Germany’s Ellen Allien spins at 200 beats per minute
By Anna Breshears
Published: May 27th, 2008 | 2:13pm
Ellen Allien is a Berlin-based DJ and composer who runs her own record label, BPitch Control, designs clothing, tours the world, and just released SOOL, her fourth album of original, abstract, electronic dance music. One can’t help but wonder when she finds the time to take a shower. Like the never-ending beats that drive her minimalist dance tracks, Allien doesn’t seem to ever slow down.
Allien was drawn to electronic music, as opposed to other genres, because of its “openness.” With electronic music, she says, working with machines broadens the spectrum of sound possibilities for non-instrumentalists. She also sees electronic music as a cultural unifier and social equalizer.
“In Germany, [the music] fell into a gap — a void between former East and former West,” she says. “It enabled us to share something, to develop something new with our own hands. That situation was very special in the early ‘90s.” Furthermore, according to Allien, DJs don’t face the gender-stereotyping that many women in rock face. “It never depends on the gender,” she says. “It is more about the skills a DJ possesses.”
SOOL is the most fully realized of Allien’s original material; while atmospheric and subtle overall, she weaves goth, pop, and punk into an ethereal, dark, and funky web of mechanical whirs and efficient beats. Allien says that at this point in her career, she feels confident about her abilities as a producer and artist. With SOOL, it was the first time that she really followed a conceptual approach. “I wanted to create a minimal, elegant, abstract, but nevertheless dedicated and elegant sound that is not cheesy,” Allien says. “I felt free to express very personal things, as on ‘Frieda,’ a song dedicated to my dead grandmother who has been one of the most important persons in my life. And I had my last summer in mind, which is good when you produce in winter.”
“Frieda” is one of SOOL’s most melodic and beautiful offerings: its pop-song structure and dreamy whispers form a song that’s both reflective and accessible. From the clubby click-clacks of the lighthearted “Elphine” to the discordant, rocknroll touches on “Zauber” to the ominous, sexy build of “Caress,” the record demonstrates Allien’s skill at combining varying sonic experiences with remarkable fluidity.
Though more well-known in Europe than stateside, Allien believes electronic culture is slowly changing in the United States. “In Europe it is so big. The network is so well developed,” she says. “In the U.S., it is more just one music culture among others. I did a North America tour recently, and I am glad to have done it, because the acceptance is growing and growing.”
SOOL just might be her ticket into the indie mainstream.
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Ellen Allien Web site
Ellen Allien MySpace
Ellen Allien video
BPitch Control Web site
Issue #36
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