interview by Mike Kieffer and Jennifer Link
Ellen Allien, owner of the label BPitch Control and fairy queen of Berlin’s rave music scene takes a different approach to techno music by releasing albums that are made to stand the test of time, each the condensed result of a completely different creative phase. Her newest album, Dust, follows with this tradition and is about the balance between nocturnal excesses and the packed diary of a Berlin lady who is manager of one of the world’s most illustrious electronic record labels, a fashion designer, producer, and DJ.
What is the concept behind your new album Dust?
Ellen Allien : Dust tells about my life, about both my day and night life. There are songs that talk about falling down and coming up again, “Sun the Rain”, or about how I feel after a long night on the way to the next gig, “You”, or about how I get to know someone special looking through the flashing disco lights at Panorama Bar, “Flashy Flashy”.
It’s been two years since your previous album Sool, I sense a change of direction, what would you say are the main differences between Sool and Dust? What influences have caused these differences?
EA : I produced Sool together with AGF and the main idea was to make it sound minimal. Whereas Dust has been produced together with Tobias Freund. We tried to find the right classical instruments in order to make it sound more homogeneous. The guitars are by Tom Krimi, the clarinet by Andreas Ernst, and percussions by Miguel Toro. The voice is mine and I wanted to make it sound very bright and clear.
read the rest of the interview in the June/July 2010 Issue
