Ellen Allien

BPitch Control, Ellen Allien Fashion

2007.06.29 ::: Words by Andrew Reid, Pics by Lars Borges

As a DJ Ellen Allien has always tried to connect genres, styles and audiences. She wants to feed people new music and capture their interest. She wants to fill the room with sound, and has always been searching for an acceptance of what exists. We all live in the here and now! And it was that common thread that Ellen wanted to share with the audience. When she DJs, body and music become one, they become brainy. To her, music was always the only way to soar through epic parallel worlds, to relax, to experience excess, to find myself. Music is both Ellen's motor and outlet.

As a producer, music is a playback of emotions and moods. Ellen teases them out of herself with alternating technical devices. Music becomes a chronicle, each album is a work from a period of her life, which grounds her after the stress of DJ-jetting. Albums are like diaries. With Ellen's first album “Stadtkind” she wanted to express my close relationship with the city she lives in. It was like an explosion. “Stadtkind” is a 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 her. Using various compilations and remixes to beam into the musical cosmos. With the next album “Berlinette” Ellen processed what she had experienced after the release of “Stadtkind”. It was like a flash of lightning, she was everywhere and everyone around her was euphoric and supportive. “Berlinette” illustrates all that and it is also a very personal discourse on what is possible in the world of pop music and abstract sounds. Her third album “Thrills” moves back and forth between constant excitement and playing the ARP 2600 and other analogue instruments.

In 2006 Apparat and Ellen decided to do an album together. They 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 Ellen's and Apparat’s style. During summer 2006 they performed live sets all over the world, played big festivals and sweating like crazy each time. It was a challenge and an inspiration for both of them.

When Ellen was asked to represent Berlin for a DVD for Time Out she 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 Ellen has time she designs her own fashion line. In summer 2007 she launched her 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 Ellen's main interest - her love and 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 Ellen's about. It’s minimal, reduced, deep and rough at the same time. "I would say that techno and I have developed together."

Nocturnal: How did you first come in contact with electronic music? Was there a pinnacle moment that made you realize you HAD to do this for a career?
Ellen: Kraftwerk's "The Model" was the first minimal pop track that put a spell on me on the dance floor. It was so different from what I had heard before, a cool beauty, rid of everything that's not needed. In 1992 I started DJing, worked as a bouncer and barkeeper at Fischlabor. This bar was run by Dimitri Hegemann, who also ran Tresor. Techno at that time was a revelation and liberation for me as a woman. I didn't get hit on by guys, I could dance for hours, I wasn't grabbed at the a... by stupid guys (like in the Hip Hop scene). I got to know a lot of interesting people, who were looking for something new, like me. It was and is a big community. East and West came together at the club. It was about freedom, politically and personally. About new ideas and forms of life, new styles. Berlin has always been connected to American artists. There have always been big American DJs playing here in Berlin. Cities like Berlin and Detroit have something in common - both had social and political problems and got changed by people who wanted to change things. The music was therefore really emotional.

Nocturnal: You grew up with the Berlin wall being intact and the divide of Germany very much a part of your life. How did the dramatic changes of your country effect you both personally and musically?
Ellen: I grew up in West Berlin and was surrounded by the wall. When we wanted to go to West Germany, like Hamburg, we had to travel through East Germany. The border controls were really tough - men with big weapons, angry looking... I was always afraid of them. You could always feel military oppression. My grandmother lived really close to one part of the wall and sometimes we could hear shootings going on - scary! The army just shot people who wanted to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin. So when the wall came down it was a liberation - we were finally united again. It showed me that the system could be changed from one day to the other. Music has always helped me to not be afraid of changes. It turned me into a happy person. Techno in Berlin is really emotional because it has its origin in a time where a lot of changes happened.

Nocturnal: Your world renound label BPitch Control started out as an event series before evolving into a label. What motivated the transition? Do you miss promoting events?
Ellen: We still organize parties, mostly with visuals by Pfadfinderei, with whom we've been working for years now and who also does our artwork. I started promoting parties because more and more clubs had to close and I was scared that Techno would die. I wanted to keep up the spirit. Later on I wanted to keep the spirit of those parties, press the music on vinyl. This is how and why the label started. Before BPC was born, I had a small label called Braincandy, like my former radio show at Kiss FM.

Nocturnal: What singles and/or remixes should we be expecting from you in the near future?
Ellen: I am working on a new single and an edit of a track of mine from 1994. It will be re-released with a remix by Marcel Dettmann. There will also be a release of a Beck remix done by myself and Riccardo Villalobos. They made it out there illegally already... I don't know how that happens - it sucks! And it's bad quality. So now we want to release it for real and let people get the proper version. Aside from that my new fashion collection is available at some stores (for instance Apartment/Berlin).

Nocturnal: What are your production weapons of choice? Mac/PC, software/hardware?
Ellen: Mac with Logic Pro. I love synths... Monomachine, Nord Lead, Arp 2600, and I use Abelton Live with Apparat and Max/MSP as well as effects for the vocals.

Nocturnal: In your opinion what other producers out there are really pushing boundaries or making a big impact on our scene?
Ellen: David Bowie, Björk, Laurie Andersson, Kate Bush, Nina Hagen, Squerpusher, and Aphex Twin.

Nocturnal: As the digital revolution continues to grow, how do you see it impacting our industry going forward?
Ellen: New formats are not a bad thing. Digital downloads are the new way of getting tracks to people and it allows DJs to work differently, digitally. It's just important that fans buy the music not steal it!

Nocturnal: Your latest mix CD which also includes a special DVD, Ellen Allien - The Other Side of Berlin, is part of the innovative Time Out Magazine series showcasing world destinations for the contemporary urban traveller. How did you get involved with the series? What does your mix offer the listener? How does it reflect Berlin?
Ellen: I was asked by Time Out and I agreed. I picked my favorite places here in Berlin and show them on this DVD. It shows Berlin superficially, of course, but it's still a nice impression of the city. It's a tourist guide, but a personal one.

Nocturnal: Further to the mix, where's some of your favourite little in-the-know spots to hit when you're in Berlin? (cafes, shops, sites, etc)
Ellen: Actually the ones that are on the DVD. They are really my hot spots!

Nocturnal: As have most, you're hooked up on MySpace. How have you utilized that community to further your reach? Have you stumbled across any old faces you had lost touch with?
Ellen: It's really good for communication. With fans and with other artists.

Nocturnal: You're also behind a fashion line, Ellen Allien Fashion. How did that start? What kind of clothing should people expect from your collections? Where can they get it?
Ellen: The clothes are at Apartment, Berlin. My winter collection is done now and I am still looking for a person to help me with distribution. It's fun to draw and create new designs and choose fabrics. I love to go to Paris to pick them at the fabric fair!

Nocturnal: Lastly here are some quick shots:
Nocturnal: Question?
Ellen: ANSWER.
Nocturnal: Favourite travel destination for vacation?
Ellen: Maledives.
Nocturnal: Favourite travel destination for performing?
Ellen: Europe, Japan.
Nocturnal: Favourite venue in the world?
Ellen: Nitsa in Barcelona, Womb in Tokyo, Weekend+Watergate in Berlin, and Rex Club in Paris.
Nocturnal: Most indispensable item you travel with?
Ellen: Computer, tooth brush, jacket, vitamins, sleep.
Nocturnal: If you weren't a DJ, you'd be a...
Ellen: Fashion designer.

::: Related Links

::: www.ellenallien.de

::: www.myspace.com/ellenallienbpc

::: www.bpitchcontrol.de