cold line. The five guys in front of us were dismissed (“We make a choice, and tonight’s not your night”), but for whatever reason Will and I were let in after a stare-down that seemed to last for a day.

Inside, it was sweaty red chaos. So many people packed in (around 3am) that you could barely dance… instead you  had to just sort of stand there moving back and forth in whatever few inches you had for whatever few seconds. We ran into Will’s crew from the RA offices almost immediately, but it’s pretty hard to socialize when it’s so … loud. Levon was pretty good, I guess, but ultimately I’m sure he’s a much better DJ than he was that night. Not to mention that his sound would be far better suited to Berghain, but people were getting really into him nonetheless (myself included). Unfortunately we found ourselves rather distracted during DJ Qu’s set, which is a shame because I was really excited to see him. But when you’re at a club you kind of just have to go with the flow if you wanna be able to keep going, so we did what we had to do. Jus Ed played pretty much as expected, at least up until the end. As we all know, the guy has incredible track selection, but ultimately he’s just not too subtle. There’s no build, no tension, no ascension when it comes to Ed. He’s an incredible DJ, but in some ways I think he lacks what it takes to really draw people in over the course of several hours. Which isn’t to say that it wasn’t a blast, because it was. Especially towards the end of his set, when he started to drop some really deep and dubby house, the Anton Zap-ish stuff I had been waiting for all night.

The whole night really “happened” when Tamo Sumo took over the decks sometime between 8 or 9am. For the record, this chick is INCREDIBLE. Jumping off of Ed’s leap into deep, she immediately took the crowd under her spell with some very subtle and serious grooves. And then she did what a truly amazing DJ is supposed to do: took us on a journey. And we followed her every step of the way. Will and I had originally planned on taking off before the end of Ed’s set — with the disco and everything we were both pretty pooped. Thank GOD we decided to stay. As the dawn began to break sheepishly through the still-closed blinds, she slowly started to build the vibe, until suddenly we found ourselves amidst a raucous dance party, blinds open, sunlight streaming in at full blast (the most sun Berlin had seen in WEEKS), and all these crazy pumping old school jams flying in one after the other bambambam. It was a whirlwind of awesome.

(Ed’s video of Tama Sumo playing the instrumental dub mix of the new Steffi track in New York in her custom UQ Label Night shirt. LOVE IT.)

[[If haven't already, please do yourself a favor and download her mix for LWE before it gets archived .]]

By now all of the norms had long since gone, and only the serious party crowd was left, and they were here to fucking PARTY. This is the kind of stuff you really live for in technoland, these tiny magic mornings that seem so special through and through. Funny enough, we were almost dead sober the entire night, barely even drunk. So for any of you out there with silly little judgmental thoughts in your head, hear me roar: you can have an incredibly magical and dare-I-say spiritual time a club without the use of substances.  I know non-techno people have the impression that that’s what this scene is all about, but it’s so much bigger than that, so much more sincere.  This whole genre of music is so much more sincere, so much more touching than any other artform I’ve ever interacted with. And that’s why I love it. That’s why I’m here.

Sap aside, the practical side of life isn’t so bad, either. Yesterday I had what seemed to me to be a great interview at truly inspirational start-up company. I’ll keep the details under wraps until I find out about the job, but it’s safe to say that I am totally pumped about even the slightest glimmer of hope that I could work with these guys. I really hope it happens.

The bad news so far: I lost my favorite (and only) hat at Weekend in our rush to get to Berghain. I get very sentimental about my possessions and still feel like the hat might be sad I didn’t come looking for it.

On the horizon: we are waking up early on Sunday morning to go to Berghain (yes, again) to see Prosumer, Omar S, Soundstream, and Steffi in Pbar, and Boris in Berghain. Margaret Dygas is playing, too, that night, but it’s from midnight to 5am Sunday morning, so I don’t think we’ll make it. (I think we’ll go in around 7am or so.) Out of this bunch I think I’m most excited to see Soundstream. I’ve enver heard a DJ set by him before, but his productions are out of this world.

On a more comedic and random note, I heard today that AtomTM has a new album called Music is Better Than Pussy. Although I’m sure in some way the album title is a joke, the serious idea behind it is one that continues to simultaneously enthrall and terrify me. On the one hand, what a relief that there is something bigger, badder, and maybe even more powerful than our often-overpowering carnal urges. On the other hand, it’s intimidating to think that someTHING could be more important than someONE, especially when that someone is you.

But as we all know, music and sex can’t really exist without one another anyways, so what’s the use in comparing? Probably no use at all.

Live at Berghain, Berlin, November 29th, 2009.

The „Elektroakustischer Salon“ is not a very bourgeois ’salon’, you have to admit. After the Moritz von Oswald Trio and Sunn o))), the 2009-2010 series presents a peculiar duo made up of FM Einheit and Hans-Joachim Irmler.

FM Einheit aka Mufti aka FM (Frank Martin Strauss) was a key member of the industrial noise band Einstürzende Neubauten until he left the group in the mid-90s (‘boredom’ was one reason for leaving, he says). Claiming to hear things other people wouldn’t notice, he is always looking for particular sounds to fit his ideas and he usually finds them by behaving ferociously with industrial construction elements and various tools and devices. Einstürzende Neubauten concerts were parades of custom-made instruments and today, FM is a radical representative of this approach, collaborating with different people on concerts, theater and radio projects. Hans-Joachim Irmler, the other German legend here, is the keyboard man of Faust, who are still active and even preparing the release of a new studio album in 2010. The members of the mythical Krautrock band, even though experimenting with concrete sounds like E.N., rather fiddled with studio techniques and electronics, but both groups share the idea of building an idiosyncratic language beyond academic conventions.

Read the rest of this review on tokafi.com

Label: Ostgut Ton
Catalog#: OSTGUTCD11

Tracklist:

01. Sigha – Light Swells – In A Distant Space
02. Airhead – Paper Street
03. Sigha – Early Morning Lights
04. Pangaea – Sunset Yellow
05. Joy Orbison – The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The
Blow
06. Shortstuff – See Ya
07. Untold – No-one Likes A Smart Arse
08. Scuba – You Got Me
09. Surgeon – Klonk Pt.4
10. DFRNT – Headspace – Scuba’s Secret Mix
11. AQF – Born And Raised – Version
12. Badawi – Anlan 7
13. Joy Orbison – Hyph Mngo
14. Mount Kimbie – Maybes – James Blake Remix
15. Sigha – Seeing God
16. Ramadanman – Tempest
17. Instra:mental – Voyeur
18. Sigha – Shapes
19. George Fitzgerald – Don’t You
20. Scuba – Minerals
21. Shackleton – It’s Time For Love
22. Digital Mystikz (Mala) – Stand Against War
23. Scuba – Last Stand
24. Joker – Psychedelic Runway

Buy here

Recommended!

When combining the energy of Berghain and Panorama Bar, together with a (in context) unusual side of dubstep, the Sub:stance club manages to take out the best of both “sides” – and fuse them into a concrete monster. Even though the sharp and ambitious sound may seem a bit uneasy as well as clever, the direction in which Sub:stance is going seems more natural than ever.

Keeping the essence of the sounds that define dubstep, as well as the tempos, structure and attitude while fusing them together with a very techno-fied city and all the inspiration, aspiration as well as unique sense of bass music – Scuba seems more than just fit to create a mix CD of it all.

There is a very scientific feeling that is the backbone of the track selection as well as the progression of the mix as a whole. Keeping a profiled and ambitious droning sound throughout, the subtle (and sometimes very direct) beat goes in and out. This keeps everything interesting, as well as leaving room for a more experimental and a bit untouched sound. Everything reminds a lot of Scuba’s own work, as well as the artists and musicians surrounding him and the Sub:stance club. Expect long droning pieces and soundscapes, combined with deadly levels of bass, as well as sound that is so clear and unique it can almost be physically touched.

Most of the time, the mix keeps an atmosphere of a state of both high awareness and everything in a daze. It requires not so much as to listening, but an open mind to the music. The parallell of it all comes in with f.e. Joy Orbison’s ‘Hyph Mngo’ which, in a good way, breaks everything off and leaves as soon as the mix gets a grip of what is going on. In perspective, this seems very natural for Scuba as well as trying to fuse both vertical and horizontal energy with the mix (and seeing him as a live dj too).

As a conclusion, imagine Berghain with a dubstep sound; this is exactly, with and without frills, the first thing that comes to mind.

Berghain in Berlin image from berlin.unlike.net/locations/71-Berghain

I arrived in Berlin on my birthday January 2, 2010.  As I always do research before I travel I already knew I wanted to go dancing at Berghain.  I read that it was the best club in the world, that the door policy was uber strict and chances are you may not even get in after waiting  on the line for 2 hours. Well the only thing I ever waited on line for was an iphone  ( yes I know, for shame) . I grew up in NYC and starting going to clubs at 12, thanks to being tall for a 12 year old, a fake id and an obsession with fashion that started in the womb and sheer bravado.  I headed out to Berghain at 5 am  because I read that things really get started around 7am.  The club opens at 11 pm and fills up quickly, but a change happens around 7am.  The cab driver could not find the place! It is in a remote industrial park.  If you don’t know where you are going chances are you will not find it.  So he made a suggestion and dropped me off somewhere where I can’t even remember the name of but it was not for me.  I took another cab back to the hotel, got more detailed information, mapped it on my iphone ( the one I waited 4 hours to buy because I just had to have it on the very first day. Yes that one), and alas I was at Berghain.  I was shocked at how long the line was, but I was determined.  I met people from Switzerland, and Berlin on the line and you start to build this sort of bond while waiting in the freezing cold.  They all kept telling me it was worth the wait and that I was going to love it.  An hour and 15 minutes later I am in!   All I can say is WOW!!!!!  I have never seen or heard anything like it in my life and I have been to clubs all over the world.   I arrived back at my hotel at 6pm the next night, forever changed.  Berghain, thank you, you truly are the best club in the world.  The picture below says it all.

Berghain in Berlin image from berlin.unlike.net/locations/71-Berghain

this is a liveset of Snuff Crew last weekend in Berghain:

download

enjoy!

here’s a deep set by Rødhåd of Dystopian Music from Berlin:

it’s called the city of lost children and commemorates the early death of Ramin Raissi aka Ruin 2 years ago, R. was a music enthusiast, part of the Berlin techno scene and journalist for various projects.

Rødhåd mixes the deep and full sounds that R. promoted. If you are capable of reading german, one of the his last texts as a music journalist might be interesting to you.

Rødhåd will play on the Berghain Klubnacht the 9th/10th of January. Panorama Bar will be closed on this day, as they are renovating and reopening it on the 22nd of January.

New year, new cultural horizons. If you spent your nights at Tresor, Berghain or Kesselhaus but are interested also in dance as a performing art,  it’s already festival time in Berlin. Check out the program here.

“The TANZTAGE BERLIN 2010 festival team is keeping an eye on their Berlin roots, taking a close look at the scene and, at the same time, over-growing their borders. Young Berlin artists will be put in focus, given support and encouragement. For a festival made up of and for the international Berlin scene, it is important to broaden horizons and keep a look out for new ideas and impulses among newcomers from beyond Berlin – and to learn from them”.

Source: tanztage.de, tanzpresse.de, sophiensaele.de, tanzforumberlin.de

Warum es sich doch lohnt, etwas mehr Geld für die Zeitung auszugeben und sich eines der großen deutschsprachigen Blätter zu leisten, beweist der Artikel von Jonathan Fischer in der heutigen FAZ. Unter der Überschrift “Ihr wollt die Provokation? Hier habt ihr Babybrei” gibt er eine gute Übersicht über das Dilemma des aktuellen Hip Hop.

Hip Hop ist tot, es lebe der Hip Hop! Für die Zukunft dieses einstmals progressiven und gesellschaftsrelevanten Genres prophezeit er eine ähnliche Entwicklung wie einstmals beim Jazz. Für uns bleibt nur noch zu hoffen, das daraus vielleicht einmal wieder intelligente Texte und neue musikalische Richtungen entstehen, mit denen mehr verbunden wird als “get rich or try dying”. Für mich persönlich war der Hip Hop eigentlich schon Mitte der 90er mit dem ganzen Scheiß rund um Puff Daddy etc. tot. Allerdings ließ ich mich dann immer wieder schön überraschen, wie doch neue Dinge raus kamen, die einen dann tatsächlich noch an die Zukunft der Mukke glauben ließen. Mittlerweile bin ich aber genauso wie Jonathan Fischer der Meinung, dass aus Einfallslosigkeit eigentlich nur noch der Markt der hormonverrückten Pubertätskids bedient wird… Nur ein Beispiel für viele andere Musik-Genres? Muss das immer so sein?

Nein!

Elektro scheint da weiter, auch, weil sich diese Musik vielmehr ihren Charakter des Underground selbst in vielen kommerziellen Varianten bewahrt hat. Das macht Mut, dass zumindest in diesem Genre in einer “Erholungsphase” neue Kreativität für die nächste Explosion geschöpft wird. Dennoch scheint auch hier, nach dem zweiten großen Boom (die 00er Jahre mit der Entstehung der Clubkultur 2.0) bereits die nächste Historisierung einzutreten. Unweigerlich das Vorzeichen, dass es bald mit diesem Boom wieder vorbei sein wird. Mit dem großartig zu lesenden Buch “Lost and Sound” von Tobias Rapp und natürlich dem Film “Berlin Calling” sind dieser Zeit ja schon ein paar Denkmäler gesetzt worden.

Mal schauen, ob die früher eher unüblichen Gesichtskontrollen vor den Möchtegern-Coolio-Clubs bald wieder der Vergangenheit angehören. Das Berghain als Technomekka wird sich das wohl  noch etwas länger leisten zu können. Aber die anderen? Die andere Frage ist natürlich: Wird durch die industriekulturelle Verarbeitung von elektronischer Musik auch ein weiteres Phänomen der 90er Jahre zurückkommen? Der Umlandraver oder auch Umlandstampfer. Leute die damals viel in Berliner Clubs unterwegs waren, wissen sicherlich, was gemeint war. Für andere: wird sicherlich noch einmal an dieser Stelle aufgeklärt, was damit gemeint ist.

Ich bin gespannt über die weitere Entwicklung.

Following the post ‘Banksy and Anonymous Techno’ in my old blog, here I attempt to link up a ‘painter’ and techno again – a parallel between surrealist Salvador Dali and Berlin techno this time.

The inspiration came from two sources actually: 1) a number of essays in the exhibition catalogue of the Dali & Film exhibition at Tate (it took place a couple of years ago but I bought the catalogue at a cheap price recently), 2) the DJ set of Ben Klock, resident DJ at Berlin’s infamous club Berghain, at the Goethe-Institut London on 9 Nov (read my review here).

Whilst Dali is undoubtedly well known for his mastery of painting, his passion for filmic practice and theory, especially the latter, is also unquestionable:

‘The cinema is the most unreal way to express reality,’ argues Dali.

The essence of Dali’s film theory actually lies in the ‘factual reality’ in film. He contends that ‘clearly, the possibilities of photography and cinema are to be found in that unlimited imagination which is born of “things themselves”.’ His emphasis on ‘things themselves’ is an attempt to disrupt the decoding of symbols, i.e. representation, in tradition art; as Dawn Ades suggests in the essay ‘Why Film?’, ‘he questioned the traditional poetic use of image and metaphor as being anecdotal and soluble like a riddle, and prefers the pure enumeration of facts.’ (the enumeration of facts is particularly prominent in Dali’s poems)

Through technical possibilities such as close-up and slow motion, which can make direct and forceful impacts on the audience, another form of reality – in Dali’s terms, the ’super-reality‘ - is rendered from the objects in film.

This kind of refusal to symbolic meanings is becoming more and more prominent in art/cultural studies nowadays. As innovative sculptor Anish Kapoor (read my review on his recent exhibition at the Royal Academy here) reckons, ‘I have often said that I have nothing to say as an artist. Having something to say implies that one is struggling with meaning.’

By quoting Ewan Pearson’s and Jeremy Gilbert’s book Discographies in my ‘Mini-Essay on DJing and Dance Music’, I have argued that dance music, with its focus on bass and rhythm, is the most physical, ‘meaning-less’ kind of music (one of the reasons is that since bass travels the most slowly in the sound spectrum, scientifically it is the most perceivable to human beings). But with so many branches of dance music developed over 2 decades of evolution, which particular style has the greatest physicality or materiality (for me)?

At this moment I would pick the dark and thumping techno deployed by Ben Klock from the cavernous club Berghain in Berlin.

Deep, dark, brooding and throbbing, Ben’s selection at the Goethe-Institut London on 9 Nov is instantly affective – with the pounding bass and rhythm as the core sonic device to move the audience, and whilst no epic synth pads or leads are needed whatsoever, the enormous vibration is all that matters.

Despite the absence of lush melodies, the music is by no means simplistic, because every sonic component, whether it is the kick, snare, hat, bass, click or clack and so on, is meticulously designed in order to launch the fiercest attacks on the spine, instead of the mind. Echoing with film’s factual reality, the vibration of the reverberating techno renders its own form of super-reality through its straightforwardly affective, rather than superfluously dramatic, progression. As Dali puts forward in his essay ‘Art film, Antiartistic film’ (1927):

‘It is known that the great Greek tragedians wrote skillfully, one following the other, on the very same subjects. Their audiences were not about to get excited by the sight of unexpected events; they sought their pleasure, their thrill, in the unexpected unfolding of events that were expected since they had already been familiar.’

Whilst this back-to-basics/less-is-more perspective seems forward-thinking and sophisticated to me – but here I’m not referring to purist minimal techno, which does not have the afore mentioned vibration – and thus is further pulling me away from the melodies-laden progressive house (if you don’t know what it is check out this great article on beatportal here), I have to say that at the end of the day it is really a matter of personal taste and I still enjoy listening to melodic tracks; and given the huge spectrum of house and techno respectively, it is an undeniable fact that there have been plenty of cross-pollinations between them in recent years.

But for the time being, for me nothing is better than the super-reality rendered by the affective vibration of the Berlin techno sound. Give me more bass please!

Ben Klock @ Goethe-Institut, London – 9th November 2009

Celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Goethe-Institut London organised a series of events on a chilly Monday in the capital, with a 3-hour DJ set by Berlin’s club du jour Berghain resident DJ Ben Klock wrapping up the commemoration in the Goethe Institut itself (a German cultural centre in London’s posh South Kensington area). Such a unique occasion we could not miss.

Continue to read my feature on Data Transmission – The Online & Mobile Dance Music Authority here

Label: Ostgut Ton
Catalog#: OSTGUTCD10

Tracklist:

1. Tin Man – Constant Confusion
2. John Daly – Birds
3. Nina Kraviz – Voices – Jenifa Mayanja Remix
4. Steffi – 24 Hours
5. Lerosa – Plesso
6. Prosumer & Murat Tepeli – U & I
7. John Roberts – Blame
8. Trus’Me – W.A.R. Dub
9. Kassem Mosse – Zolarem
10. Shed – Stiff Job
11. Newworldaquarium – Trespassers – Redshape Trespassed Mix
12. Mike Huckaby – Wavetable No.9
13. XDB – Jet
14. Levon Vincent – Late Night Jam
15. Lucretio – Good Words
16. The Oliverwho Factory – Together
17. Basic Soul Unit – Things Pass
18. Marcus Mixx – Without Makeup – Ron Hardy Mix
19. Ost & Kjex – Continental Lover
20. Tama Sumo & Prosumer – Alien Mutts
21. Soundstream – All Night

Buy here

With the discussion of mix CD’s general necessity, an output of two of them in one year may seem as a dare move for a record label, especially one held in such high regard as Ostgut Ton. What makes the Ostgut mixes different from many others is the amount of ambition, idea and talent behind every mix – something that is hard to show through just the music itself. Provided with that, the anticipation is risen to a higher level; but at the same time the tolerance of track selection is lower, giving a expectation of almost extreme proportions.

Over three years has passed since Cassy’s Panorama Bar 01 was released. At that time, many of my friends and myself had never experienced something quite like that CD – it was so unique and very inspirational. Highly limited records where mixed together with extreme precision as well as the futuristic sounds of, by that time, the only four to six year old (depending on how you see it) dubstep genre.

As the news of a second Panorama Bar mix got out, “everybody” was expecting something that continued in the path of the first mix, following the same sound but with fresh ideas. With this reference, it’s very hard to showcase something that means a lot to the DJ behind the mix – I guess this is the case for Tama Sumo. Going off with tracks such as Ost & Kjex’s ‘Continental Lover’ together with The Oliverwho Factory, XDB, Shed and Kassem Mosse on the same CD, it seems very difficult to maintain a certain consistency that is in fact the groove of the set. I never hesitated that Tama Sumo is a very talented DJ and I really appreciate the Ostgut label managers to choose her for the second mix, but there’s something vital missing with this release.

The ingredients are there and the emotion of Panorama Bar is certainly there – but that very undefinable feeling of time distortion, sweat, hard work, extreme track selection and a pursuit of a “higher level of conciousness” is not there. It’s more like a shell that, surely is a good mix, but not a lot more unfortunately.

For what it’s worth, the effort with this mix is something that should be considered when buying it and it’s something that will grow with time – the one thing that would probably dissapoint the most is the direct impact it does not have at the first listen.

Letztes Wochenende musste der Minimal-Techno-DJ Richie Hawtin den berliner Club Berghain verlassen, weil es laut einiger unbestätigter Tweets zu Unruhen mit ein paar seiner Freunde kam.
Es ist ja nicht das erste mal, dass man davon hört, dass schon der ein odere andere Prominente der Szene nicht in den Club durfte – man hörte sogar schon von gebookten Acts, die nicht an der Tür vorbeikamen – aber Richie Hawtin aus dem Berghain zu werfen ist doch ein bisschen so, als würde man Jenna Jameson und ihre heißen Pornoschwestern diesen Sonntag von der Venus rausschmeißen.

Hawtin postete Sonntag gegen 02:50 Uhr auf seinem Twitter- und seinem Facebook-Account über seine Entrüstung, aber war dabei nicht einmal in der Lage den begehrten Club richtig zu schreiben.

Ob es jetzt besser oder schlechter für den internationalen Ruhm eines Schuppens ist, wenn man sogar die Prominenz nach den eigenen harten Regeln behandelt, das mag in vielen anderen Diskotheken ein heikles Thema sein, im Berghain aber kann man sich meiner Meinung nach ne ganze Menge in Sachen Türpolitik erlauben. Sind ja nicht ohne Grund offiziell bester Club der Welt.

Richie Hawtin, Musiker und DJ (und inzwischen Minimal Techno Star-DJ), kam am Wochenende nicht in den Berliner Club Berghain bzw. wurde wegen unpassenden Betragens aus dem Club geschmissen. So genau weiß man’s nicht, denn die Medien widersprechen sich da. Wer auf Twitter nach “Richie Hawtin Berghain” sucht, bekommt so ein bisschen einen Eindruck, und auch der Tagesspiegel wie auch ElectronicBeats berichteten inzwischen.

Jedenfalls hat sich Richie Hawtin öffentlich per Twitter beschwert. Hat dabei das Berghain mit Bergheim betitelt, aber was uns viel mehr interessiert, sind folgende Fragen:

1) Ist es nicht ein gutes Zeichen, dass Türsteher nicht auf Star-Ruhm achten, sondern auf ordentliches Benehmen?

2) Tagesspiegel-Redakteure kennen Richie Hawtin und das Berghain??

3) Warum hat der Tagesspiegel-Beitrag eigentlich mehr Kommentare (13) und wesentlich interessantere, als das T-Mobile gesponsorte Branchenmedium ElectronicBeats (2)?

4) Wäre Richie Hawtin mit seiner früheren Frisur, die er zu Plus 8 und Plastikman-Zeiten trug und die NICHT Sven Väth ähnelt, eigentlich eher reingekommen (bzw. nicht rausgeschmissen worden)?

Ohhh, da ist jemand rausgeschmissen worden ?

Lieber Richard Hawtin,

Heul doch!!!
Wenn jeder twittern würde, der nicht ins Berghain kommt oder rausfliegt, weil er sich daneben benimmt, dann gäbe es bald keine anderen Themen mehr.
Nimm es wie ein Mann und benimm dich auch so. Vielleicht kommst Du dann das nächste Mal auch wieder rein.

Aber jetzt wo Du dich öffentlich lächerlich machst, wirst Du wahrscheinlich nie mehr reinkommen.

Die Türsteher stehen nämlich nicht auf Memmen oder Wichtigtuer. Hätte mich auch gewundert, wenn so ein Schmierlappen wie Du geduldet wär.
Man will Dich ja noch nicht mal mehr hinter’m Deck.

Außerdem heißt der Club “Berghain” und nicht “Bergheim”. Wenn man schon so ignorant ist, den richtigen Namen nicht zu kennen, dann helfen auch die teuersten Drogen nicht weiter.

Man sieht sich.

Skorpion

Label: Marcel Dettmann Records
Catalog#: MDR 06

Tracklist:

A1: Apron

Buy here

Recommended!

With a very anticipated label comes the expectations of extremely good quality with every release, as well as the ability to deliver with each rising catalogue number.

WIth ‘MDR 06′, Marcel displays a new take on his traditional sound. This side of his music feels probably a bit strange, but at the same time familiar with all elements included. ‘Apron’ keeps things at the peak just like the previous tracks, but it has a certain calm feeling to it that lets the strength of the attitude behind the track take most of the space. A unclear rhythmic ground, going from one path to another, constantly shifting between them, brings a more subtle and concentrated power and punch from the percussive elements.

‘Kernel’ shows a somewhat certain Sähkö influence behind the feelings of the track, a very static melody that feels extremely transistor generated, is acompanied by a extremely scary bassline and drum. Not leaving a single element behind, ‘Kernel’ kicks (litterary) the shit out of the speakers with full force, creating a track that will take a lot of momentum to make fit in a DJ set.

As for the other side of the record, ‘Rerun’ starts off with full force, only this time with a more classic and less spare sense. The direct feel of the track shines through as the mesmerizing rhythmic melody slowly goes into itself and then back out again, creating a feeling of everything going forward – horisontal energy at it’s best.

‘Tattered’ has the same aspects of ‘Kernel’, but it feels a lot different due to it’s more IDM-like nature. Unidentifiable elements combine each other in a way that feels very forgotten for 2009, as well as a very new and fresh take by Dettmann. The track is the one that feels most honest of all four, leaving the record in a perfect state of full content.

Excellent material that takes the direction of techno into a state of absolute cluelessness.

Manch einer erkennt das Zitat, es stammt aus der viel gehypten Doku 24h Berlin. Wächst man in der schwäbischen Provinz auf, läuft man nach einer gewissen Zeit immer mal wieder jemandem über den Weg, den man kennt. Man sagt kurz Hallo, spricht über Belanglosigkeiten, die den Gegenüber ohnehin nicht interessieren und verabschiedet sich. Laufend trifft man Leute, die wissen wer man ist, auch wenn man mit Migrationshintergrund bei Alteingesessenen auch nach zwanzig Jahren noch ein Stück weit außen vor bleibt, schließlich bleibt man im Ländle gerne unter sich.

Verlässt man hier in Berlin sein Haus, ist man ein Niemand. Es leben mehr als drei Millionen Menschen hier, täglich gehen die einen und kommen die anderen, und alle haben sie Augen, Nase, Mund. So ist man nur ein anonymes Gesicht unter vielen, es sei denn, man trägt eine Uniform. Bei mir ist es die knallig blaue Weste mit den Emblemen der Bahnhofsmission darauf. Man wird sofort als netter Helfer in der Not wahrgenommen und angequatscht. Diese Rolle hat mir von Anfang an gefallen und so trug ich die Weste auch auf meinen Wegen zur und von der Arbeit; Ich gebe es zu, ich wollte doch ein paar Minuten länger von den Leuten im Zug als offiziell guter Mensch lächelnd gegrüßt werden. Denn nur in solchen Momenten, wenn man sich erschöpft auf einen Sitz fallen lässt, ist man wirklich der gute Mensch, der nun verdient Feierabend machen kann. Im Dienst ist man doch nur die Füllung für die Uniform und somit ein mobiler Informationsstand, sprechender Gepäckwagen, visuelles Sorgentelefon, Rollstuhlrampenfortsatz und grinsender Snack-Automat, alles in einer Person.

Nach meinem Block von drei Nachtschichten am Zoo muss ich mir nun aber gut überlegen, was mir wichtiger ist: Ein bisschen Zurkenntnisnehmen meiner Existenz beim Pendeln zwischen Heim und Arbeit, oder ein freier Kopf. Irgendwie scheinen die Erinnerungen an die Menschen bei der Essensausgabe an der Weste zu kleben und dann endlos im Hirn herumzugeistern, ich muss also ernsthaft lernen, die Arbeit nicht mit nach Hause zu nehmen und stattdessen eine adäquate Nische in diesem Moloch hier zu finden. Nicht immer kann man es sich leisten, nach einer Nachtschicht noch ins Berghain zu gehen, um sich von den Bässen das gemarterte Gehirn zerlegen zu lassen und danach einen ruhigen Schlaf zu haben. Außerdem hat mein Mitbewohner gestern einen ziemlichen Schreck bekommen, als ich mittags endlich in mein Bett gestolpert bin und mehr tot als lebendig aussah (siehe Bild).

outside berghain 4pm aug 30th 2009

*rico*

Känns som en talande titel även om jag nu är hemma i säkert förvar i Göteborg, för precis som jag misstänkte så kallar Berlin redan på mig. Undrar om jag inte ska komma tillbaka snart… Var underbart intensivklubbande i ett elektroniskt, soligt tyskt landskap. Dice Club, Berghain, Bar 25 och Funkpark/ Rechenzentrum. Lägg till lite Yellow Sunshineburgare och myshäng i Prenzlauer Berg och Friedrichshain så har du resan.

Berghain levererade givetvis och vi var lika stela och smårädda i kön som sist. Ska ormskinnsbootsmannen dissa oss framme vid dörren? Nej då, det är bara utbytesstudentslooken som går bort. Eller? Var och varannan blev avvisad och jag kände mig för en gångs skull lite fel som kvinna. Men in kom vi och vackert var det.

Framförallt var det Len Faki som visade vägen in i technodunklet då han körde bland de råaste, köttigaste set jag sett. Och. Jag är nu återigen övertygad om att Panorama Bar ÄR överskattat. Ja inte som klubb förstås, det slår typ allt i Sverige ändå. MEN. I jämförelse med stora Berghaingolvet är det no competition. Galluzzi var visserligen lite småcharmig i sin svett där runt 07-08 och hade en något softare framtoning än herr Faki, men nej. Berghain är mitt favoritgolv och nu är jag fullkomligt säker. Känns bra.

Varför fylls inte alltid min arm av stämplar som dessa?

På Funkpark var det Sunday Getaway med galet bra bokningar och plus i kanten för strandhäng och båtkavalkad. Det enda som gör mig lite gnällig är den så överdrivet tydliga mansdominansen. Då det under de många timmar som vi var där inte fanns mer än totalt en tjej i båset så är till och med dominans ett understatement. Tråkigt är det, hoppas och räknar med en tjejboom inom kort. Mer tjejer vid skivspelarna. OCH. Något jag tänker på ännu mer efter detta. Mer kvinnliga hang-arounds!

Rechenzentrum, inomhusklubben intill Funkpark blev också en skön överraskning. Varmt som en bastu, stinkande av svett och vinyl, men med många bra namn. Bland andra Martin Buttrich och Matthias Tanzmann, sen något osäker men tyckte även att vi lyckades klämma in favoriten Daniel Steinberg?

Richie Hawtin – ägaren av skivbolaget Minus, behöver ingen övrig presentation tycker jag. Han var väl främsta dragplåstret. Spelade in lite kort när han avslutade sitt set med hiten Spastik.

Ja, och förresten. Tillbaka till Berlin Calling. Satt, något nostalgiska, på flygplatsen och kollade på filmen på datan i hopp om att Berlinkänslan skulle stanna kvar i kroppen lite längre, men blev inte riktigt så.

Paul Kalkbrenner i huvudrollen, men han spelar inte sig själv utan gestaltar DJ Ickarus… Ställde mig kanske lite tveksam till filmen redan då jag hörde valet av alias… Men skit samma. Filmen var inte så spännande även om Paul gör ett bra jobb. Det jag vill rekommendera är filmmusiken – all out Kalkbrenner. Inledande Altes Kamuffel är en favorit. Ganska sorgsna toner men soft och drömskt. Tänk soluppgång över Berlin