Nearly 10 years on since his last solo LP, Berlin techno icon Marcel Dettmann arrives on Dekmantel with an expansive album captured in a flash of inspiration.

In many ways Fear Of Programming is a reflection on the artistic process – the critical hurdles one has to overcome, the constant strive for originality, the ability to capture inspiration in its pure moment of inception. Bar the closing title track (and we all know Marcel loves a surprise closing), these 13 tracks came together during a period in which our hirsute host was able to immerse himself in studio practice and set the intention to record an album’s worth of material every single day. From the resulting mass of work there were many options to choose from, and Fear Of Programming stood out as one of the most complete statements on Dettmann’s approach in the here and now.

Unconcerned with an overarching concept, it was the work in the studio which drove the musical direction. No labouring over knotty arrangements, no painstaking mix downs – just honest expression, a moment caught, a groove locked, a stroke of synth sent pirouetting over a cavernous bed of texture. The results are varied, and while you might well hear plenty of bruising machinations in line with the techno Dettmann has made his name on, there are plenty of other shades expressed across the album.

Ambient sojourns, beatless epics and angular electronica have equal footing with strident, floor-friendly workouts. Standout piece ‘Water’ offers an icy ballet of swinging minimal and drip-drop melodics fronted by Ryan Elliott on lesser-spotted vocal duties, urging, ‘give me a sign, just a little something to let me know that you’re mine’. It’s playful, but still underpinned with the sincerity that comes with Dettmann’s work.

Running on instinct, Dettmann presents an honest version of himself in the here and now, speaking through the sonics and not over-thinking the results. His decades of experience helming a thousand techno parties speak for themselves, while his evolution as a musical entity through collaboration and his own BAD MANNERS label demonstrate his appetite for change. Indeed, the working method which resulted in the album also spurred him on to create a live set beyond his well-established DJ practice. Without resorting to a conceited overhaul, Fear Of Programming opens up the idea of what Dettmann represents in the modern techno landscape. More

Repress!
Crafty techno w/ a nautical metalic sound sphere - killer EP! More

Party-starting, jauntily distorted Shake b/w expertly trippy Morphosis remix treatments More

Repress!
Proper Techno - in depth Ruskin reworks of a Dettmann original More

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. More

Rauch is a sonic interpretation of the work of photographer Friederike von Rauch, composed collaboratively by Berlin-based producers Felix K, Marcel Dettmann, Sa Pa and Simon Hoffmann. Arranged and mixed by Marcel Dettmann, the recording stands in dialogue with von Rauch’s architectural images of post-World War II European monasteries, including La Tourette by Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis near Lyon, Roosenberg Abbey near Ghent and Maria Regina Martyrum in Berlin. The images were first exhibited together with the music on this LP as part of an installation for von Rauch’s solo show insgeheim (“in secret”), held at the Goethe-Institut Paris during the international Paris Photo art fair in November 2017. While the complimentary relationship between the sounds of Rauch (“smoke”) and the images exhibited in Paris invites interpretation, both can also be experienced as separate artistic entities. On the 42-minute-long LP, drones, modulating harmonic soundscapes and implied rhythms maintain an abstract emotional core while occasionally taking on vaporous, amorphous qualities. Similarly, von Rauch’s images – often borderline abstract in composition – resist being identified by location or spatial context. Nevertheless, they also hint at their spiritual origin. Rauch is part of an ongoing artistic collaboration between Marcel Dettmann and Friederike von Rauch, which includes 2011’s Ash installation and three photographic works for Dettmann releases on Ostgut Ton. More

Expertly paced, Dettmann II impresses especially with its carefully rising narrative. On first glance, as the album barrels into action with the particulate grit of "Throb" and "Ductil", Dettmann is in fine style. But to the careful listener, these tracks feel lightweight like they're built from aluminum instead of steel. Each tune's central theme is a bit more out there than usual, from the sheet metal racket of "Lightworks" to the house-hinting chorus of "Soar", which is every bit as majestic as its title implies. He offers up some top-notch ambient material as well, like the trippy "Shiver", or the ominous "Outback", which features contributions from Levon Vincent. Dettmann also reaches for a rare collaboration on his second album. Kindred spirit Emika lends her spectral gasps to "Seduction", which stays stunningly antiseptic even as it weaves her voice into its wire framework. With Dettmann II's stretch of tracks "Radar" and "Corridor", the album finally takes flight into full-on club mania, fist-pumping career-high material with all the subtlety of his old work molded up into a spiky banger. "Aim", which ends the record in lofty fashion, hints at a new direction for Dettmann, uncharacteristically melodic and even uplifting. Co-produced by René Pawlowitz, it bears the Shed touch but keeps it firmly in Dettmann's finely-honed world. The first track written for the album and the one that initiated the album sessions in the first place, it carefully hints at new directions while keeping its glance firmly in Dettmann's established history - which you could say for the album as a whole, gently moving towards new horizons but always keeping in mind what made Dettmann's past music so great in the first place. More

As a very special guest Marcel Dettmann returns to 50 Weapons for a celebration of classic techno. Similar to his sold out “Deluge / Duel” single from December 2011, Marcel Dettmann affirms his love of purified, pumping techno - this is #25 in the 50 WEAPONS 12Inch series! More

Dettman is back and and again sets standards with his unique style. More

(Cheeba Starks (1996!), Vril, The Analogue Cops & Answer Code Request) sampler 2 out of 2 for the long awaited second mix-cd from Marcel Dettmann, resident at the notorious Berghain club in Berlin. More

By now, Frak needs no formal introduction. Let's just say they are the Swedish House Mafia for people who actually know what house music is. Lately, there has been somewhat of a surge in house and techno influenced by synth, ebm and obscure sub-genres that end with "-wave". So the timing couldn't be better for Frak to return to Kontra-Musik with this remarkable synth and acid flavoured release. This is of course a bit ironic as no-one could possibly care less about trends and hypes than Frak and Kontra-Musik. Time is an illusion. Our music, however, is not. But it may flabbergast you all the same. Machines drifting away is an intriguing piece of music; straightforward and multi-layered; futuristic and old school. The first half of the track molds itself around an ebm-like bassline which seems to be moving through a desolate landscape with hard hitting kicks, claps and drums marching on beside it, while the sky above is filled with the wails of brooding synt hs. The second part introduces a mean 303-bassline as the intensity of the journey heightens. To find a way home has a more elaborate rhythmical body, which only can be described as Frakish. The sound of an echoing metronome sets the tempo at the beginning, soon to be joined by heavy kicks and toms. Several analogue synths then joins in; bending, distorting and moving through the soundscape, almost battling for space. Everything is kept on the right path, though, thanks to an ingenious use of hi-hats - a trademark trick and treat from Frak. Everything is composed and recorded in legendary Studio Styrka, Karlskrona. More

Rivet is back on Kontra-Musik with a classy funk affair that will be luring us ever deeper into dancefloor delirium. It is a matured Rivet we meet on Bear Bile EP. The complexity of sound and composition of his latest EP, Driftwood continues here. Sometimes we hear Rivet complain that his production and release rate is to slow. When listening to his resent music you definitely understand why. Rivets music contains all the classic elements, but decomposed, manipulated and built together again in his own updated, very distinguished way.


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Rivet puts a lot of effort in his sounds and his production. This is not another copycat. First out on the EP Amid the Roar is Metrist, a sexy march that blends the stiffness 80-ties disco with techno from the future. On the b-side Marcel Fengler takes his turn on Metris. He keeps the string of the original, chops up the bass and creates a dancefloor monster with a big anthem alert stamp on it. Amid the Roar ends with what might be the strongest track on the ep. This EP will make us dance, of course ,as always, with a bit of a Kontra-Musik twist. More

Kondens is collaboration between Swedish electronic music veterans Andreas Tilliander aka Mokira and Stefan Thor aka Folie. The sound is a hybrid of techy dubstep with a twist and banging dub-influenced techno. Pure peak time bliss without losing the love for dub and tape delays. The vinyl debut, First Cut EP, was a success. The Second Coming in now here including a breathtakingly beautiful Substance remix. More

The much-anticipated album from Jonsson/Alter, the new project from Henrik Jonsson (Porn Sword Tobacco/Gunnar Jonsson) & Joel Alter (Joel Alter/Jor-el), has finally arrived. If the very well received preceding EPs, Olidan (km019) and En Livfull Skildring (km020), are future classics, the album Mod, sets a new standard of what a dance music album could be. With personality and grace Jonsson/Alter blend soul, atmosphere and space with heavenly monotone funk. Or as the artists put it: “This album just landed in our laps like the sand falls inside an hourglass, every note is a breath of air and each kick pumps like a woken heart.” Tension is the key word to this album. The raw funk of bass lines and drum programming always grinds against the smooth and beautiful, almost sacral and poetic parts of the music. You can feel the work of two producers, two styles, two ideas, meeting and blending to create something new - a sound of their own. This can cle arly be heard on Acapellan. A sharp acid bass line meets smooth church-bell pads and Pet Sound choirs move freely in and out of the piece. Djup House p
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The much-anticipated album from Jonsson/Alter, the new project from Henrik Jonsson (Porn Sword Tobacco/Gunnar Jonsson) & Joel Alter (Joel Alter/Jor-el), has finally arrived. If the very well received preceding EPs, Olidan (km019) and En Livfull Skildring (km020), are future classics, the album Mod, sets a new standard of what a dance music album could be. With personality and grace Jonsson/Alter blend soul, atmosphere and space with heavenly monotone funk. Or as the artists put it: “This album just landed in our laps like the sand falls inside an hourglass, every note is a breath of air and each kick pumps like a woken heart.” Tension is the key word to this album. The raw funk of bass lines and drum programming always grinds against the smooth and beautiful, almost sacral and poetic parts of the music. You can feel the work of two producers, two styles, two ideas, meeting and blending to create something new - a sound of their own. This can cle arly be heard on Acapellan. A sharp acid bass line meets smooth church-bell pads and Pet Sound choirs move freely in and out of the piece. Djup House p
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There has been a lot of talk about a Nordic house sound lately. Here two guys thatit hit it right on the head! Jonsson/Alter aka Jonsson (Porn Sword Tobacco/Gunnar Jonsson)and Alter (Joel Alter/Jor-el) checking out some abandoned synthesizers Alter found in the streets. A jam session started that has not yet ended. Kontra Musik again manages to pick out some gems. Recommended!

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Part II – 'Axis Audio'. Mokira once told Kontra-Musik that three analog tape echoes are needed to produce one Mokira track. When listening to the track Axis Audio you can hear why. Metallic bursts of sound hits like waves on an Irish shore in autumn. Kept together by a solid bassline and a fragile melody Axis Audio is an excursion in beautiful sounds. On the b-side, Echospace (Deepcord, Modern Love) makes you dance. It is distorted, it is minimal, it is raw and last but last not least, it is oh so funky. This track will move dance floors. Be so sure.

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Part III – 'Manipulation Musik'. Manipulation Musik is the darkest and most cinematic piece on this collection of EPs. Delicate manipulated melodies and melancholic strings moves in and out of a crackling and distorted soundscape, telling an experimental sound tale with a sad ending. On b-side Redshape (Present, Delsin) makes a remix solely using sounds from the original. Redshape described his tape dub version like this: “think disco dub, plonk & pain”. Not much to add to that – it kind of says it all. Enjoy!

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