Ellen Alien Weaves A New Fabric
Author: NewZfusion
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Ellen Allien is doing 'Fabric 34'.
The crazy kids in London have decided to give one of the busiest women in the world of electronic music a bit of time at the Fabric helm (like she hasn't got enough to do already, what with her DJ schedule, BPitch Control management or designing clothes) to let her do her thing.
Allien began her destiny shaping soon after the Berlin wall came down and her beloved city opened wide to new possibilities. After her days as a disillusioned hip hopper, she was instantly hooked by techno's allure and fell deep into a wild love affair with electronic music and machines (like we all do!).
She explains, "The whole (hip hop) scene got on my nerves and I therefore got more interested in electronic music. There were so many interesting people - artists, gay people, freaks - with all those people I felt more connected.
"I could finally feel free as a woman in a club - no harassment."
Berlin, now a city praised and celebrated for its artistic freedom, is the perfect place for a visionary like Allien to flourish, and she wears her love of the city on her sleeve.
More than anything, Allien loves to get her gig on.
"I like playing gigs and I like filling rooms with music and sharing music with people. It's always a challenge to get people going. And each club is different and needs a different atmosphere.
"My vision is to master each moment as something special. Like last week - I played three gigs in a row - first in Berlin, a 7 hour set. Next day France, Villa Rouge, a great gay club. Then I played in Italy in one of the best clubs - Tenx. An overwhelming atmosphere."
As with everything else she touches, on Fabric 34, Allien has imaginatively created a work of art that is both timely and timeless. Whereas every record is a complete experience in itself. Moving and evocative, Allien attributed human elements to the infallibly machine-like - it's almost possible to hear poetry in wordless music as each instrument sings a heart-pulling love song to the beat.
"I wanted to do an analogue mix, by hand. I used my favourite records of last year and the newest ones. I like analogue! And I like to hear how one has to manipulate the mix until it's tight. I like the mix because to me it's the ideal club mix that I personally would like to hear in a club. It's also a nice memory for me - I can remember every record being played by myself in a club. And when I now listen to the mix I can recall all the great moments."
Tracklisting
01. Schubert - S1 [Don't Believe The Chord - Pop Hype] - Statik
02. Larry Heard Presents Mr. White - The Sun Can't Compare [Long Version] - Alleviated
03. Estroe - Driven [Jamie Jones' Pacific Mix] - Connaisseur Superieur
04. Damián Schwartz - Tú Y Yo (Peros Nos Volvemos A Levantar) (Pilas Remix) - Mupa
05. Don Williams - Orderly Kaos - a.r.t.less
06. Melodyboy 2000 - Sound Stealer - Futuro
07. Artificial Latvamaki - It Is Not Now Either - Mezzotinto
08. Cobblestone Jazz - India In Me - Wagon Repair
09. Roman Flügel - Mutter - Klang
10. Ø - Aaltovaihe - Säkhö
11. Thom Yorke - Harrowdown Hill - XL
12. Ellen Allien - Just A Woman - Bpitch Control
13. Ben Klock - Journey - Bpitch Control
14. Heartthrob - Baby Kate (Plastikman Remix) - M_nus
15. Apparat - Arcadia - Random Noize Tags