Ellen Allien

Forthcoming in Time Out New York



Much has been made of Berlin’s club scene and the sheer quality of electronic music in all its forms coming out of the German capitol. Esteemed producers such as Richie Hawtin, Jamie Lidell and Ewan Pearson have relocated, drawn by cheap living, reclaimed spaces and the thriving cultural scene. Though the city has more than its fair share of expats flooding in and adding their own unique contributions, there stands a true Berlinette: Ellen Allien.

Having resided in the city for her whole life, Allien witnessed the dramatic transformation from division to a thriving artistic mecca and stands as a prominent figurehead of its creativity and collaboation. She’s an in-demand producer, remixer, and as will be evident this week in New York, a cracking DJ. After recently observing a Berlin appearance, noted music critic Phillip Sherburne stated “few other DJs at the moment know how to create [Allien’s] particular brand of empathy – she may be on stage, but she's right there in the general communion.”

Allien cites the influential Warp imprint as well as Kraftwerk and earlier American electronic productions, describing her current style as “hypnotic elect tech,” combining electro and techno with breakbeats. She’s quick to disavow any involvement with the overhyped electroclash scene, hinting that it’s a media manufactured genre devoid of soul and simply “boring.”

Allien has recently released a brand new mix CD “My Parade,” an LP of her remixes of various artists from Gold Chains to Sascha Funke, and 2003’s excellent artist album “Berlinette.” Not content with such prolific output, and restless as ever, she’s currently writing her next record, penning lyrics and keeping up her remixing. On top of all this, she runs the Bpitch control label, doing everything from A&R to choosing artwork and inviting artists to play their parties. At 100 releases for Bpitch, Ellen is currently curating a best of CD entitled “Camping” – a 20 track selection of their finest cuts thusfar. She describes all of her endeavors as “a very creative package that gives me kicks to keep on keeping on because it is part of my life and i can’t stop and wont stop.” With this sort of unbridled enthusiasm, there’s little doubt she’ll even miss a step.