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Born and raised in the south of Germany, the DJ, producer and label owner (formerly Monoid and Feis, then Len Series as a platform for his new labels Figure and most recently Podium, on which he shares sides with fellow artists like Oliver Ho or Shinedoe) Len Faki relocated to Berlin in 2004. He is a Techno activist for over a decade now and definitely the man for the maximal dancefloor.
On the A side, “Rainbow Delta”, Len is clearly referring to his monthly sets at Berghain, which usually start around 7 am in the morning and last until the afternoon – a perfect time to play with a fully warmed up crowd. The track manages to catch this special atmosphere, right after the peak time, the climax. This is a deep and floating Techno track with Dub chords and perfectly set percussion; pumping and contamplative at the same time.
The B side sees Faki stepping up a gear. With bone dry drums, an oldschool rave organ and cleverly crafted breaks, “Mekong Delta” gets straight into peaktime mode. Rave is back – for good. This is a hit for all big Techno floors worldwide.
Listen: Spotify | Apple MusicBuy: Hard Wax | Beatport | iTunes
When you hear “Czeslawa” and “Warszawa” on a a decent club pa, you will notice that Ben Klock is not only an excellent team player, but also a very good soloist (a fact, he’s also proven on the BPitch sublabel Memo, by the way). Pump up the bass!
“Czeslawa” is a track Ben Klock tailor made for his sets at Berghain. “I wanted to have another hypnotic track for my sets which is not too much arranged. It should be a rather tooly club track,” he says. And he definitely achieved his goal. “Czeslawa” is a beast, slightly infused with acid, subtley grilling the dancefloor in a way you won’t forget too quickly. This is pure Techno for the wee hours of the morning.
“Warszawa”, the B side, focuses on something more musical and playful. Ben’s arrangement oozes with high spirits and a swing that makes this track a sure contestant for the primetime. And when those snappy strings set in, both rave veterans and novices will embrace each other blissfully. A sure shot!
Released: 12 March 2007
Listen: Spotify | Apple MusicBuy: Bandcamp | Hard Wax | Beatport | iTunes
You might already know Nick Höppner as part of the nonchalant outfit MyMy on Playhouse, as well as a resident dj at both Panorama Bar and Berghain, where he frequently shows his stylistic spectrum ranging from tender House to tough Techno.
On his first solo outing on Ostgut Ton Nick pays tribute to his flexibility by offering two completely different tracks and at the same time pointing towards a new direction for the label. Where all previous releases have clearly been Techno in its truest sense, Höppner's release expands the label's orbit towards deep House floors (also preparing the ground for Prosumer & Murat Tepeli on o-ton07. Watch out!)
The A-side's rhetorical question “Who Needs Action” can easily be answered with an enthusiastic “Us, always!” Its shuffling groove as well as the out there melodies directly point to the dancefloor, be it peaktime or after hour. Meanwhile “Violet”, the B-side, slows down the pace by establishing a classic House beat and by adding even more ingredients reminiscent of the blessed days of labels like Prescription. It all interlocks effortlessly, creating both a deep and shoving track with a break providing a classic hands in the air moment. House feeling all night long…
Prosumer|Murat Tepeli - What Makes You Go For ItMurat Tepeli - JawsProsumer - Vise
With the release of O-TON 07 Murat Tepeli and Panorama Bar resident Prosumer prove – contrary to common beliefs – that Berlin and Cologne fit together quitee nicely. Having released an EP on Playhouse together, as well as some solo releases, Murat and Prosumer join forces again.
The instrumental of “What Makes You Go For It” on A has been created in Murat's studio in Cologne straight after one of their rare live performances at Panorama Bar. Shortly after, Prosumer added lyrics and vocals in Berlin. The mixture of a driving bassline, deep chords, oriental elements, spacy sounds and Prosumer's warm voice turn this track into a dark, horny and melancholic affair for thumping house floors. Prosumer and Murat are very happy to have found the artistic analogy to their ‘Panorama Bar track’ in the cover artwork of italian artist Gaia Zebellin.
On B Tepeli drops his “Jaws”, which caters for both House and Techno floors. A relentless bass takes turns with euphoric pads and makes track an aspirant for the primetime. “Vise” from Prosumer on the other hand again shows his mad love for the old Chicago sound. Peppered with Acid the track fathoms low frequencies hitting dancers in brain and hips.
This EP presents itself a lot housier than usual on Ostgut Ton, but the high energy level definitely stays the same. “What Makes you Go For it?” – Good Music!
Released: 25 June 2007
Our eighth release is coming with two monstrous remixes for Len Faki's Rainbow Delta | Mekong Delta EP (O-TON 04). As remixers Len has chosen two artists he already appreciates for a long time. There's Jerome Sydenham (Ibadan Records) from New York, who treated “Rainbow Delta”, Adam Beyer (Drumcode) from Sweden touched “Mekong Delta”.
Had the original of “Rainbow Delta” been sort of a crossover track with housy chords and dreamy moments, Sydenham interprets it as a very heavy and deep Techno track, which thrusts forward in such a massive way, we didn’t even dare to dream of. By using loads of reverb and space, he creates a cinemascopic wall of sound pushing dancers and listeners to unknown heights. This is New York Trance in its best sense!
On the flip Adam Beyer presents himself absolutely en forme. His workout melts “Mekong Delta” into a bomb, which shouldn't fail to set dancefloors on fire this summer. Promised! After a soft build up, a massive kick in, very tricky and pushy percussion combined with SciFi effects and the rave organ from the original, you certainly will know how to spell ‚Hit‘! Stockholm Techno Swing!
With our 9th release Marcel Fengler finally delivered his debut as a producer. The a side, “Playground”, can be looked at as the result of a two year testing phase of sonic possibilites available to him. Fengler has worked a lot with Marcel Dettmann over the last few years; a busy exchange which left its traces on this record. “Playground” is a peaktime Techno track with a metallic scraping noise, refined percussion and a huge kick paving the way for a anihilating, noisy bonfire after the break. Or as Marcel Fengler simply puts it in his own words: “A lot of movement without falling into loop-y lethargy too much.” This is definitely not designed for the lazy after hour.
As its title already hints at “Early Glow” is meant to be played out in the early morning hours, when you have time to breathe deeply, but didn't give it all just yet. Marcel is rolling out a carpet of fragmented chords with pads rushing in and out. The track developes the sort of rhythmic hypnosis, which Berlin crowds have learned to love so much. These tracks are classic morse codes from the depths of club space.
Released: 27 October 2007
Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann are Âme. Anyone, whose heart is beating for Deephouse, Detroit Techno and soulfull dance music in general, could hardly avoid the records of the Karlsruhe-based DJ/producer duo, even more so after their 2005 uber hit “Rej”. In spring 2007 they have contributed a more than 16 minutes long epic to our ballet production Shut Up And Dance! Updated, which we are now releasing on vinyl for the first time ever. A shorter, more club friendly edit is also included.
“Fiori” is the track off our Shut Up… compilation which by far provoked the most and best feedback. With its minimalism in the vein of Philip Glass morphing into a majestic 70s psychedelic sound it clearly is the outstanding contribution to the ballet cd. The club edit has turned out to be much DJ-friendlier with its compact length. With its streamlined arrangement, and with percussion and beats andjusted to the demand, “Fiori” hasn’t lost any of its stupefying magic. Pure cosmic!
After having launched Ostgut Ton's vinyl divison with the superbe Dawning | Dead Man Watches The Clock (O-TON 01) and their own labels MDR and Klockworks, Marcel Dettmann, who in the meantime also did remixes for Rekids and BPitch Control and contributed a track to Sven Väth's Cocoon Compilation G, and Ben Klock join forces again after their solo efforts on O-TON 03 and O-TON 05. The Scenario EP is a double 12" containing four brandnew tracks as well as a rework of their hit “Dawning”.
The tracks have all been conceived at the Berghain club, where Marcel and Ben tested earlier versions in order to optimise them in their studio. The duo showcases a palette of styles ranging from raw tools to rather musical compositions. “Scenario” clearly stands at the center of this release. With drums dry as a bone, metallic, scratching percussion and concisely placed effects turn this into something not only diehard Plastikman or Sähkö fans should be able to enjoy. “Blank Scenario” is an even more reduced workout of “Scenario” giving the DJ a lot of freedom to use this track.
“Renumber” is another stoic little techno biest with a heavy bass representing the state of the art at Berlin's school of Hard Wax. “Places Like This” initially has never been meant for a release as it was a private tool both Ben and Marcel used for their DJ sets. But as it's shuffling chords lead to euphoric crowd reactions, it soob became clear it had to find its way onto this EP.
Last but not least, Dettmann|Klock revisit their first collective effort. “Dawning (Revisited)” highlights their more harmonic side and revives the track in a very convincing way. This package definitely makes for a strong double 12" showing it's possible to do original, yet traditional Techno in 2007. Dub it!
