Review: With the pandemic forcing the Berlin clubbing institution Berghain to close temporarily, the collaborative nature of Funfzehn + 1 provided the Ostgut Ton artist roster to cope with themes of isolation and conjure up 'memories of music and space that had been inaccessible'. Originally slated for release in 2020, the compilation finally sees the light of day with the selected contributors working together in pairs to make music dedicated to the former power plant's five different floors. Club residents such as Ben Klock and Etapp Kyle appear with the deep sonar transmissions of "A Friend Of A Friend" and Marcel Dettmann & Norman Nodge team up on the muscular body music of "The Call", while Panorama Bar regulars Tama Sumo and Lakuti offer up the low slung disco vibe of "An Ode To Audre" and Avalon Emerson and Roi Perez impress with the snaking polyrhythms of "Champu Princess".
Review: American industrial scene stalwart Dominick Fernow makes a somewhat surprising addition to Berlin institution Berghain's mix series on its ninth instalment. Under the Vatican Shadow moniker, he has increasingly flirted with techno, performing regularly at the Berlin institution as a DJ and with his intense live show. Of the mix, Fernow - who is otherwise known for work under many other aliases such as Prurient, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement or Exploring Jezebel among others - has stated that his interest in DJing developed out of industrial music traditions such as mail art, tape trading, and sound collage. This sonic 'cut up' of electronic edits bridges the gap between several generations of electronic music subculture, taking in early UK industrial (Genesis Breyer P-Orridge), Japanese noise (Merzbow) and the very NYC underground that he came up in with contemporaries such as Virile Games and Kris Lapke (aka Alberich) also featured.
Review: While Berlin's Answer Code Request certainly comes from a techno mentality, the producer has shifted his focus to what Shed, and the rest of his compatriots, have eventually gravitated towards. This new LP for the capital's Ostgut Ton label, is more bass than tech, and we think that this is extremely well-suited to the man's loose, freeform take on German dance music. In fact, this is more UK than anything, with the majority of these tunes breaking the all-too-predictable 4/4 trance for something much more in line with the likes of Hessle Audio or Night Slugs. However, this is very much an Answer Code Request flex, with what undertones of German industrialism seeping their way through the percussion and structure of the grooves. What a corker - recommended!
Review: With an additional run of three club-minded MASSE remix 12"s released this week by Ostgut Ton, the hugely influential label will round up their soundtrack to the Berghain ballet with this compilation. Phillip Sollmann & Marcel Fengler's Din collaboration provide some of the more experimental highlights with the Dettmann-esque "Aetas" and the industrial ambience "Creation" and "Generation", while as you'd expect Henrik Schwarz delivers splashes of flamenco, classical music and rocky pop to the compilation that's unrivalled in production by any other producer making techno.
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