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Saturday, December 19, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Berghain Nightclub, Berlin
As far as techno goes, there is little debate about where the centre of the universe lies at the moment - deep inside the vast vortex of 70 Am Wriezener Bahnhof, Berlin. Or Berghain and its upstairs Panorama Bar to be specific.
Like its '90s Berlin forefathers E-Werk and Tresor before it, the unhinged happenings of Berghain are resonating out of the German capital and shaping the future of this sound like no other space on Earth.
Joris Voorn describes it as "the true definition of a techno club that is all about the music", Joel Mull believes it is "the temple of techno and house on planet Earth", whilst Paul Woolford lauds it as "a massive inspiration for anybody serious about house and techno culture".
But for the thousands that are magnetised here from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and beyond, those words will amount to nothing more than preaching to the converted. In 2009, Berghain is the essential techno pilgrimage.
A colossus in every sense, the towering former power station has hosted just about every key name in techno. But whereas most clubs merely showcase them, Berghain hands its DJs the time, space and freedom to explore the full frontiers of their craft.
Where else will you see Carl Craig play for the best part of a waking day or Laurent Garnier (it was where he first roadtested his Innervisions release 'Back To My Roots') embark on a marathon voyage just as the rest of Europe is tucking into Sunday lunch? Even the very shortest sets at this place tend towards the three-hour mark.
"You can go into deep, slow 110bpm burners from someone like Moodyman, take it up to 130bpm techno classics - and everything in between," explains Jesse Rose. "As long as you get your groove on the crowd will follow."
Bringing house names like Switch, Sneak and Derrick Carter to Berlin, Jesse's monthly Made To Play residency in the Panorama Bar is a perfect example of Berghain's musical democracy. For whilst rising tall as an undisputed techno stronghold, Berghain is far from a closed musical fortress with Jerome Sydenham's soulful deepness, Distance's edgy industrial dubstep and the dystopian voodoo rhythms of Shackleton all finding a home here.
Of course, any weekly club will always be mastered by its residents and in Marcel Dettman Berghain have a DJ that has commanded the main room since 2004. His 'Berghain 02' mix frames the sound of the club at its best - deep, intense, hypnotic and informed by past, present and future in equal measure.
But what really places Berghain in another dimension altogether is that perpetual air of unchecked debauchery. One that consumes the concepts of time and space entirely. As Jesse Rose explains: "Entering Panorama Bar is like going back in time to an age when people went out to really party."
A true hedonists' playground, no club on earth goes deeper, or longer, than the full Berghain/Panorama Bar experience at the moment. Beginning at midnight and just about hitting stride at 10am every Sunday morning in the Panorama Bar, it runs to the late hours of Sunday evening each week.
It is always the forbidden pleasures that satisfy the very deepest urges and the journey into Berghain's abyss is laced with deviant exploration from the start.
Lying like a dark secret at the end of dusty, fence-enclosed road, its huge looming face is as foreboding as the militant rhythms that have become associated with peak-time Berghain.
But whilst the bouncers are notoriously selective, once you finally infiltrate the mainframe it is anything goes.
A reincarnation of Berlin's legendary Ostgut club, which regularly hosted men-only fetish night 'Snax' between '98 and '03, Berghain is still witness to open sex acts - there's even a basement space called The Laboratory designed specifically for them - but it remains a mixed and musically focused environment.
Forget about VIP areas, mirrors in the toilets and your camera (photography is one of the only practices that is actually outlawed here), Berghain's inner structures are two of the most pure, epic and stripped-back rave environments you ever will encounter. All exposed concrete and steelwork, the Berghain main room is the very definition of industrial and cavernous with ceilings so high they might as well not exist at all.
Sundays, of course, are all about Panorama Bar with the slightly more intimate dancefloor and the club's famous shutters that allow the breaking day's light to momentarily infiltrate the venue, only to shut moments later, leaving you lost in the timeless vortex of hedonism.
"Words really cannot describe how good this place is but I will try," says Matt Edwards, aka Radio Slave. "It is the real deal, run by incredibly dedicated people who love music and understand what makes a club work. It really is a place where you get lost in time and space."
http://www.berghain.de/
CDJ-2000
Compatibility is the name of the game with Pioneer’s forward-thinking new CDJ players
Life in the DJ box is about to get a whole lot easier with Pioneer’s new CDJ-2000. For this spanking new CD player is also compatible with all the main pro digital DJing software. Which will make setting up nice and easy.
The CDJ-2000 is more than just an update of the industry standard CDJ-1000. It can play music from multiple sources, including CD, DVD, USB storage devices and SD memory cards. It can also be used as a controller and soundcard for Native Instruments’ Traktor and Rane’s Serato digital DJing software — so no need for external soundcards or control vinyl.
The CDJ-2000 also boasts Pioneer’s new music database management software, Rekordbox. This allows DJs to prepare their music and sets pre-gig by setting up loop points and quantising tracks.
At first glance, the CDJ-2000 looks similar to its predecessor, the CDJ-1000. However, there are a few big differences, like a full colour LCD view screen, where track artwork can be displayed for visual reference.
But the big welcome surprise is its touch-sensitive waveform Needle Search/Needle Drop ribbon. This lets DJs audition tracks by simply running their finger up and down the ribbon (just like picking up and placing the needle on vinyl), complemented by a visual representation of the waveform in the view screen. This feature has been a long time coming, but it’s been worth the wait as this function rocks!
The CDJ-2000 is already drawing gasps of admiration from those DJs lucky enough to get their hands on one.
Roger Sanchez said: “One of the most amazing things about the CDJ-2000 is that I don’t have to look at my CD book to find tracks. Everything is organised from my computer onto a USB key, which is transferred to the CDJ-2000. In a split second, everything is at my fingertips, which makes life a lot easier for me.”
Unfortunately, the touch-sensitive waveform Needle Search/Needle Drop ribbon is not available on the CDJ-900 version, the little brother of the CDJ-2000.
But the CDJ-900 is also a very capable beast with a few exclusive features of its own, including auto beat loop, a quick return scratch feature and a slip mode that enables DJs to perform tricks normally associated only with vinyl DJs.
Both have a highly evolved illuminated jog-wheel, easy track selection and overall enhanced design, making them the new must-haves from Pioneer.
www.pioneerdj.com
Saturday, December 5, 2009
David Guetta's secret Rowland duet
David Guetta is working on some "top secret" songs with Kelly Rowland.
He revealed to Digital Spy: "I'm actually already working with her on her next album. We've just done a few songs at the moment and it's all fairly top secret. We've become really close friends over time. I think she's an amazing singer - one of the best in the industry - and a great person too."
The French star - who has also collaborated with Black Eyed Peas, Estelle and Akon - is also keen to work with 'Poker Face' hitmaker Lady Gaga and pop sensation Madonna.
He said: "Lady Gaga's amazing. I met her last month and she's like a crazy genius! She's a great writer, producer and can play so many instruments. It's incredible how successful she's been in such a short amount of time. I met with one of her producers, RedOne, and we're going to try and work together. If we could sort it out, we could come up with something crazy!
"I would love to work with Madonna. It will probably happen very soon actually. It's all in the early stages and I'm not allowed to speak about it yet!"
Top 20 - Hip Hop/R&B
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