The Fall of the Berlin Wall: a techno celebration

Ben Klock @ Goethe-Institut, London – 9th November 2009

Celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Goethe-Institut London organised a series of events on a chilly Monday in the capital, with a 3-hour DJ set by Berlin’s club du jour Berghain resident DJ Ben Klock wrapping up the commemoration in the Goethe Institut itself (a German cultural centre in London’s posh South Kensington area). Such a unique occasion we could not miss.

Continue to read my feature on Data Transmission – The Online & Mobile Dance Music Authority here

Clubnight Review: Sasha + Nick Warren @ MoS

With 2 British legends Sasha and Nick Warren headlining the event, Ministry of Sound‘s 18th Birthday celebration took place last Sat.

I got there at around 12.40 am, and to my surprise,  there was a queue for online ticket holders (I had never waited in a queue with a ticket at MoS before) , so you can see how popular it was.

It was 1 am when I got into The Box (main room), and I managed to catch the last hour of Warren’s set. Whilst melodic and housey elements are on their return to the house and techno scene (as I mentioned in the last entry), Nick Warren, who’s famous for his melodic and lush sound, played some melancholic tracks that possessed a great deal of intensities- the kind of energy resulting from the rapid and continuous flows of melodies and basslines. Without question I really enjoyed that hr’s music; nevertheless,

Sasha’s set was just invincible.

In fact, the reason why Sasha is my favourite DJ is not only because he has great techniques in mixing and programming, but also because of his supreme ability to push the music forward. What I mean by ‘push the music forward’ doesn’t mean merely staying at the forefront of the trends – it’s about setting the trends by playing sounds that most people haven’t played before.

What we had from Sasha last Sat was a set comprised of tracks that were so fresh and sophisticated – when listening to some of them I got the same feeling as in Leeds listening to Radiohead playing the tracks from their cutting-edge album In Rainbows (read the post about it here). The techy beats and melodies sounded as if they were specially synthesised in some unusual ways; they were dark, but immense and able to trigger enormous resonance.

The mixing and programming were impeccable as well – the ups and downs of energy levels were utterly effortless; every point in the set, whether high or low, sounded appropriate, as if it was designed well in advance. With so much wisdom involved, it was a classic set by Sasha, perhaps the best DJ in the history of dance music.

The only thing that I found ‘ordinary’ is that he ended his set with Paul Kalkbrenner’s ‘Gebrunn Gebrunn (Berlin Calling Special Edit)’ again, as he has done that in Matter and Fabric already. Well it’s actually one of my favourite tracks of all time as well (it is the final track of my April mix), and it is so good that even the Miu Miu shop in central London plays it; but I’m sure there were some other great tunes that Sasha could have chosen to close his set.

But anyway, I’ve to say that last sat was a highlight of my clubbing history, and it will certainly help shape my sounds in future.

Clubnights in late September/ October

There will be some excellent, perhaps future classic clubnights in London in the following weeks :

26/9: Ministry of Sound 18th Birthday Celebration – Sasha + Nick Warren

3/10: Shake it warehouse party – Laurent Garnier + Layo Bushwacka! (Garnier’s last UK gig of 2009)

17/10: Bedrock 11 @ Matter – John Digweed + Danny Howells + Guy J

24/10: Cocoon Part 3 @ Matter – Dubfire + Timo Maas

+ Nick Warren has announced that in the final two hours of the MoS party he and Sasha will be playing back-to-back with ‘a heavy dose of classics’. Really looking forward to it!