It’s hard to resist beginning any discussion of an Ostgut Ton release — be it a single, album, or mix compilation — without discussing the room from which its artist ostensibly drew his or her inspiration. Berghain, with its veritable pipe organ of Funktion One stacks pushing sweaty air into lofty post-industrial buttresses, is particularly susceptible to this line of thinking. As evidenced by the sandpaper highs and sucker-punch lows adopted by just about anyone who’s been at (or looking to get their records to) the club’s helm, Berghain begs producers to push its acoustic buttons in extremely particular ways.
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Steffi ft. Elif Biçer, Kill Me
February 16, 2010 – 11:01 AM
One of Ostgut Ton’s greatest strengths has always been the canny A&R work involved in each release. Their ear for talent is nearly unmatched in contemporary house and techno, having provided big breaks for Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, Tama Sumo and Marcel Fengler, and hosted career milestones by Shed, Prosumer & Murat Tepeli, and Cassy. Yet there is no sign of Ostgut Ton resting on their laurels or their reputation as the label arm of Berlin’s most highly regarded clubs. The imprint’s first release of 2010 is also Panorama Bar resident Steffi’s debut solo single, one so skillfully and confidently produced it all but insures everyone involved will reap rewards for their efforts.
Planetary Assault Systems, Remixes
January 11, 2010 – 11:01 PM
If Luke Slater’s Temporary Suspension reminded us anything, it’s that the rough techno waves being made by your Dettmanns and Levons are not without precedent, and that techno veterans are keen to be still be part of the sound they, in many ways, defined. For every Delta Funktionen or Frozen Border looking to offer their new take on techno there’s a Regis, Robert Hood or James Ruskin picking up the 909 again and getting back to work. Ostgut Ton chose Hood and Kenny Larkin to remix Ben Klock; and so, in a sort of antisymmetry, they choose some of the most influential producers of the past couple years to remix one of the 90’s more influential figures.
Tama Sumo, Panorama Bar 02
November 6, 2009 – 11:01 AM
In his LWE interview with Will Lynch, Seth Troxler let this morsel slip about Berlin’s famed club scene: “…it feels like people are going through the motions sometimes, you know?” When he comes to America, he goes on to say, “it’s a lot easier to blow people’s minds.” I haven’t partied in Berlin since the fall of 2006, so I can’t weigh in personally. But I got to thinking again about Troxler’s bittersweet observation while listening to the latest Ostgut Ton mix, Tama Sumo’s Panorama Bar 02. Unlike Cassy’s epochal Panorama Bar 01, mixed at the height of Berlin’s mythical status among underground club music heads, or Marcel Dettmann’s techno masterclass Berghain 02, Tama Sumo’s mix feels less like a codification of a local sound than a nudge towards getting a legendary dance floor excited again.
Basic Soul Unit/Lerosa, Panorama Bar 02 Part I
October 19, 2009 – 10:01 PM
Ostgut Ton have made quite an impact with their mix CDs. Both timely and timeless, the Berghain and Panorama Bar residents always try to create something lasting; indeed, the first Panorama Bar CD by Cassy has yet to leave my mix CD rotation. With high standards in mind, anticipation for Panorama Bar 02 grows every day, not least thanks to two teaser 12″s Ostgut Ton releases containing exclusive tracks from the CD. “Part I” features the talents of Toronto’s Basic Soul Unit and Dublin-based Lerosa, and is soon to be followed by contributions from Levon Vincent and Panorama Bar resident Steffi.
Prosumer & Murat Tepeli, U & I/The Jam
September 29, 2009 – 10:01 AM
With vintage gear, a love for early house singles and immense songwriting chops, Prosumer and Murat Tepeli have produced some of the most emotionally involved music released by Ostgut Ton. By threading deeply personal lyrics through the floor-friendly patterns of their singles and album, Serenity, the duo revived has the personal narrative approach once at the heart of the house music tradition. Yet touching hearts is only half of the Prosumer & Murat Tepeli experience, as evidenced once again by their first single since 2008, the rousing “U & I/The Jam.” Setting aside emotional themes to reach for their dancing shoes, Prosumer and Tepeli have crafted an irresistible call to the floor.
Marcel Fengler, Twisted Bleach
August 25, 2009 – 10:01 AM
While Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock have each established themselves as like-minded soundsmiths of taut, ultra-functional, ear-splitting techno workouts, fellow Berghain resident and best pal Marcel Fengler remains something of an unknown quantity. He has yet to venture beyond the OstGut Ton mothership, and his two previous releases — murky, Gothic techno rollers pitched towards the latest of late nights — have been amongst the label’s most slept-on releases. But if Fengler has his eyes set on the sort of visibility (and lucrative weekends of globetrotting) his associates have gained in the last few years, something tells me “Twisted Bleach,” his latest for OstGut, might just be his international plane ticket.
Ben Klock, Remixes
August 9, 2009 – 10:01 PM
It may seem like a long time to allow six months to pass since the release of your album before issuing a remix package, but given the strength of the three remixes here I would imagine OstGut Ton and Ben Klock knew exactly what they were doing. For “Remixes” he enlists the expertise of an older generation of producers to interpret his tracks (admittedly the identity of Sandwell District, who appears here as an artist rather than the label, is presently still debatable) and that wealth of knowledge shines through.
Ben Klock, One
April 8, 2009 – 10:20 PM
The early bird hype on One hinted it was very self-consciously an “album.” Some suggested Ben Klock had discarded the Berghain-tested stompers that made his name for a more mature sound, perhaps even an attempt at a grand artistic statement. Alarm bells rang: What this often means is an album with a couple of killer tracks at best and a lot of filler. Surely Klock hadn’t gone soft and released an album of downbeat noodlings and scrappy experiments?