Nucleus

Ltd. Turquoise Vinyl Repress. Barker makes solo debut on Ostgut Ton with new experimental dancefloor EP Sam Barker has had a long ongoing relationship with Berghain and Ostgut Ton, having released two LPs and various EPs as one half of Barker & Baumecker and hosting regular nights at the club since September 2008 as co-founder of the label Leisure System. 2017 marked the beginning of his solo residency, 2018 sees his first solo release with Ostgut Ton. Both as a musician and label owner, Barker operates on the fringes of techno, balancing experimentation with functionality. On Debiasing, he takes a hard look at the musical elements often considered necessary to maintain dancefloor momentum, with four distinct tracks of morphing synth stabs and paired down metronomic rhythms in varying time signatures. While there is no kick, snare, or clap to be heard, the result is not experimental techno deconstructions but driving, hypnotic and unlikely dancefloor tools. Inspired by the psychology underpinning relationships between producer/DJ and audience, Debiasing is an exercise in creating alternative paths within a techno framework. In Barker’s own words: “If you have ever sat down with a drum machine and tried to elude the rules of dance music, you will find at whatever tempo, and however you arrange the rhythms of each sound, you inevitably end up somewhere. I’ve generally tried to get away from that, but you always hit against this problem of an all-encompassing taxonomy and the baggage that comes with it. For a long time, music only seemed to show me how deeply locked into our habits and patterns we are.”

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

English: Fünfzehn + 1 is a commemorative compilation celebrating 16 years of Ostgut Ton – and the first glimpses of light at the end of a long dark tunnel for parent club Berghain. Originally planned for release in 2020, the music focuses on the interwoven nature of the label and the club in its multitude of different spaces and musical facets. Ostgut Ton artists and close affiliates worked together in pairs to make music dedicated to five different floors, each represented by a specific 12" vinyl. The result is a diverse selection of sometimes functional, other times more abstract sonic tributes; musical homages to spaces they have both influenced and been influenced by. With the pandemic having forced the club to close temporarily, the collaborative nature of the 5x12" boxset represents an attempt to transcend varying degrees of isolation and to wrestle with memories of music and space that had been inaccessible. But certainly not forgotten. German: Die Compilation Fünfzehn + 1 feiert 16 Jahre Ostgut Ton – und das Licht am Ende eines langen, dunklen Tunnels für sein Stammhaus Berghain. Ursprünglich zur Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2020 geplant, reflektiert die vorliegende Musik die Verflechtung von Inhouse-Label und Klub bzw. dessen unterschiedlicher musikalischer Facetten. Ostgut-Ton-Künstler*innen und -Freund*innen arbeiteten gemeinsam an Stücken, die fünf Floors gewidmet sind – und im Vinyl-Boxset fünf 12"es zugeordnet werden. Die 20 Stücke sind musikalische Hommage an Räume, die die beteiligten Personen sowohl beeinflusst haben, als auch von ihnen beeinflusst wurden. Das Ergebnis sind mal funktionale, mal eher abstrakte klangliche Näherungen. Nachdem die Pandemie den Klub vorübergehend zur Schließung zwang, stellt der gemeinschaftliche Charakter dieser Compilation einen Versuch dar, unterschiedliche Maße der Isolation zu überwinden und mit Erinnerungen an Musik und Räume zu ringen, die lange Zeit unzugänglich waren. Doch sicherlich nicht vergessen. English: Fünfzehn + 1 is a commemorative compilation celebrating 16 years of Ostgut Ton – and the first glimpses of light at the end of a long dark tunnel for parent club Berghain. Originally planned for release in 2020, the music focuses on the interwoven nature of the label and the club in its multitude of different spaces and musical facets. Ostgut Ton artists and close affiliates worked together in pairs to make music dedicated to five different floors, each represented by a specific 12" vinyl. The result is a diverse selection of sometimes functional, other times more abstract sonic tributes; musical homages to spaces they have both influenced and been influenced by. With the pandemic having forced the club to close temporarily, the collaborative nature of the 5x12" boxset represents an attempt to transcend varying degrees of isolation and to wrestle with memories of music and space that had been inaccessible. But certainly not forgotten. German: Die Compilation Fünfzehn + 1 feiert 16 Jahre Ostgut Ton – und das Licht am Ende eines langen, dunklen Tunnels für sein Stammhaus Berghain. Ursprünglich zur Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2020 geplant, reflektiert die vorliegende Musik die Verflechtung von Inhouse-Label und Klub bzw. dessen unterschiedlicher musikalischer Facetten. Ostgut-Ton-Künstler*innen und -Freund*innen arbeiteten gemeinsam an Stücken, die fünf Floors gewidmet sind – und im Vinyl-Boxset fünf 12"es zugeordnet werden. Die 20 Stücke sind musikalische Hommage an Räume, die die beteiligten Personen sowohl beeinflusst haben, als auch von ihnen beeinflusst wurden. Das Ergebnis sind mal funktionale, mal eher abstrakte klangliche Näherungen. Nachdem die Pandemie den Klub vorübergehend zur Schließung zwang, stellt der gemeinschaftliche Charakter dieser Compilation einen Versuch dar, unterschiedliche Maße der Isolation zu überwinden und mit Erinnerungen an Musik und Räume zu ringen, die lange Zeit unzugänglich waren. Doch sicherlich nicht vergessen. 1.Rimba7 by MMM 05:25 2.Champu Princess by Avalon Emerson / Roi Perez 06:36 3.An Ode To Audre by Tama Sumo / Lakuti 06:05 4.Session 2 by Substance / Soundstream 07:35 5.Temple Of Love by Len Faki feat. Honey Dijon 09:52 6.Años Perros by JASSS / Silent Servant 07:28 7.9/8 Gumbo by Luke Slater / Barker 06:45 8.A Friend Of A Friend by Ben Klock / Etapp Kyle 06:09 9.The Call by Marcel Dettmann / Norman Nodge 05:36 10.Untitled 15+1 by Pom Pom 07:20 11.Ever Given by Oren Ambarchi / Konrad Sprenger / Phillip Sollmann 10:14 12. Reset Walking by Martyn / Duval Timothy 04:50 13.Iteration by Jessica Ekomane / Zoë Mc Pherson 05:35 14.One Final Thing (Not Zero) by Atom TM / Tobias. 05:00 15.B-Section by Answer Code Request / Gerd Janson 06:31 16.Fontane by Ryan Elliott / André Galluzzi 06:41 17.Ride Out The Wave by Paramida / Massimiliano Pagliara 06:42 18.Labskaus by nd_baumecker / Nick Höppner 06:08 19.Cigarette Glow by Terence Fixmer / Phase Fatale 06:23 20.Remember The Future by Comets 06:32

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

English: Fünfzehn + 1 is a commemorative compilation celebrating 16 years of Ostgut Ton – and the first glimpses of light at the end of a long dark tunnel for parent club Berghain. Originally planned for release in 2020, the music focuses on the interwoven nature of the label and the club in its multitude of different spaces and musical facets. Ostgut Ton artists and close affiliates worked together in pairs to make music dedicated to five different floors, each represented by a specific 12" vinyl. The result is a diverse selection of sometimes functional, other times more abstract sonic tributes; musical homages to spaces they have both influenced and been influenced by. With the pandemic having forced the club to close temporarily, the collaborative nature of the 5x12" boxset represents an attempt to transcend varying degrees of isolation and to wrestle with memories of music and space that had been inaccessible. But certainly not forgotten. German: Die Compilation Fünfzehn + 1 feiert 16 Jahre Ostgut Ton – und das Licht am Ende eines langen, dunklen Tunnels für sein Stammhaus Berghain. Ursprünglich zur Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2020 geplant, reflektiert die vorliegende Musik die Verflechtung von Inhouse-Label und Klub bzw. dessen unterschiedlicher musikalischer Facetten. Ostgut-Ton-Künstler*innen und -Freund*innen arbeiteten gemeinsam an Stücken, die fünf Floors gewidmet sind – und im Vinyl-Boxset fünf 12"es zugeordnet werden. Die 20 Stücke sind musikalische Hommage an Räume, die die beteiligten Personen sowohl beeinflusst haben, als auch von ihnen beeinflusst wurden. Das Ergebnis sind mal funktionale, mal eher abstrakte klangliche Näherungen. Nachdem die Pandemie den Klub vorübergehend zur Schließung zwang, stellt der gemeinschaftliche Charakter dieser Compilation einen Versuch dar, unterschiedliche Maße der Isolation zu überwinden und mit Erinnerungen an Musik und Räume zu ringen, die lange Zeit unzugänglich waren. Doch sicherlich nicht vergessen. 1.Rimba7 by MMM 05:25 2.Champu Princess by Avalon Emerson / Roi Perez 06:36 3.An Ode To Audre by Tama Sumo / Lakuti 06:05 4.Session 2 by Substance / Soundstream 07:35 5.Temple Of Love by Len Faki feat. Honey Dijon 09:52 6.Años Perros by JASSS / Silent Servant 07:28 7.9/8 Gumbo by Luke Slater / Barker 06:45 8.A Friend Of A Friend by Ben Klock / Etapp Kyle 06:09 9.The Call by Marcel Dettmann / Norman Nodge 05:36 10.Untitled 15+1 by Pom Pom 07:20 11.Ever Given by Oren Ambarchi / Konrad Sprenger / Phillip Sollmann 10:14 12. Reset Walking by Martyn / Duval Timothy 04:50 13.Iteration by Jessica Ekomane / Zoë Mc Pherson 05:35 14.One Final Thing (Not Zero) by Atom TM / Tobias. 05:00 15.B-Section by Answer Code Request / Gerd Janson 06:31 16.Fontane by Ryan Elliott / André Galluzzi 06:41 17.Ride Out The Wave by Paramida / Massimiliano Pagliara 06:42 18.Labskaus by nd_baumecker / Nick Höppner 06:08 19.Cigarette Glow by Terence Fixmer / Phase Fatale 06:23 20.Remember The Future by Comets 06.32

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Giving form to a broad personal project of continuous inquiry and existential expression, A World Of Servicemarks the Ostgut Ton debut of Spanish producer, DJ and artist JASSS aka Silvia Jiménez Alvarez. The evolution of A World Of Servicehas curved around genre collapsing and unexpected metamorphoses. Formerly the name of the monthly radio show JASSS hosted in Berlin, and soon to be the title of her expansive multi-sensory touring concept in collaboration with Ben Kreukniet, here A World Of Serviceis powerfully concentrated in sonic form. Throughout the album JASSS muses on the especially current human and technological barriers to interconnectivity; both lyrically and musically she deconstructs the self, unmasks anxieties and interrogates the insufficiencies of language as applied to gender, identity and interpersonal relationships. Forming her own fluid, nuanced lexicon in response, JASSS seeks a deeper understanding of her multiple selves, emerging through unbridled adolescent rage and the wisdom of maturation, traversing liminality with abstract electronics and baroque industrial pop. Visually this is underscored by Matt Lambert’s uncanny floral cover portraiture, as well as the record’s distinct scent of wet earth, flower and woods developed for the album by Meri Bonastre and applied to the vinyl innersleeve. Following the imaginative nostalgia of Weightless, her 2017 debut album for iDEAL Recordings, as well as her series of blistering dancefloor 12”s for Whities/AD 93, A World Of Servicefolds personal and societal concepts in on themselves, not seeking answers but rather luxuriating in the unique friction that questions create. JASSS is intensely focused yet musically unbridled; this is reflected in tonal shifts of A World Of Service. Through the computerised yearning and bruising of a heartbreak on “Luis”, to the jagged and wordless tundra of “Vapor Dentro”; the intriguing juxtaposition of warm, alluring Spanish vocals against rigid pillars of industrial heft and bass grind (“Camelo”), and the soaring maximalist industrial popof the album’s closer, “Wish.” As intensity rises through the pandemic-era trip hop of the album’s title track “A World Of Service”, JASSS sings: “Pleasure / Is nowhere to be found inside this world of service / I call to be my life.” Pleasure may remain elusive to her, but in the determination to make peace with her various identities in this technological age, JASSS offers a compelling glimpse into an essential type of artistic voice. Tracklisting 1. JASSS Birds You Can Name 00:02:54 2. JASSS Camelo 00:03:21 3. JASSS Luis 00:03:36 4. JASSS Busto 00:03:46 5. JASSS A World Of Service 00:04:40 6. JASSS In Your Mouth 00:03:35 7. JASSS Vapor Dentro 00:04:09 8. JASSS Wish 00:03:56

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Follow-up to 2019’s BARKER001! Hand-stamped vinyl!

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Etapp Kyle returns to Ostgut Ton with Nolove, a project encompassing a four-track EP, short film and forthcoming web exhibition focusing on Western Ukraine. Specifically, the music and artwork home in on the cities of Kamianets-Podilskyi and Chernivtsi in Bukovina, where Etapp Kyle grew up and developed his interest in electronic music. Although now part of Ukraine, Bukovina had previously been part of Moldova, the Habsburg Empire, the Russian Empire, Romania and the Soviet Union. Its turbulent history and position on the border of Romania and Moldova have resulted in an extremely varied tapestry of cultural influence, as featured in the video for title track “Nolove”. There, youth, fashion, music culture sit side-by-side next to religion, violence and war – and larger political struggles. The EP gives shape to the musical developments Etapp Kyle has made in both the studio and DJ booth since the release of 2017's Alpha, his latest 12" for Ostgut Ton. In contrast, Nolove's four tracks are minimalistic, detailed electronic ventures inspired by personal reflections on Chernivtsi and Ukrainian cultural identity. Forward-facing in rhythm and melody, the EP offers meticulously-produced leftfield dancefloor impressions of the region’s past, present and future.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

On 1972, veteran producer and live musician Tobias Freund offers up four tracks of layered and meticulously-crafted techno using his extensive archives of tape recordings collected since childhood. Referencing a mix of profound political events in German history and esoteric meditation guides, the Berghain resident's warm, detailed sound edges beyond the floor toward brain-tingling home listening and wanderlust autobahn escapism. The EP begins with the titles track’s buzzing synths panning rhythmically across the stereo field like a hypnotist’s pocket watch, while a somber, sampled string melody pushes further into cosmic territory before concluding with a bi-lingual eulogy. “Schism” soars with a never-ending snare roll and sparse kicks – an entire track floating on a break that never lands. On “The Wisdom Of No Escape”, Freund combines soft, polyrhythmic bleeps with esoteric vocal samples on an inward path of hallucinogenic internal discovery. EP closer “Electric Storm” makes a turn for the ultrastoned, with hats and writhing vocals disintegrating and reforming over a soft, round steady pulse. Overall, 1972 features a sound that Tobias. has honed for over 30 years, having initially made a name for himself mixing various pop hits in the 80s and 90s while simultaneously producing experimental electronics under various pseudonyms including Metazone, Phobia, Pink Elln, and Zoon. On his own Non Standard Productions imprint he has regularly collaborated with the likes of Max Loderbauer and Ricardo Villalobos and most recently with visual artist Valentina Berthelon as Recent Arts. His releases and lengthy live techno sets with AtomTM continue to set the bar high for improvised electronics.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

"What binds you to places? To remembering them. Places you can feel, when you feel at home. Places that affirm your very existence. This place for me is the Oderbruch. This album is dedicated to it.” – R.P. The fifth studio album by Shed aka Rene Pawlowitz centers thematically on the Oderbruch region in former East Germany where the producer and DJ grew up and continues to split his time (when not in Berlin.) Both the album and track titles as well as the artwork by Arnim To¨lke [Ectoplasma (Oderbruch)] reflect Pawlowitz’s deeply personal associations with the borderland’s marshy landscape, as well as enormous political and historical changes the region underwent as the last Eastern front during World War II – and, later, following the dissolution of the GDR. Nevertheless, Oderbruch is not a concept album. Instead, it’s an ambivalent ode to the area in which Pawlowitz’s family has lived for generations. It’s a musical reflection on place and personal history: meeting up at the local gas station, a view to the water, techno rattling the closed windows of cars peeling out toward Berlin or the next local party, cruising along rural parkways flanked by trees with fruit ripe for picking, past weeping willows and abandoned factories where industry once thrived. Outside buzzes with the sounds of nature inextricably linked with childhood memories, but also a landscape defined by the bloody defeat of the Nazis at the Battle of Seelow, ushering in the fall of Berlin and with it, the entire fascist regime. The album’s nine tracks are inspired by the intertwined nature of the subjective and historical, which ring through Shed’s idiosyncratic take on breaks, bass, techno, symphonic ventures, ambient and hardcore. But unlike Shed’s previous records, Oderbruch incorporates broad pastoral landscapes – left behind and returned to. Both fit Shed, who under various aliases (Head High, Hoover, Wax, The Higher, WK7, Equalized, The Traveller) has long influenced a number of dance music scenes in Berlin and beyond.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

For their second Ostgut Ton EP, Sunao Gonno and Nick Höppner worked together on three tracks over the course of two years between their respective studios in Tokyo and Berlin – editing, altering and tweaking each other’s musical additions with a penchant toward melodic, multilayered house and techno that floats easily beyond the functional. Accordingly, Lost is defined by the interactive playfulness and unpredictability of their collaborative process, elements often missing from dance music. Höppner initially met Gonno on various trips to Tokyo. But it wasn’t until Gonno came play to Panorama Bar in 2015 that the two first entered the studio together: “I think we spoke three words in eight hours,” explains Sunao of their previous studio jams that eventually led to Fantastic Planet EP [O-TON 95, 2016], describing a flowing musical process in which music succeeded where words failed. On Lost, the duo continue further out into inner space. On “Bangalore”, the duo showcase their mastery of creating expansive long, psychedelic ecosystems of melodic phrasing and rhythmic development; drawn-out techno exploration. “Love Lost” slows things down to a post-disco boogie chug of breaks, bass, dubby synth stabs and sadness. EP closer “Start Trying” is a sweaty, post-peaktime trip of strings and dilated pupils. Swirling melodies braindancing long after the after party.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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DE - 22113 Hamburg
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Steffi and Virginia return with an eight-track double EP on Ostgut Ton, inviting us into new dimensions of the sonic world they have crafted together over a number of years. Work A Change is out September 20, 2019 on 2x12” vinyl and in digital formats. Since their iconic 2011 collaboration “Yours” – which became an instant classic – the duo have experimented with new ways to express their unique strand of dancefloor melancholy. Unlike the grand maximalism often associated with vocals in dance music, Steffi and Virginia’s creations use the voice less as a centerpiece and more an integral part of the groove itself, subtle in temperament and equal to its counterparts. Impassioned vocals spiral around melodic leads and warm harmonies, offering a gentle kind of catharsis that deepens with each listen. Work A Change immediately transports us to a parallel aural universe, refusing to settle into one style and merging multiple references into peculiar new formats. Opening track “Be True To Me” is subdued but inviting, working its way into the conscious with harmonic glitches and a deep, grooving bass lead. “Sight From Above” then slows things down for an angular cut of low-slung machine funk. The B-side, “Help Me Understand” lands us on another planet entirely, complete with extraterrestrial synths and animated robotics. Opening up the C-side, “Until You’re Begging” is a molecular construction of fragmented motifs, both precise and hazy at the same time. Similarly, “Internal Bleeding” takes segments of percussive grooves and rearranges them into complex polyrhythms whilst retaining a careful sense of balance. Closing off the release is title track “Work A Change”; one last high-speed voyage into spiralling drums and hammerdrill bass. Work A Change expands on Steffi and Virginia’s aesthetic, merging elements from a number of genres into a cerebral, highly personal release. It also signals a change of direction for the duo's work, voyaging through new terrain while retaining a sound that is undoubtedly their own.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Pleasure-seeking and pain-avoidance as a rave metaphor fits the music of Sam Barker. The Berghain resident and Leisure System co-founder has spent the last few years exploring the euphoric potential of altering key variables in dance music formulas. This was especially true on his 2018 Ostgut Ton debut EP Debiasing, which was flush with unconventional rhythmic chord stabs, melody and percussion but devoid of kickdrums. What seemed like an experimental exercise on paper was in reality equally geared towards the club: tracks that worked for the floor but resisted the genre categorizations that kick drums often provide. This has come to define Barker’s sound. Now, on his debut solo LP Utility, Barker turns his focus toward melding experimentation and dancefloor pragmatism with the psychology behind the musical decision making process. In his own words: “After ‘Debiasing’ it occurred to me that my musical decisions were often unintentionally utilitarian, following an instinct to maximize pleasure in one way or another. It’s sort of unfashionable to admit, but by removing elements that have strong genre associations, this became a natural consequence.” Accordingly, Utility is a playful but non-ironic musical approach to a whole spectrum of utilitarian and transhumanist ideas: from models for quantifying pleasure and “gradients of bliss” to abolishing suffering for sentient beings (not just people) through the ethical use of drugs and nanotechnology. Over nine tracks, Barker’s vision ebbs and flows through waves of deeply psychedelic musical vignettes; free-floating and futuristic melodies and rhythms as targeted brain stimulation. The sound draws heavily on modular synthesis, as well as self-built mechanical instruments and plate reverbs to create atmospheres that are at once alien and emotionally recognizable, functional and utopian. Utility is by no means a concept album. Instead, it is an honest take on music as both pleasuremaximizer and consciousness-expander.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Pleasure-seeking and pain-avoidance as a rave metaphor fits the music of Sam Barker. The Berghain resident and Leisure System co-founder has spent the last few years exploring the euphoric potential of altering key variables in dance music formulas. This was especially true on his 2018 Ostgut Ton debut EP Debiasing, which was flush with unconventional rhythmic chord stabs, melody and percussion but devoid of kickdrums. What seemed like an experimental exercise on paper was in reality equally geared towards the club: tracks that worked for the floor but resisted the genre categorizations that kick drums often provide. This has come to define Barker’s sound. Now, on his debut solo LP Utility, Barker turns his focus toward melding experimentation and dancefloor pragmatism with the psychology behind the musical decision making process. In his own words: “After ‘Debiasing’ it occurred to me that my musical decisions were often unintentionally utilitarian, following an instinct to maximize pleasure in one way or another. It’s sort of unfashionable to admit, but by removing elements that have strong genre associations, this became a natural consequence.” Accordingly, Utility is a playful but non-ironic musical approach to a whole spectrum of utilitarian and transhumanist ideas: from models for quantifying pleasure and “gradients of bliss” to abolishing suffering for sentient beings (not just people) through the ethical use of drugs and nanotechnology. Over nine tracks, Barker’s vision ebbs and flows through waves of deeply psychedelic musical vignettes; free-floating and futuristic melodies and rhythms as targeted brain stimulation. The sound draws heavily on modular synthesis, as well as self-built mechanical instruments and plate reverbs to create atmospheres that are at once alien and emotionally recognizable, functional and utopian. Utility is by no means a concept album. Instead, it is an honest take on music as both pleasuremaximizer and consciousness-expander.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Detroit native Ryan Elliott has made a handful of weighty contributions to both Berghain and Ostgut Ton, including his Rocksteady and Stepmode EPs as well as his Ostgut Ton 5-year anniversary mixtape and the label’s inaugural digital mix compilation, Panorama Bar 06. A resident DJ at Berghain / Panorama Bar since 2010, Elliott’s mixing is technical, confident and fast, stubbornly riding the border hard between house and techno, melody and rhythm, stayed and future classics. It’s also this DJ’s perspective that has informed Elliott’s own analogue productions, with Paul’s Horizon turning its focus toward deep and slick percussion. This is apparent from the get-go, with the title track’s triangle/clap interplay, funky 5-6 kicks per bar, and bleary-eyed atmosphere. From there “Martinsville Morning” slows down into an understated sunrise groover, led by bassline, strings and pads. EP closer “Grafton Road” turns up the pace again with gasps for hats, aggressive punctuating snares, and a modulating synth bubbling-up throughout. Paul’s Horizon – Ryan Elliott’s first EP in six years – falls musically between Berlin and Detroit, between house and techno and between hypnotic repetition and unpredictability, revealing a subtle ear for groove and composition.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Since becoming a Berghain resident in 2017, Dominick Fernow’s risk-taking hybrid live/DJ sets as Vatican Shadow have become conduits for infusing techno with contrasting musical ideas – from noise, industrial and ambient to distorted melodies and rhythms that push the club’s borders in unexpected ways. It’s an idiosyncratic approach to techno rooted not only in Fernow’s 25-plus years as an experimental and noise musician under more than a dozen aliases (e.g. Prurient, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement) but also in his role as founder of the vital New York-based Hospital Productions, whose discography exceeds some 500 releases. The label – which in 2017 celebrated its 20-year anniversary – is also home to the majority of Vatican Shadow output to date.featuring exclusive tracks by Genesis P-Orridge, Virile Games, Los Angeles Death Cult, Ron Morelli, Volvox, JK Flesh, Alberich, Ugandan Methods | Prurient and Merzbow –

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Peter Kuschnereit, also known as Substance or DJ Pete, has long been known to heads as an essential figure in Berlin dance music, though he has comfortably flown under the international radar. Born and raised in the central district of Kreuzberg (where he still lives in the same high-rise he grew up in), this year marks the 30th anniversary of his DJ career – and a fitting moment to announce his first solo EP on Ostgut Ton following contributions to previous compilations Fu¨nf and Zehn and his longstanding relationship to Berghain. Locally, his influence has been multifaceted: an employee at the famed Hard Wax record store for some 27 years, Kuschnereit is also one of the core DJs in the legendary Wax Treament party series, helping to unite diverse strains of global dance music – from dubstep, grime, house and techno to Senegalese polyrhythms – all pumping through the KILLASAN sound system. Indeed, eclecticism has become a kind of trademark for Kuschnereit as evidenced on various mid- 90s and 2000s deep techno classics with Vainqueur on Chain Reaction and Scion Versions, a funky Latin techno 12” as DJ Pete on Surgeon’s Counterbalance, recent live collaborations with Sleeparchive as TR-101 and dozens of his online Wax Treatment podcasts. Rise And Shine sees Kuschnereit fusing his deep, industrial aesthetic as Substance with the resonant bass-heavy leanings of DJ Pete, as evidenced on the title track’s off-kilter metallic riddims and multiple, interlaced SH-101 and Prophet 5 melodies. From there, potential set-closer “Countdown” blasts off with relentlessly rattling, scraping breaks, hissing German vox and big chords. The compact explorations of “Bird Cave” and “Distance” offer a more atmospheric take on bass and rhythm, while EP closer “Cruising” re-explores the uncanny, Berlin deep techno cosmos Kuschnereit has helped define, this time in denser form.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

After a seven-year hiatus, the longtime Berghain resident Norman Nodge is back with four new tracks of deep, narcotic techno. Hailing from Brandenburg, Nodge spent the 90s as a DJ, promoter and mentor to the likes of Marcel Dettmann and Marcel Fengler before becoming a Berghain resident in 2005. Since then he has occupied a special place in Berlin techno with a sound that is at once forceful, dubby and hypnotic, evident not only on his Berghain 06 mix and various 12”s and compilation contributions for Ostgut Ton, but also on EPs for Dettmann’s MDR imprint. A lawyer by trade, on Embodiment EP Nodge reflects on decades of observing how dancers develop an intuitive relationship to music and process new sounds. “Tacit Knowing” (A1) is a nod to the feedback loop between the instincts of dancer and producer, combining bassline, breakbeats and Detroit-like strings, which subtly develop into a cavernous techno roller. In contrast, “Discipline” (A2) is aggressive, updated peaktime acid packed with the sounds of metal and overdriven snares. On the flipside, “Gathering” (B1) is a bongo-heavy tribal groover, while “Embodiment” references a more halcyon Ostgut Ton aesthetic – one that resonates not only in the space of the club but also within the bodies of those occupying it.

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The Panorama Bar mix series strikes back for its 7th installment with club veteran and psych- house maestro Andreas Baumecker aka nd_baumecker. A Berlin and Panorama Bar resident since 2004, Baumecker’s sets have long been known to heads as a foundational part of the club’s identity: deep, unpredictable, funky, bassline-heavy, melodic, and seamless flowing between different rhythms and key-changes. As a producer, Baumecker’s studio focus (with Sam Barker in Barker & Baumecker) sits comfortably between pop, dancefloor and spiraling left field electronics; on top of two LPs and numerous EPs on Ostgut Ton, the duo have also remixed the likes of Vessels and shoegazers Ride. But Baumecker honed his musical sensibility not only through DJing and studio work, but also as a buyer for famed Frankfurt record store Delirium (founded by Ata and the late Heiko M/S/O), as well as an in-house booking agent for Berghain / Panorama Bar. This composite identity as a selector, collector, club curator and musician feeds heavily into the diversity of Baumecker’s 120-minute vinyl-only mix – including the six exclusive tracks over two 12”s. FaltyDL kicks off Panorama Bar 07 | Part I with the appropriately titled “Paradox Garage Part 1 (With Your Love)”, blending US garage, breakbeats and chopped vocals. The alternative rhythms continue with Jinje´ (of Vessels fame) slowly building machine-funk anthem “Big Skies”, while the B-side is reserved for Gen Ludd’s dreamy, shutter-opener “Bloods Avalanche”. As the exclusive tracks imply: nd_baumecker’s Panorama Bar 07 mix hedges no bets with bold melodies or rhythms, focusing more on groove and depth than genre. Full tracklisting to be announced.

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The Panorama Bar mix series strikes back for its 7th installment with club veteran and psych- house maestro Andreas Baumecker aka nd_baumecker. A Berlin and Panorama Bar resident since 2004, Baumecker’s sets have long been known to heads as a foundational part of the club’s identity: deep, unpredictable, funky, bassline-heavy, melodic, and seamless flowing between different rhythms and key-changes. As a producer, Baumecker’s studio focus (with Sam Barker in Barker & Baumecker) sits comfortably between pop, dancefloor and spiraling left field electronics; on top of two LPs and numerous EPs on Ostgut Ton, the duo have also remixed the likes of Vessels and shoegazers Ride. But Baumecker honed his musical sensibility not only through DJing and studio work, but also as a buyer for famed Frankfurt record store Delirium (founded by Ata and the late Heiko M/S/O), as well as an in-house booking agent for Berghain / Panorama Bar. This composite identity as a selector, collector, club curator and musician feeds heavily into the diversity of Baumecker’s 120-minute vinyl-only mix – including the six exclusive tracks over two 12”s. On Panorama Bar 07 | Part II, Ross From Friends’ “High Energy” delivers from the get-go via driving saturated drums and heady, lo-fi atmospherics, followed by Dave Aju’s lush electronic tropicalia “Wayahed”. The final track belongs to Dutch duo Duplex, who deliver big with “Isolator”, propelled forward by unpredictable claps, snares, open hats and multiple melody lines in a deceptively complex arrangement – made to sound easy. As the exclusive tracks imply: nd_baumecker’s Panorama Bar 07 mix hedges no bets with bold melodies or rhythms, focusing more on groove and depth than genre. Full tracklisting to be announced.

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Terence Fixmer’s path through the changing techno landscape of the past 20 years has been anything but direct. Indeed, the French born producer, musician and Planete Rouge label founder has long been influenced by the periphery of continental European dance music subgenres from electronic body music, new beat and acid, before combining them into his own pioneering hybrid of futuristic, EBM-inflected techno with classic releases such as 2001’s Muscle Machine or the collaborative Between The Devil LP with Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy as Fixmer/McCarthy. While the sound in recent years has been rediscovered and recast in diverse contexts by a new generation of producers, Through The Cortex sees Fixmer gravitating toward a different kind of industrial-tinged electronics, led as much (or more) by analogue sequencers, melodies and ultra-saturated sounds of synthesizers than drums and percussion. Across eight tracks at a compact but varied 40 minutes, the LP touches on an aesthetic hinted at in recent Ostgut Ton releases (2016’s Beneath The Skin EP and 2017’s Force EP), revealing a sonic narrative through noisy, screaming synth/vocal riffs with a jagged, guitar- like post-punk sensibility. Through The Cortex is techno with a voice – or rather multiple voices – guiding listeners through hypnotic, space- and social-themed terrain as a kind of dark soundtrack to darker days. The result ranges from the slow John Carpenter-inspired Escape From Precinct 13 funk of “Expedition” and the patient yet muscular stomp of “Fury” to the mesmerizing Suicide-like pop of single “Accelerate”, where Fixmer, using his voice as an instrument, chants the track’s ambiguous title in an invocation of systemic change/collapse. Elsewhere, the story is told with more abstract and wailing vocals like on “Shout in A Black Hole”, or in the warm, entrancing chords floating across the stereo image in ostensibly changing time-signatures on “A Halo Somewhere” – the LP’s uncharacteristically kosmische musik come-down. The track, and Through The Cortex as a whole, reflect what can be described as Fixmer’s idiosyncratic take on both techno subgenres as well as the larger pool of electronic music in general. This broad approach translates into a sound that is not only difficult to pin down, but also one that lends itself to multiple listens.

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The 2x12” sees the renowned selector and longtime Berghain resident in explorative form, combining compact experimental techno vignettes with writhing, dubby and distorted long- form dancefloor portals – as well as a stoned and unexpected turn into house territory. At 22 minutes over 6 tracks, Test-File is a series of sonic contrasts united by Dettmann’s uncanny intuition for patiently shifting, improvisational dance music. 3-minute opener “Test-File” bangs in with rapid fire kicks and tape-delayed electric zaps, reversing midway into a kind of electronic palindrome. The momentum is sustained on standout single “Ascending”, where an overdriven basswave surges through a tunnel of industrial noise. The EP then emerges into the arch, squishy house of “Autumn77”, filled with sirens, pads and sampled vox/laughter. The second vinyl returns initially to rhythmic experimentation with the 3-minute “Torch” lurching forward rattling and machine-like, interspersed by passages of groan and hiss. “Error (1st Take)” bubbles along dub-wise, tripping atmospherically though a haze of out-of-synch synth bursts. Closer “Metalloid” wraps it all up with a hypnotic, rubber band acid line and smudged 808s clavs.

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Phase Fatale makes his Ostgut Ton debut with J.G. Ballard-inspired EP Over the past four years, Hayden Payne aka Phase Fatale has earned a reputation as a techno innovator, both for the broad spectrum of dystopian electronics included in DJ sets as well as his deep understanding of synthesis and sound design in his own productions. Having previously released on labels such as Jealous God, Payne made his Unterton debut with last year’s Anubis EP. Since then he has settled into residences at both Berghain in Berlin and Khidi in Tbilisi, released his first LP on Hospital Productions and kicked off his own label BITE with a collaborative EP between himself and Silent Servant. On his debut 4-track EP for Ostgut Ton, Reverse Fall, The New York native has sharpened the rhythmic contours of his productions, creating an imposing wall of sound within the techno framework. Inspired in part by Crash, J.G. Ballard's dystopian novel on the fetishization of car crashes, Reverse Fall is uncompromising motorized, cybernetic techno – infused with haunting soundtrack-like flourishes reminiscent of films by directors John Carpenter and Dario Argento. The night drive is audible from the get go on the EP’s title track, accelerating and swerving at the pace of a dark, melodic bassline and distorted hi-hats. From there, the lumbering tempo, drone and teeth chattering sonics on “Incision” (A2) suggest twisted wreckage. “Blackbox” (B1) picks up the speed with whip-crack snares, rim shots and bursts of distortion, while EP closer, “Empty Whip” (B2) offers a more spacious groove, where staccato synth lines flash across the stereo image, punctuated by the sounds of metal-on-metal. While Reverse Fall is a slight departure from Payne’s previous releases in its concentrated focus on techno, it’s this focus that is also the EP’s motor.

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Martyn releases new album Voids, his first for Ostgut Ton Over the past year, Dutch-born, Washington D.C.-based producer Martyn has undergone a metamorphosis – one that began with a medical emergency and has dovetailed into personal musical transformation. Having narrowly avoided death after suffering a heart attack, Martyn reentered his studio and began a process of reassessing the elements that drive him to make music: sampling, unpredictability, melancholy, sci-fi, polyrhythms, texture, ecstatic moments, Detroit, interlocking percussion and bass.

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Martyn releases new album Voids, his first for Ostgut Ton Over the past year, Dutch-born, Washington D.C.-based producer Martyn has undergone a metamorphosis – one that began with a medical emergency and has dovetailed into personal musical transformation. Having narrowly avoided death after suffering a heart attack, Martyn reentered his studio and began a process of reassessing the elements that drive him to make music: sampling, unpredictability, melancholy, sci-fi, polyrhythms, texture, ecstatic moments, Detroit, interlocking percussion and bass.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Black strikes back. Pom Pom. Boom Boom. Ja Ja.

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Berghain resident Somewhen debuts on Ostgut Ton with four-track EP AFL. Growing up the son of Polish immigrants in Berlin Neukölln in the 90s, Somewhen cut his teeth as a producer within the city’s burgeoning rap and R&B scenes, making beats for local MCs and gravitating toward bass-heavy arrangements. At the time, pre-gentrified Neukölln was known as an affordable working class district with high dropout and unemployment rates – paths Somewhen avoided by immersing himself in sound engineering, working construction and, in his spare time, honing his gritty productions. Following his first club experiences in the German capital in the early 2000s, he was eventually drawn toward the era’s loop-heavy and industrial aesthetic – a sound reflected in 2016’s dark but melodic Null EP for Unterton, as well as previous releases on his own SANA label and Marcel Fengler’s IMF imprint. Now, on his first solo EP for Ostgut Ton, Somewhen offers his own take on distorted techno, combining squelchy, ultra-saturated drums with chromatic basslines and EBM inflections. “Ryte” (A1) thrusts forward at 133 BPM with a sinister Gabi Delgado-like chant, whipping snares and metallic hats – a kind of set-closing joker. On “Undress” (A2) things slow down significantly, while menacing vocals and melodic synths guide the listener through a hypnotic sonic tunnel.

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Answer Code Request’s 2014 debut LP Code was an exciting moment for electronic music in Berlin – one that offered a break from the eternal hall and monolithic 4/4 kicks that ruled the city’s club landscape. As a hybrid gesture, the album’s spirit recalled an especially fruitful era in the German capital from the mid-90s to early 2000s, when dub and pad- driven Detroit techno cross-pollinated with Berlin’s industrial aesthetic to create one of the city’s most exciting musical chapters.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Answer Code Request’s 2014 debut LP Code was an exciting moment for electronic music in Berlin – one that offered a break from the eternal hall and monolithic 4/4 kicks that ruled the city’s club landscape. As a hybrid gesture, the album’s spirit recalled an especially fruitful era in the German capital from the mid-90s to early 2000s, when dub and pad- driven Detroit techno cross-pollinated with Berlin’s industrial aesthetic to create one of the city’s most exciting musical chapters.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Ostgut Ton’s Berghain mix series returns with volume 08 by Fiedel. Available on 12” vinyl are four new exclusive tracks by Electric Indigo, Stefan Rein, rRoxymore, Boris & Fiedel.

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Steffi occupies a unique space in the realm of contemporary electronic music. Although she's a world renowned DJ, Steffi's musical interests reach far beyond the dancefloor, and it's her work as a producer that has established an impressive, hard-won legacy. Soon after moving to Berlin in 2007, Steffi joined Ostgut, becoming a resident at Panorama Bar and releasing on the club's label. To date she's released five albums, including two solo for Ostgut Ton, a co-production with Virginia, another with Analogue Cops as Third Side and a collaboration as Doms & Deykers on Martyn's 3024 label. Her impressive discography features club classics like “ Yours feat. Virginia” , carefully chosen remixes and appearances on labels including Permanent Vacation, Underground Quality and mixes for Panorama Bar and fabric. She owns and operates four labels: Klakson (with Dexter), Dolly, Dolly Deluxe and Dolly Dubs. World Of The Waking State is Steffi's third solo album for Ostgut Ton and a musical departure for both her and the label. It's also a serious statement of intent. Over ten tracks she embarks on entirely new electronic terrain for her productions, marking industrial spaces with superlunary warmth while exercising a refined knowledge of polyphony and arrangement. Subdued melodies interact with each other over implied harmonies and microcosmic drum patterns, luring us into a world that is introverted, bewildering and gratifying all at once.

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Steffi occupies a unique space in the realm of contemporary electronic music. Although she's a world renowned DJ, Steffi's musical interests reach far beyond the dancefloor, and it's her work as a producer that has established an impressive, hard-won legacy. Soon after moving to Berlin in 2007, Steffi joined Ostgut, becoming a resident at Panorama Bar and releasing on the club's label. To date she's released five albums, including two solo for Ostgut Ton, a co-production with Virginia, another with Analogue Cops as Third Side and a collaboration as Doms & Deykers on Martyn's 3024 label. Her impressive discography features club classics like “ Yours feat. Virginia” , carefully chosen remixes and appearances on labels including Permanent Vacation, Underground Quality and mixes for Panorama Bar and fabric. She owns and operates four labels: Klakson (with Dexter), Dolly, Dolly Deluxe and Dolly Dubs. World Of The Waking State is Steffi's third solo album for Ostgut Ton and a musical departure for both her and the label. It's also a serious statement of intent. Over ten tracks she embarks on entirely new electronic terrain for her productions, marking industrial spaces with superlunary warmth while exercising a refined knowledge of polyphony and arrangement. Subdued melodies interact with each other over implied harmonies and microcosmic drum patterns, luring us into a world that is introverted, bewildering and gratifying all at once.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

It goes without saying that space has always been central to Techno – both in terms of its cosmic and futuristic trajectory, as well as in the spatial dimensions of sonic elements. Etapp Kyle’s first full Ostgut Ton EP release sees the Ukrainian-born, Berlin- based Berghain resident emphasizing the connection between the two, while avoiding Techno’s overt intergalactic cliche´s. By partially linking to his Continuum EP (Unterton, 2016), the results are four tracks of pristine, sci-fi minimalism, propelled by Ambient synths and percussive explosions in distant skies – more utopian than dystopian.

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Having remixed Depeche Mode and DJ Hell as well as releasing a new Fixmer/McCarthy single with Douglas McCarthy (of Nitzer Ebb), 2017 has already proven to be a productive year for Terence Fixmer. With the new Force EP, the Berghain resident follows up on 2016's Beneath The Skin EP (O-TON 97), offering four stylistically different but congenial Techno scenarios for club use. The record's eponymous track on A1 doesn't think twice: the initial signal horn starts as sudden as the staggered kick drum rhythm, reoccurring throughout the cut's 6-minute playtime while sustained and oppressive screams from a synth, extra multifaceted EBM percussion and synth drones add to the overall sombre atmosphere of “Force”. The musical vibe distinctly changes with “Sidewalk” which puts more focus on synth melodies – like its predecessor a Techno cut per se, but with a stronger accent on hypnotic motifs. On B1 “Melting Planets” emphasises the kick: clocking in slightly slower than the other three tracks – at 122 bpm – the bass drum here sounds extra vivid, ever-present and spot-on, just as if Terence was playing the drum kit sitting right next to you. With additional percussion and swirling melodies “Melting Planets” is a lulling, mesmerizing meditation in Dub Techno. “Striking Patterns” on B2 links to the best moments of Force EP's A-side, combining bone-dry bass drum hits and distinctive brazen, banging noises, pulsing synths pads and sizzling surface sounds.

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Adding to previous 12“es on Ostgut Ton and his own RK label fellow Neuköllner and Berghain resident Kobosil offers four new uncompromising Techno club tools. While all cuts on the 105 release share filthy, stone-cold, elemental rhythms – pounding, energetic and hypnotic 4/4 kick drum slaps – the devil is, like with all Kobosil productions, in the aesthetic details. “40000 L” uses gargling synth patterns and howling horns to dramatic effect; “Bei Nacht H (178)” contrasts the kick with a harsh, tinny drumbeat and menacing melody pad, creating a nightmarish vibe. “Backmask N” on B1 offers heavily alienated vocal samples alongside rave-reminiscing synth stabs and staggered hi-hat percussion. “Derange” closes this four-tracker with grainy drone echoes and throbbing, sizzling synth pulses. Adding to Kobosil’s full-floor-focussed sonic repertoire 105 shows him from his darkest and most vigorous side yet – this 12“ is a brute, in the most positive sense.

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Panorama Bar resident Nick Ho¨ppner gets to Work on his second solo album on Ostgut Ton, connecting the territories of House music with the ease of Alt-Pop. On Work, Ho¨ppner shows his everlasting lust for musical detail, his increasing technical skills and compositional finesse. Work is a very personal, soulful and deep record that breaks through the usual club/dancefloor narrative by documenting Nick’s interest for hybrid sounds and combining elements from varying musical genres. Work’s lead single “All By Themselves (My Belle)” is a very atmospheric, intimate and steadily unfurling IDM piece with ethereal synth and vocal pads; on the album it’s contrasted by “Clean Living” with Tram 78, a modern Ho¨ppner club classic: powerful, kick-heavy, muscular, cheerful and uplifting. It’s a very personal track resulting from a recent reencounter with an old friend. Having spent countless hours together in Berlin’s clubs in ever changing states of mind a decade ago or longer, things have since changed for both towards a more „clean living“. Connecting to this musical vibe “In My Mind” follows with a slightly darker tone putting emphasis on bassline, percussion and squeaky sound detailing. “Hole Head” pays tongue-in-cheek homage to Nick’s love for UK club music, when a dashing melody of synths and vibraphone is matched with clattering breaks and syncopation. The dubby, mesmerizing “The Dark Segment” not only impresses with its hypnotic synth figurines, but also by morphing to a shuffling Jazz rhythm towards it’s middle part; “Forced Resonance” uses Oberheim synth brass stabs to dramatic effect; the percussion- and clap-laden “Fly Your Colours” comes with an irresistible piano melody atop an energetic kick; and finally the album-closing, shuffling but rhythmic, noisy yet bluesy “Three Is A Charm” featuring the duo Randweg on clarinet, cajo´n and acoustic guitar is a coherent departure heading towards Indie Pop territory. It sees Nick collaborating with acoustic instrumentalists for the first time in his ten-year- spanning Ostgut Ton release catalogue.

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Tobias. returns to Ostgut Ton with his third full length Eyes In The Center and expands the musical narrative laid out by his Helium Sessions EP (O-TON, 2016). The Berghain resident keeps exploring the vast modular synth-driven Techno, Experimental and Ambient territories on a journey in-between genres. Tobias Freund is long established as an influential artist and has – since the early 1990s – been working as a professional producer, sound engineer, label owner and strictly live musician. Besides his early solo projects (such as Pink Elln, Metazone or Phobia) he’s also been collaborating with Dandy Jack (as Sieg Über Die Sonne), Ricardo Villalobos (as Odd Machine), Max Loderbauer (as NSI.), Valentina Berthelon (as Recent Arts) and Atom™ to only name a few. With his vast experience, diverse output and interests, Tobias. doesn’t tire to actively push against existing boundaries and explore new areas of electronic music.

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Tobias. returns to Ostgut Ton with his third full length Eyes In The Center and expands the musical narrative laid out by his Helium Sessions EP (O-TON, 2016). The Berghain resident keeps exploring the vast modular synth-driven Techno, Experimental and Ambient territories on a journey in-between genres. Tobias Freund is long established as an influential artist and has – since the early 1990s – been working as a professional producer, sound engineer, label owner and strictly live musician. Besides his early solo projects (such as Pink Elln, Metazone or Phobia) he’s also been collaborating with Dandy Jack (as Sieg Über Die Sonne), Ricardo Villalobos (as Odd Machine), Max Loderbauer (as NSI.), Valentina Berthelon (as Recent Arts) and Atom™ to only name a few. With his vast experience, diverse output and interests, Tobias. doesn’t tire to actively push against existing boundaries and explore new areas of electronic music.

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This EP's lead track comes in form of a deep Dub Techno aesthetic at an adequate 128 bpm while not neglecting warm and melodic elements. “Box Drop” stands in the tradition of Höppner's interest in musical detail rather than blatant functionality: aside from his recognizable kick drums and basslines Nick lays out plenty of harmonic layers and effects such as string arrangements, leading synth pads, now trickling then rotating sound patterns, making this cut as elegiac and frisky as it’s muscular and straightforward. “Still” on B1 begins with a more mellow vibe but with the same interest in musical subtleness and melody. And while the track's start is more layed back, it's “still” a club track, slowly swelling and progressing until its break at 2 minutes in and onwards – slightly romantic yet very groove-focussed, a glorious piece of upbeat House music. “Out Of Sight” on B2 sees Höppner working with female vocal samples whispering from the background while its sturdy bassline, synth bleeps and modulations, shakers and other percussion add to the overall warm and cosmic vibe. By aiming for a strong musical coherence and dancefloor functionality Nick offers three facets of a familiar mood with the Box Drop EP – ahead of his stylistically and atmospherically more diverse studio album, due out in June on Ostgut Ton.

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Fiedel joins Ostgut Ton with his new Substance B 12“. Where to start besides pointing out that Fiedel's debut solo release on Ostgut Ton has been long in the coming, and that it’s a glorious one at the same time. The Berlin-Brandenburg native was there when the wall came down, started DJing in the 1990s at Subversiv, began producing with Errorsmith as MMM in 1996, held a residency at OstGut from 2000 on, continued doing so at Berghain since 2004, runs his own labels Fiedelone and Fiedeltwo, used to work at Hard Wax record store and is a mainstay at Wax Treatment and Killasan Soundsystem. The old hand of Berlin's Techno scene now presents himself fresh and in top form with his first full-length O-TON record, following up on his already intense contributions to our compilations Fünf (2010), Various (2013) and Ostgut Ton | Zehn (2015) with an even stronger three-tracker. Fiedel's production style breathes the spirit from the early days of Techno music: blending genres and techniques, not focussing on a narrow musical narrative, combining Techno, Acid, Electro, Jungle, Boogie, Dub music and Broken Beats. Substance B is the logical consequence of being an avid vinyl-focussed DJ, experienced producer and a meticulous sound engineer: a compelling sound for a modern age.

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Repress! Berghain residents Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann link back to Ostgut Ton’s label launch in 2006 with their first studio collaboration in ten years and the extended Phantom Studies, on occasion of the one hundreth O-TON 12“ EP release. With Phantom Studies Dettmann | Klock channel their first joined releases Dawning (2006) and Scenario (2007) from over a decade ago with their first co-production in ten years. On this extended, 40-minute 2x12" EP Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock parlay their deep personal alliance and musical repertoire through emphasis on new functional Techno as much as hypnotic, melodic and soulful music by thinking outside the box. The seven new, original tracks reflect these attributions by communicating to the needs and expectations of both DJs and home audio listeners, but not neglecting one over the other. The opening track “Phantom Studies” perfectly combines this spirit with one leg on the floor and one on the couch: the brittle beginning is soon outpaced by a subtle kick, meandering, mesmerizing harmonies, hi-hats and clave sounds as well as bells that join the ranks of Techno music's vast past. Very much a musical piece, evocative and powerful. This aesthetic is present throughout this record, interconnecting home with club settings: “The Room” is likely the darkest piece, decelerated, drone-heavy, menacing and pitch black with Marcel Dettmann on vocals; “Prophet Man” is a laid-back, pulsing Dub Techno piece with plenty of synth pads left and right, nestling a spoken-word sermon by Ben Klock – but not as dead serious as you may think, hence the giggles; “The World Tonight” puts shimmering, frisky synth melodies into the focus while the kick adds some muscularity and ecstasy. Of course there's something for club use: “No One Around” is a prototypic tool, relentlessly pounding at 134 bpm with an uncompromising sudden start / end; Clocking in at 124 bpm “Bad Boy” lives up to its name through multifaceted hi-hat patterns and swirling synth progressions; “The Tenant” closes out this release with distorted, bending, brazen Acid textures, noisy, dazing vocal samples atop a steady kick drum, completed by a fitting valediction: “Good night!” Phantom Studies underlines Dettmann | Klock's mutual musical vision – be it in regards of their twelve-year residency at Berghain or challenging dancefloors around the globe.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
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Germany
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Barker & Baumecker take Turns from techno, bass, breaks, and experimental terrain with their second album on Ostgut Ton. Sam Barker and Andreas Baumecker’s lives have always revolved around different kinds of music. That’s partly why their productions as Barker & Baumecker are more unpredictable, harder to pin down than what you might expect from a label borne out of a techno club. And while their music is clearly built for dancing, listening to it reveals a deep love and respect for many forms of electronic music – bonding over more experimental dance forms is what brought them together in the first place. Imagining their music at any decent club, but disrupting the flow on the floor is what brings us to their second album Turns. An amalgamation of their unique musical minds, transcending electronic music genres and styles, while further developing and refining the Barker & Baumecker sound aesthetic

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Barker & Baumecker take Turns from techno, bass, breaks, and experimental terrain with their second album on Ostgut Ton. Sam Barker and Andreas Baumecker’s lives have always revolved around different kinds of music. That’s partly why their productions as Barker & Baumecker are more unpredictable, harder to pin down than what you might expect from a label borne out of a techno club. And while their music is clearly built for dancing, listening to it reveals a deep love and respect for many forms of electronic music – bonding over more experimental dance forms is what brought them together in the first place. Imagining their music at any decent club, but disrupting the flow on the floor is what brings us to their second album Turns. An amalgamation of their unique musical minds, transcending electronic music genres and styles, while further developing and refining the Barker & Baumecker sound aesthetic.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Barker & Baumecker precede their upcoming album Turns with the new two track 12“ Love Hertz / Cipher With Barker & Baumecker things are never black or white, straight and narrow, either-or, on/off – the two Berlin-based producers and DJs Sam Barker & nd_baumecker have a musical mind all of their own and share multifaceted musical interests not restricted to floor functionality alone – behind the decks they feel equally at home with House- and Pop-friendly vibes at Panorama Bar or the darker shades of bass music on the Berghain floor, they have sweet spots for Disco music in the Berghain Garten and experimental and ambient sounds in the Halle for Elektroakustischer Salon. Long story short: Barker & Baumecker love sonority, both in terms of various genres and high fidelity.Preceding their album Turns – out via Ostgut Ton on 25 November 2016 – Barker & Baumecker return with a double faced two track 12“. “Love Hertz” is a blissful, uplifting, melodic and – at times – bluesy UK Bass-inspired cut, shuffling and playfully flicking throughout. The record’s alternate lead track “Cipher” on the flip side is a rework of a two-part track from the forthcoming Turns LP: while the album’s “Encipher & Decipher” puts focus on the home listening-aspect, this 12“es’ “Cipher” is made for the club. The track’s atmospheric build-up eventually turns in favor of a heavy, dark kick drum and multi-layered percussion, feeling at times as if the duo’s hammering onto Berghain’s steel staircase. Barker & Baumecker are sound fetishists, carefully and scrupulously sculpting their clang on analogue synth machinery, all without turning to cacophony and always staying compositionally sound – established, grown-up club kids with attitude and love for music.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

With the Metro EP we're finally offering a full solo release by Matthew Styles on Ostgut Ton, accounting for his consistent productional finesse, especially with his original track “Liquid Sky” (on Nick Höppner's Panorama Bar 04, 2012) and his 'Dub Mix' of Dinky's “Planes” (on Ostgut Ton | Zehn, 2015). “I’ve never worked on a sequential set of songs that came out on the same record,” Matthew commented on this 12“. As with his productional approach in general, the Metro EP has a certain timelessness: “One piece is from 8 years ago, one from 3 years ago and another from around the time of the recent birth of my second son. I’ll leave it up to the listener to guess which is which.” The eponymous “Metro” on A is an elated seven-minute, trippy, meandering analogue synth exploration in House and Cosmic Disco. “Wave 6” opens the flipside with a simple yet beguiling melody: 6 notes dancing completely beatless in 5/4 time, meandering repetitively and escalating towards a blissful – yet only anticipated – climax. “Border” on B2 is a solid addition to the long history of Dub Techno – smooth, steady, super layed back, but also offering many colorful melodic elements.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Terence Fixmer goes Beneath The Skin on his first solo release on Ostgut Ton. There's few names that have left their mark on electronic music throughout time like Terence Fixmer did. The French producer has been releasing music since 1993 most notably under his own name, but also with his music wise wide-ranging alter egos Eisbär, Cyborg, Gemini 9, Scanner and – together with Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy – as Fixmer / McCarthy. It’s thanks to people like him that Electronic Body Music eventually traversed towards contemporary club contexts and now remains being a defining part of dancefloors in general, or a Klubnacht in particular. By combining the aesthetics of EBM, Electro and Industrial music with the rhythmics of Techno, Fixmer coined and occupied his very own musical niche as a producer and live act. At Ostgut Ton we’ve always been intrigued by Terence’s production style, his use of hard synth lines, guttural vocal samples, sharp-edged hi-hats, or to cut the matter short: his deep, glowering approach to sequencer Techno with EBM jabs. Therefore it’s great seeing him continue this path with four new tracks on the Beneath The Skin EP, following up on 2015’s Aktion Mekanik Theme Versions that featured remixes of the Music Man Records classic “Aktion Mekanik Theme” by Ostgut Ton's Kobosil, Marcel Dettmann and Norman Nodge. As aforementioned Beneath The Skin comprises the various musical facets of a Klubnacht: dark, pounding slaps and discomforting yet soaring synths (“Beneath The Skin”), Acid Techno modulations and lone voices in the dark (“Trace To Nowhere”), hypnotic synth progressions and ambient textures (“Devil May Care”) and finally some rest and soothing (“Immersion”)

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Tobias. explores space and gasiform substances with his Helium Sessions on Ostgut Ton. Following his recent image and sound collaboration with visual artist Valentina Berthelon as Recent Arts, Tobias. now delves into the idea of music reminiscing gas leaking into space with four new tracks. While we all agree that there can’t be sound in a vacuum, Science Fiction taught us the opposite, that space can potentially sound hyperfuturistic, hostile yet exciting. And since the Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered the deepest sound in the universe near a supermassive black hole – why should analogue synth jams with the stars seem impossible? With Helium Sessions Tobias. proposes an acoustic representation of the gaseous state of matter in space. “LAGEOS 1” on A1 already sets the tone with meandering drones atop a gnawing synth pad and distorted flickering percussion. The title refers to the satellite LAGEOS-1 which will continue to orbit planet earth in 5,860 kilometers altitude for another 8.4 million years (or 4,418064E+12 minutes) – we’ll let you do the maths of how often the 6:03-minute “LAGEOS 1” could be played until the satellite’s returnal. “Nucleon” on A2 comes with a more dubby, deep and throbbing feeling, “Helios” on the flip features epic noise textures with shimmering melodic synth leads and a multi-layered break beat vibe, while “Spectrum V” on B2 closes this 12“ with another dub cut, detailed synth explorations and alienated vocal bits. Helium Sessions offers four new zero-g tracks from Tobias. spread out over 27 minutes on this extended EP, his third full-length album will be landing in 2017.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Nick Höppner returns to Ostgut Ton after last year’s Folk album and a split release with Fort Romeau (Cin Cin, 2015). The Fantastic Planet EP sees him collaborating with Japanese DJ and producer Gonno on three bouncy, club-enabled tracks, steeped in early 90s House and UK Electronica vibes. Höppner met Sunao Gonno on his first travels to Tokyo in 2008 where they clicked immediately: A similar musical upbringing from Post Hardcore to club music paved the way for Gonno and Nick where the language barrier would’ve been a stumbling block otherwise – firstly as a foundation for a personal relationship, later for an ad hoc three day stint in Höppner’s studio when Gonno visited Berlin for his DJ debut at Panorama Bar. Despite the limited time together, all three pieces evolved from initial jams and sketches to tidied up tracks, not only sharing a resembling emotion but also playful and detailed musical elements. “Spocking Fivers” on A opens on a more jazzy and breakbeat note, with snapping fingers, various synth pads and percussion slowly building layer upon layer, up until a warm kick, some gentle melody and bubbling sounds take over. It’s a grower, in terms of running time and track development. “Fantastic Planet” on B1 comes with a strong, continuous 4/4 bassline and organic percussion from start to end, further on dominated by hypnotic melody stabs and a swelling climax – a muscular yet detailed piece. Finally “As Above, So Below” follows more romantic and dreamy motifs, by using a more mellow downbeat theme it lets all squeaky sounds mesh nicely.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Answer Code Request picks up where he left off with his album (Code, Ostgut Ton, 2014) and 12“ (Calm Down, MDR, 2015): With the Neume EP the Berghain resident offers three new tracks, meandering between restrained club contexts and brittle break beats, machinery and futurist soulfulness. The eponymous track “Neume” starts off on A with shuffling rhythms atop a heavy kick, soon caught up by first surging then predominant drone motifs, flashing bleeps and piercing strobe sounds. “Meta” on B1 clocks in instantly without any build-up: Its rhythm section sets the tone with broken beats while ACR slowly carves out more musical detail and textures: subtle command vocals from the machine room, swelling synth pads and other chilling, athmospheric means are subsequently being added until the track’s break where the emphasis shifts towards the kick, pads and synth melodies until the track’s sustained, smooth outro. “Vis” on B2 is the EP’s most protruding track: classic UK Garage shuffle rhythms and Amen breaks are contrasted by a funky kick and dreamful pads, intertwined with additional sparse percusion, layered with what in the first instance sounds like chirping birds but then like sparking wires. Answer Code Request continues what he does best: combining the warm human touch with chilled alienated aesthetics.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Ostgut Ton reissues Neun of Zehn with original tracks by Ben Klock and Ryan Elliott as well as Len Faki revisiting “Rainbow Delta”. 2015 marked Ostgut Ton’s ten-year anniversary, celebrated with an extensive 30 track compilation release, titled Ostgut Ton | Zehn, spread out over ten 12“ vinyl records housed inside a limited box set. This sampler sold out in no time, which is why Ostgut Ton is re-issuing these ten 12"es individually in 2016. Without any doubt, the best Klubnacht moments are when dancers let go in trance – not peak time, not big hitters, it’s the subtle nuances that matter. Ben Klock’s first solo production in six years on A internalises this formula: A simple beat, pulsing sirens, a shimmering melody, some sprinkling flute notes and Ben’s your uncle. “Sirens” is a pure, hypnotic cut, shrewd and stylish. On B1 Ryan Elliott underlines why he has been playing both of Berghain’s floors regularly: “Smith Lake” is somewhere along the lines of micro Techno/macro House, something living inbetween musical worlds and floors, combining tribalist bongo percussion with ethereal synth pads and a delicate bassline. Is it safe to say that “Rainbow Delta” is a modern classic? Because it is! On B2 Len Faki revisits his 2007 release in form of a stripped-down, bare-naked and intimate Ambient version. A modern classic, turned serene.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Ostgut Ton reissues the final Zehn of Zehn with original tracks by Etapp Kyle, Marcel Fengler with Elif Biçer, and Steffi. 2015 marked Ostgut Ton’s ten-year anniversary, celebrated with an extensive 30 track compilation release, titled Ostgut Ton | Zehn, spread out over ten 12“ vinyl records housed inside a limited box set. This sampler sold out in no time, which is why Ostgut Ton is re-issuing these ten 12"es individually in 2016. All good things must come to an end, and so does this label compilation with its final re-release. Long-time Ostgut Ton collaborator Elif Biçer lends her tantalising vocals to Marcel Fengler’s UK-spirited, breaky and dark beats, with – vocals and lyrics aside – its open snare drum roll, the brazen sounds and seething bassline being the most distinctive elements of “Fallin’” on A. On the flipside up-and-coming Etapp Kyle opens B1 with blistering bleeps atop a solid kick, brushed percussion and surging, subtly atmospheric synth pads. There aren’t many producers as productive as Steffi is: “löweborschtel” continues her past Electro-influenced releases on B2: bouncy and rhythmic, moody yet spot-on, dreamy while fierce. To the next zehn years!

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Ostgut Ton reissues Fünf of Zehn with original tracks by Answer Code Request, Doms & Deykers and DVS1. 2015 marked Ostgut Ton’s ten-year anniversary, celebrated with an extensive 30 track compilation release, titled Ostgut Ton | Zehn, spread out over ten 12“ vinyl records housed inside a limited box set. This sampler sold out in no time, which is why Ostgut Ton is re-issuing these ten 12"es individually in 2016. If there's one thing Kurt von Bley's artwork for Zehn | Fünf is reflecting, then it's probably 'drive': all three tracks on this 12" share an idea of continuity, movement and steady pace. DVS1's “[Ecks]” is a deep and hypnotic Techno cut with meandering bleeps, well-suited for and paying homage to the early hours and calmer moments of Berghain's cavernous main room. On A2. Answer Code Request offers fluttering percussion on top of the kick drum, until – one after the other – adding more break-heavy rhythmic elements, luscious synth pads and spiralling melodies to his “Zeitspielraum”. Steffi and Martyn guest as Doms & Deykers with the 8-minute “Whirling” on B. What starts off as an Amen break-inspired rhythm section with a heavy kick soon evolves into something different, now bordering to Electro and Acid House, while constantly building upon it’s original, underlying breaky and epic vibe.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Ostgut Ton reissues Sechs of Zehn with original tracks by Anthony Parasole, Atom™ and Barker & Baumecker. 2015 marked Ostgut Ton’s ten-year anniversary, celebrated with an extensive 30 track compilation release, titled Ostgut Ton | Zehn, spread out over ten 12“ vinyl records housed inside a limited box set. This sampler sold out in no time, which is why Ostgut Ton is re-issuing these ten 12"es individually in 2016. Suffice to say that Ostgut Ton has always been more than just a House and Techno label – Zehn | Sechs is a reflection of this musical diversity. Barker & Baumecker’s A-side track title “Love Is A Battlefield” is a gentle nod to Pat Benatar in terms of Pop on the one hand, while musically pacing out more abstract UK breakbeat and arpeggiated territory throughout the 10-minute playful gem on the other. The B-side starts off with Uwe Schmidt under his Atom™ moniker. “Stromlinien” translates to ’streamlines‘, which is a quite superb recap of his reduced but cleverly evolving and pumping analogue synth Dub Techno piece. Anthony Parasole’s “Heartbeat” doesn’t mess with our human heart’s slow BPM rate and goes straight for a speedy, muscular kick at about 132 BPM, circulated by lots of tribalist and wired elements to complement the groove.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Ostgut Ton reissues Vier of Zehn with original tracks by Nick Höppner and Virginia as well as Matthew Styles remixing Dinky. 2015 marked Ostgut Ton’s ten-year anniversary, celebrated with an extensive 30 track compilation release, titled Ostgut Ton | Zehn, spread out over ten 12“ vinyl records housed inside a limited box set. This sampler sold out in no time, which is why Ostgut Ton is re-issuing these ten 12"es individually in 2016. While Gregory Myrgiotis’ artwork may look as if it’s a rather dark record music-wise, the opposite is true: Zehn | Vier comes with three uplifting House tracks. While the CD version of Zehn features the original Dinky production, this 12“ comes with Matthew Styles’ seven-minute Dub mix, the most notable difference being the lack of vocals as well as Styles’ focus on synth pads and piano melodies – “Planes” takes a completely new route with this instrumental version. We all have our crosses to bear, and Nick Höppner carries a double pack: His percussion-heavy contribution is in the vein of his critically acclaimed album Folk (Ostgut Ton, 2015). A different tone and mood is being set by Virginia, whose soulful vocals correspond nicely with the Electro-influenced, percussive and dreamy vibe of “Never Underestimate” – which also serves as an outlook to her upcoming album, out on Ostgut Ton in Spring 2016.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Ostgut Ton reissues Eins of Zehn with original tracks by Boris, Norman Nodge, Luke Slater and Marcel Dettmann. 2015 marked Ostgut Ton's ten-year anniversary, celebrated with an extensive 30 track compilation release, titled Ostgut Ton | Zehn, spread out over ten 12" vinyl records housed inside a limited box set. This sampler sold out in no time, which is why Ostgut Ton is re-issuing these ten 12"es individually in 2016. Zehn | Eins comes with two rare, exclusive tracks by long-time Berghain residents Norman Nodge and Boris. In "Beastmode" by Norman Nodge stoic, trippy Acid bleeps evolve around a straight 4/4 Hi-hat and a striking hiss – a stubborn and reserved yet very distinctive and break-heavy track. Boris' 11-minute long "Lock" starts off slowly with ambient drones – until you're locked as the kick comes into play. From there on it's all about osseous Techno accompanied by elaborate synth pads. The most unusual piece on this 12" comes in form of a collaboration between Marcel Dettmann and Luke Slater as S/D, the first time they've appeared under this moniker. "The Launderette" is a very much abstract, pulsing, dubby track with bubbling synths and discomforting piano key strokes, complete with tales from the washer spearheaded by Slater's and Dettmann's voices in English and German: "Es gibt so vieles, was man hier sehen kann." – "Watching."

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Ostgut Ton reissues Zwei of Zehn with original tracks by Efdemin, Marcel Dettmann and Kobosil. 2015 marked Ostgut Ton's ten-year anniversary, celebrated with an extensive 30 track compilation release, titled Ostgut Ton | Zehn, spread out over ten 12" vinyl records housed inside a limited box set. This sampler sold out in no time, which is why Ostgut Ton is re-issuing these ten 12"es individually in 2016. Zehn | Zwei starts off with a throbbing kick, shuffling and stumbling percussion, chirping synths and meandering ambience by Marcel Dettmann. Picture a dark dancefloor that has been going for a couple of hours with dancers in a trance to get a better idea of "Encode II". With his first ever solo release on Ostgut Ton Efdemin underlines the path he has taken in the past years – from House towards his ever-increasing focus as a Techno producer and DJ. "unten links" is a slender and multi-layered cut and a good representation of his recent departures from Panorama Bar towards a strong emphasis on the darker hours of Berghain's main floor. This Techno-centred 12" is rounded off by the Berlin club's youngest resident Kobosil. Having just released his debut album, the full-bodied and hypnotic "Saldae" with its distinct alarm signal and robotic vocal samples is an ever-welcome return to his club-focused production roots that draw from Industrial and EBM.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

During the last three years a new name has been making waves at Ostgut Ton and Berghain: Berlin born, raised and based producer Kobosil made his debut with a remix of Barker & Baumecker's "Silo" (Ostgut Ton, 2013), completely unknown at the time, he has quickly earned his stripes as a DJ on the club's main floor, eventually becoming a resident at Berghain. Following up on five subsequent 12" releases and Kobosil's first live sets, his debut album sees him covering yet new ground in the form of a full length release.We Grow, You Decline adds new aesthetics to the Berliner's production style by conveying a certain darkness and distance while keeping some easy and gentle touch. Underneath the delicate, crackling surface of songs such as "When I Speak" and the aforementioned "To See Land" there are distant voices to be heard, while they're more prominently featured in the throbbing, atmospheric "Eihwaz" and the robotic pulse of "You Answered With Love", the human element is kept restrained and unfathomable inside some tense moods. With "They Looked On" Kobosil unchains the listener during the over eight-minute-spanning, culminating last track and the hovering suspense that is prevalent throughout the album is dispersed into a warm, hazy horizon.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net