M.U.M & bpitchcontrol proudly Presents Miami Sessions with Ellen Alien- M.U.M Episode 137

0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement       /// berlin berlin /// berlin – i grew up feeling surrounded by the wall. i lived on the small island of west berlin. border controls on sunday excursions, the rummaging through bags, the military. it was scary. but the quote “all quiet on the western front” still didn’t really apply, as lots of things were happening that wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else. the island of west berlin was a destination for creative minds in search of alternatives. music was and still is my outlet. alongside tinkling on the electric organ, teaching myself how to read notes and my jukebox with a collection of singles in my room, my ears were first intrigued by the revolution of neue deutsche welle. it was fantastic! for the first time people were singing in the language you could hear out on the street: ideal, grauzone, nina hagen – pop meets punk. things happened so fast. minimal sounds made from machines entered the charts. for me it was kraftwerk’s “model” that changed everything. i discovered that pop also worked without any frills. my side of berlin provided a home for the curious, those who were going against the flow. however, it was only when the wall came down that berlin became berlin again – the city that lets me breathe. after spending a whole year in london i realized that despite the acid jazzhouse euphoria there, only one place felt like home – berlin, the city of possibilities. being able to breathe, to drive and walk wherever and with whoever i wanted. and no more borders. i was immediately fascinated by east berlin, by this atmosphere of curiosity and get-up-and-go. there was room for experiments. electronic music united east and west. i started to focus on music and art. at first that meant playing the saxophone, learning about fashion, hanging out in rehearsal rooms and taking classes in acrobatics. to finance it all, i worked behind the bar in the fischlabor, which happened to be the meeting point of the up-and-coming music network. i mixed my first tapes and suddenly became part of the emerging berlin techno scene, which started out in empty industrial buildings, houses and cellars. ellen became ellen allien. courage berlin nightlife. i had my own radio show on kiss fm, worked at the delirium record store and finally founded my first label braincandy. it felt as if music had swallowed me whole. with braincandy i made a serious attempt at releasing the kind of abstract techno i liked best. i’d had enough of compromising. some of it was just the courage to pave my own way. the closing down of the first big berlin techno clubs was a setback for the scene, though i interpreted it as a sign to get something new going in the midst of disorientation. the party series bpitch control was a good start. i wanted to hang on to the music, to materialize it, so i founded bpitch control records. the parties were no longer just memories, now people could take them home, too. the label was mainly an organ for me and other people who i found talented and worth supporting. to me, bpitch control is glamour, community and exchange platform all at the same time. productive as a dj i have always tried to connect genres, styles and audiences. i want to feed people new music and capture their interest. i want to fill the room with sound. and i have always been searching for an acceptance of what exists. we all live in the here and now! and it was that common thread that i wanted to share with the audience. when i dj, body and music become one, they become brainy. to me, music was always the only way to soar through epic parallel worlds, to relax, to experience excess, to find myself. music is both my motor and my outlet. as a producer, music is a playback of my emotions and moods. i tease them out of me with alternating technical devices. music becomes a chronicle, each album is a work from a period of my life, which grounds me after the stress of dj-jetting. albums are like diaries. with my first album “stadtkind” i wanted to express my close relationship with the city i live in. it was like an explosion. “stadtkind” is my homage to berlin. the testing, work and experimentation with the structures and the sound spectrum of electronic music then became more and more crucial for me. i used my various compilations and remixes to beam myself into the musical cosmos. with my next album “berlinette” i processed what i had experienced after the release of “stadtkind”. it was like a flash of lightning, i was everywhere and everyone around me was euphoric and supportive. “berlinette” illustrates all that and it is also my very personal discourse on what is possible in the world of pop music and abstract sounds. then i released my third album “thrills”. it moves back and forth between constant excitement and playing the arp 2600 and other analogue instruments. in 2006 apparat and i decided to do an album together. we went into appart's studio and had a great time - looking over the roof tops of berlin in winter, playing around on different instruments and synths, trying things out. "orchestra of bubbles" is a really nice electronica album with parts both of my and apparat's style. during summer 2006 we performed our live sets all over the world, played big festivals and were sweating like crazy each time. it was a challenge and an inspiration for both of us. when i was asked to represent berlin for a dvd for time out i was happy to accept. it's a really cool thing for people who don't know this great city and want to know about it. i show my favorite places and also did a mix that goes along on cd. fabric has always been my favorite club and i was proud to be asked to do an exclusive mix for them, which has been released in may 2007. beside my different remix projects (f.i. thom yorke, beck, troy pierce, ect.) that was something i really enjoyed doing in my studio. whenever i have time i do my own fashion. in summer 2007 i already launched my third collection. i like doing fashion design - i like to draw and the choose fabrics. i only do very few pieces, it's all very exclusive and it's more my hobby than a business. music is still my main interest - my love and my life. and it's interesting to see how different equipment and software changes the styles of music all the time. changing studio equipment keeps the productions flowing. techno is still what i’m about. it’s minimal, reduced, deep and rough at the same time. i would say that techno and i have developed together. in may 2008 my fourth solo album “sool“ has been released. one single (sprung/its) and other three remix releases (out, elphine, ondu caress) of “sool“ follow the same year. shortly after my new ellen allien fashion tshirt line **plus** comes out. in september 2008 the jetlag tour together with modeselektor starts. the year 2009 begins with a very special anniversary: 10 years of bpitch control, 10 years of music, working together, following the idea of acting as a collective, fostering of exchange and communication, entering new territories and having fun while doing so. actually, this year bpitch control signed many new artists. indeed, i can say that i´m very proud to work together with so many talented artists. in january my new ellen allien fashion spring/summer collection 09 came out. this time i decided to launch two different lines: the everyday quartett line and the rather elegant but nevertheless sexy and cheeky mainline. then i started my worldwide dj-tour which brought me once again to japan, the states, mexico and many other thrilling destinations. the new ellen allien fashion autumn winter collection 09 came out june. once again i realized two different lines: a jersey line called “city lights“ that consist of dresses and shirts for women and men, rarefied with hand painted accents of neon brushes. the nomadic world i live in, inspired me to think of us all as city indians. the jeans line uses vintage denim to create something new out of the old. with individual items i want to shape the women´s perspectives. i think we really need to see the world as more playful, more connnected, but nevertheless extending into new horizons. my new single “lover“ got released at the beginning of september and lots of "happy birthday bpitch control"-parties have delighted us during the whole year. we rocked berghain club in berlin, the melt! festival, the sonar festival, watt club in rotterdam and many other outstanding locations. together with the graphics team “pfadfinderei“ we have been working on new ellen allien visual which have been tested in a couple of clubs and that are developing into something definite step by step.in september my single "lover" (bpc199) came out and i made a remix of uffie/feadz's track “pop the clock“ (edbanger records). in november i made an ellen allien south america tour with gigs in montevideo, buenos aires, rio de janeiro, belo horizonte, sao paolo, medellin and bogota. 2010: a new decade for a new ellen allien solo album. i took a brief break from playing in clubs in order to concentrate on the production of my fifth solo album together with tobias freund. in january the ellen allien fashion spring/summer 2010 collection called "nightflowers" came out and i made a mix cd for the watergate club (ellen allien mix cd /watergate vol5). in february my 12" "pump" (bpc209) and "the best of bpitch control" for the japanese concept store beams came out. in march i toured through japan (tokyo, osaka, nagoya, okinawa) once again to celebrate bpitch control's tenth annyversary. i continued playing in clubs and festival throughout europe. in may my new album dust (bpc220) came out. ince again i hav ebeen touring worldwide (usa, singapore, malaysia, australia and europe). along with dust other two 12" were released: flashy flashy (bpc216) with remixes by nicolas jaar and alexi delano and our utopie (bpc220) including the bonus track "searching". sensual in my work, graphics, music, artwork, visuals and fashion merge. body dance, space and lust for life overspill. i search for the fulfilling dance. body, belly and brain start to swing and uplift me/us. music is the drug – nothing else! travel travelling with my record case, living out of the suitcase. the hotel is my home. experiencing new worlds and cultures and accepting them; understanding, how things work in other places. sharing views and politics. a club unites people without words. it’s the music that speaks. recognizing the beauty of the world and absorbing the otherness. home is far away and not important. it’s the unknown that attracts my attention, and i want to know it! 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false   the mix is everything. i push myself to the absolute limit, sweating, and the thrill is that the room will become our room.   Ellen Allien Tracking list:1. Jay Haze featuring Laila Tov - I Wait For You  / unreleased2. Adultnapper - While He Sleeps  / Simple Records 3. Shyza Minelli - Ancient Blessing  / Tuning Spork Records4. Smash TV - World Wide Wet  / unreleased 5. Shit Robot - Simple Things (work it out)  / DFA Emi6. N/A featuring Rosina - Fables and Fairytales  / Crosstown Rebels7. Basti Grub - Will Fine  / unreleased8. Dance Disorder - Zusammen (Discodromo Filthy Vortex Remix)  / CDR9. Martin Beume - Slowly But Steady  / Outils Du Connaisseur10. Late Nite Tuff  Guy - I Get Deeper  / Light Speed Recordings11. El Mundo & Satori - Jazz Tango  / Catwash Records12. Ellen Allien - Ever  / BPitch Controlthe mix is everything. i push myself to the absolute limit, sweating, and the thrill is that the room will become our room.