Techno Topic

Altinbas. His intro, chiming but tense, as Pareka’s white spotlights illuminated singular characters on the podiums. The beams start twirling, the bass comes in, smiles everywhere.

Driving from the very start, yet smooth and round. His approach reminds me of Rødhåd a lot, especially when it comes to building long melodic phrases. These tend to play a central role in his mixes, which feels very coherent to his productions. Another DJ that displays that almost fractal resemblance between producing and DJing, a distillate of identity.

A dense set, without the shadow of a doubt, relentless at times. Epic is probably one of the adjectives that would describe it best. Narrative and coherence throughout the entire thing, weaving a story at 140 bpm. Once again, similarly to his prime time set last June, people were so captivated that toilet queues shortened and chatting on the floor diminished. Instead, cheer and whistling from every side of the floor.

After mid set, things went dark. Some amazing, cavernous male vocals, fader cuts connecting so well with the floor that people started screaming. The melodic phrases were becoming longer and way more tense, ranging sometimes over the course of eight bars. Almost impossible to take breaks. Lighter passages were becoming scarce, but that’s certainly not a reason to complain.

Amazing use of dynamics, the times were the mix emptied where hitting as hard as the busy drops. So much immediacy, the bass rarely leaving the mix for longer than eight bars. This guy KNOWS where he’s playing. Impeccable track selection throughout the entire four hours, felt like an entire set composed of highlights. The future is bright for Altinbas, the smile bringer. Resident now.

Applause dying down. The crowd falling silent as once again the air is brightened by ambient chimes. For 30 seconds.

Aber dann war Licht aus dikka. Efdemin’s first bass made me giggle and remember instantly how much I love this kind legend of the old guard.

What followed is the best set I’ve heard this year, without the shadow of a doubt. The elegance that he manages to unleash is incredibly hard to match. Everything is smooth, from the high mids of his foggy kicks to the growling low end, to some of the most amazing hi hats and snares I’ve ever heard. Carpet of funk.

The mixing? Ridiculous. That’s 30+ years of DJing, understanding what it means to play a room. Absurd use of dynamic range and headroom. Always leaving that little extra gain potential, like an ace up his sleeve. The same disregard for structure that makes me fly with DVS1, the surprise of things surfacing into the mix when you do NOT expect it in the slightest. The Mulero-esque letting the mix quiet down in the course of one bar to almost silence to then make it explode into the room again.

The constant use of contrast between sections lightening up to then head dive into the abyss. There’s absolutely no way you can leave the floor. You may miss one of the most amazing musical moments in your life. So you stay, sweat and laugh.

He played slower than his predecessor, necessary in my opinion. Ranging from 138bpm to 136 in later sections, hitting my sweet spot perfectly. I absolutely love it when the crowd is danced into oblivion by a busy set and then something equally as good comes in directly after. This is Berghain in one of its truest, most authentic forms. Music as a gift, when expectations make way to wonder.

This. Was. Jazz. Danke.