My Interview with Detroit Techno Pioneers Octave One

Hours before their performance at Boiler Room x Ballantine’s True Music finale in the Port of Valencia, I got the chance to sit down with Lawrence and Lenny, two of the five brothers from the legendary Octave One. We chatted a little about the early days of Techno in Detroit, the scene today and their unique creative process that has made generations of clubbers dance since 1989.

Before you start reading their answers to my questions, allow me to say it was hands-down one of my favorite interviews in 9 years of getting to meet my musical heroes and asking them questions. Lenny and Lawrence were hilarious, candid, insightful but most of all extremely humble and still as passionate about making music as they were nearly three decades ago when it all started.

You’re actual brothers, and apart from your live performance, it’s all five of you that work together. What’s that like?

Lenny: You know, we disagree all the time. You try not to be too attached to anything, and you try to be open. That really helps the process. Just because you think you’re a genius, doesn’t mean that the other four brothers are gonna think you’re a genius man. So, it definitely keeps you grounded, and also it’s good to have another set of ears, especially when you’re making music, because you might be working on something man, for like weeks and weeks and weeks, and you let somebody hear it and they go “man, that’s out of key”, and this and that. You might be mad, but you also look at it from another perspective. You’re like, I guess you’re right! You learn that over the years. You have to trust the other person, and that’s what it’s really all about.

What’s one party or event that you look back fondly on today?

Lawrence: Marty Barnes and Jay Denham were our next door neighbors, and one day we just went over and other friends came through like Derrick May. Carl Craig’s sister lived upstairs in the same apartment building too. We ended up jammin and recording something really special.

Lenny: It’s somewhere, I don’t know where it is. I think we gave it to Derrick and it never resurfaced from there. Derrick might have it somewhere man! That was the funnest days, we were just making music and we didn’t think about it coming out, we were just making music.

So, the big question always is: digital or analog? What’s your take?

Lenny: Seriously, it’s everything. We’ve been using digital instruments and analog instruments from the beginning of our careers. A lot of people associate hardware with being analog, which is not. Analog is a way of sound being made, but it’s not always necessarily hardware. Like, the 909 is digital and analog at the same time. So, it’s just people not understanding the differences.

Really, music is everything, especially electronic music. I mean, it’s electronic music man, so you use electronics, analog electronics, digital electronics, so for us, whatever fits the bill at that time will be used.

Your musical structure and composition doesn’t always stay in the rigid four-on-the-floor format we’re used to hearing, especially from Detroit-style Techno. How would you say you arrange your productions?

Lenny: For us, it’s just how we think of music. We really get bored easily, so it’s hard for us to just do a track with these slow builds. We appreciate those tracks, big time, and the actual musicians who do that. We don’t have that gift. Ours is, we kinda think, even when we’re doing a track, we kinda think kinda like a song.

But you know, it’s a gift and a curse, it helps us when we’re structuring things. Like, let’s say a lot of people can gravitate to, but when we’re trying to do a straight dance 4-cut, sometimes we need to let stuff ride, but just can’t.

We can appreciate other people’s records, but it’s hard for us to do that when we’re making it.

I’m sure you saw the recent video of an EDM artist at a big festival’s cazy live performance. How do you feel about EDM being much bigger than Techno and your type of music in the US, where you’re from, but Techno being bigger in other places around the world like Europe?

Yeah, we saw that. It’s very commercial. We’d never play like that. Never, nah nah *chuckles*

In the US, the scene is so structured. Even when they brought EDM in, it basically fell into the structure that was already there. They really had to do songs, songs with vocalists, and even without vocalists, it’s structured in such a manner that’s so rigid that it fits the US market. We were doing rebel music, we were always doing something that was different. We were doing something that was contrary to radio. That was actually part of why we were making this music. We weren’t making radio music. It was designed to be anti-radio, EDM was not designed that way. It was designed to be radio-friendly, and for the masses. So, you understand why it did so well in the US, because record labels could understand it, and say “oh, we could put money behind that, this structure we already understand”

Have you heard anything about Beirut? Would you wanna go there soon?

Playing in Beirut would be cool man!

Octave One LIVE at the Boiler Room x Ballantine’s True Music Valencia Finale

Boiler Room x Ballantine’s True Music in Moscow

Taken by me at the Moscow Boiler Room x Ballantine’s True Music Hybrid Sounds on Feb 15, 2018

I was extremely excited that my first ever trip to Russia would be for the Moscow leg of the Boiler Room x Ballantine’s True Music Hybrid Sounds tour, which includes cities from across the globe like Valencia, Sao Paolo, Moscow and our very own BEIRUT!

It was me, Nesta, 3LIAS and a few awesome peeps from the Ballantine’s team in both Lebanon and Europe. I’ll write a piece later about my tips and recommendations for what to do in 3 days in Moscow, but for this article, I will focus on the Boiler Room x Ballantine’s night, which was my seventh Boiler Room so far and definitely one of my most memorable.

What is Boiler Room x Ballantine’s True Music Hybrid Sounds Tour?

Boiler Room and Ballantine’s announced this year’s True Music: Hybrid Sounds, a three-continent tour which will pair some of the electronic music scene’s most original live acts with their more traditional, instrumental counterparts in four of the most musically and culturally diverse cities in the world:

Moscow, Russia
Sao Paolo, Brazil
Valencia, Spain
BEIRUT, Lebanon

Each event will explore exciting possibilities at the intersection of electronic and acoustic music, uncovering what happens when two distinct music types collide and merge.

This is the third year of Boiler Room x Ballantine’s True Music, and this year they’ve gone a step further by encouraging artists to not just create something new, but pushing them out of their comfort zones and pairing them with artists they’v never worked with before, and probably would have never even met under normal circumstances. After all, acoustic artists and electronic artists usually operate in completely different circles.

True Music: Hybrid Sounds will see four lead producers collaborate with local musicians in each of the cities on the international tour (including BEIRUT!), to create new tracks that disobey the traditional idea of musical genres. The blend of synthetic and organic sounds will feature on the True Music EP that will be released on digital and vinyl later in 2018.

The Moscow Leg

The line-up for the night was especially beautiful for me. The headliner of the evening was none other than Techno pioneer Derrick May, hailing from the city that birthed Techno: Detroit, Michigan in the late 80s. I have mad respect for this man, and got to sit with him on more than one occasion and hear first-hand how things were back in the formative days of the the Techno music we now love and adore.

The next act I was truly excited about was Overmono, which is a project by Truss and Tessela, two brothers that decided to create Overmono together after their hugely successful careers as solo Techno producers.

Derrick May and Or:la played two amazing sets, and Overmono, PTU and Pavel Dodonov performed live for the eager crowd in Moscow, which was definitely the biggest Boiler Room session I’ve been to in terms of crowd size.

Below, I’ve embedded the five sets and performances from the night. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did live!

Derrick May

Overmono

PTU

Pavel Dodonov

Or:la

A Post-Show Chat with Overmono

Right after their show, I got to sit down and chat with Tom and Ed from Overmono. We were sitting on a couch in the artists’ room, me wedged in the middle between the two brothers, with Derrick May pumping away his set outside, making his Detroit-style Techno the perfect background score for our interview!

Your back-to-back performances were legendary. When did you feel that you need to start Overmono together, instead of just keep doing your b2b shows?

Tom (Truss): Obviously we’re brothers, and I think it was always inevitable that we’d start working together on a project. I think over time, we’ve done a lot of stuff individually, and it just felt natural, that it was the right time to come together and start working on one project together, and making it our main focus really.

Ed (Tessela): I think for the project, we wanted to do it so we can write music together. That was the main reason for doing it, and we’ve been playing back to back obviously, but we weren’t really interested in just writing Techno together. We’ve both got our own things and we’ve both been enjoying that. We really liked the idea of starting something new together that allowed us to just really branch out from what we’ve been doing before. We’re both into so much more than just what people think we are into. So, having a project like this where we can do whatever we like, play whatever time signature we like, you know, it’s not like we’re just playing for the dance floor anymore. It’s really nice to have it, and it’s starting to become more and more of what we do. It’s kind of our whole thing now.

Tom (Truss): Yeah, yeah it is. Total focus is this.

You already touched upon my next question a bit, but I’d like to know more. Is Overmono a way to experiment with something different that the hard-hitting, fast-paced Techno you’ve become known for? And I know it might be a sin to ask this, but some of your work as Overmono has a somewhat Trance-y feel to it. Is that ok to say, cause if I ever utter that I like Trance these days, my friends chastize me for it… But, I still like it, it’s where it all started for me personally, so I wanted to ask you about that.

Tom (Truss): *laughs* yeah, yeah, yeah! If you don’t like Trance, means you’re lying. I’d like to think that neither of us are particularly snobby when it comes to music. At least, we try not to be. It’s about taking all our influences, and when I was growing up in the 90s, I was listening to hardcore Techno, but I was listening to some Trance as well you know, I’m not gonna lie. Eurotrance and stuff like that, it all filters in to what we do.

You’ve never been to Beirut before, right?

Tom (Truss): No, I haven’t. I had a potential booking there 2 years ago and I was really excited about it, but for whatever reason it didn’t happen. I would love to get out there, for sure.

We should figure out a way to get you there then…

Tom and Ed: Yeah, definitely! Hook us up, let’s make it happen! I love Lebanese food too, so yeah!

Everywhere I’ve been to, I try to party, and one thing I realized is that even when the people don’t even speak the same language, there’s a lot of similarities between the scenes around the world. Do you feel that too? Did anywhere specifically stand out?

Tom (Truss): The thing for me at least, and I think I speak for the both of us, what we love about this music and this scene is that you share a commonality between people. You can have widely different cultures, different languages and everything, but there’s this common theme which we all share and are passionate about, and that’s been the same wherever I’ve been.

Ed (Tessela): And I think that places that were more remote parts of the world, from a Westrern point of view, that are now opened up since the Internet, and you go and play in these places, and you take the bookings and you’re just grateful to go and play somewhere new. Like, for example, I played in India recently, and I was really grateful, I’d never been before and was worried, wondering if anyone was gonna turn up, like I can’t imagine I have much of a following in India, but then you get there and you play all this music that everyone is completely clued up on and realize that you’ve been completely naive in your viewpoint. You play these tracks and everyone’s going off. It’s amazing how the world has opened up, and it’s amazing that all these people that I can’t say a word to, or communicate with in that way, but when I play a tune, everyone goes nuts. It’s amazing. Someone sent me a video of Ben Klock playing one of my tunes at a festival in Mumbai, and everyone is going nuts, it’s such a nice feeling.

Do you think focusing on the analog is key, as we’ve been seeing a resurgence of that recently?

In unison, almost immediately: No, no. Definitely not.

Tom (Truss): I think there’s no point in focusing on one or the other. We like the best of both worlds.

Ed (Tessela): Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, but I’d be very pushed to tell an analog synth from a soft synth, unless it was something like a 303 where it clearly sounds a bit better. If you’re writing a track, I don’t necessarily think that the track is going to be any better if you use analog or digital. You definitely get more feedback when you play analog live though.

Tom (Truss): There’s been like an analog resurgence in the past few years, and I think it’s great. We’re both great fans of analog synths and modular synths, Ed’s more into modular than I am, but I think perhaps sometimes there’s a bit too much emphasis whether it’s analog or digital, and in the end it doesn’t really matter. It’s about being creative and showing what you’ve got.

Ed (Tessela): Yeah, and that is the benefit that a lot of hardware has, where it forces you into a certain way of working, that needs a lot more creativity I think than just opening up Ableton and doing whatever you like.

Tom (Truss): I love the fact that software’s got to a point now where some kid in I don’t know which country which isn’t particularly wealthy, can have a cheap laptop, some cracked software, can start making music and be creative. It’s the democracy of making music, a really beautiful thing.

I’d like to thank Ballantine’s and Boiler Room for this amazing trip, and can’t wait to tell you more about the Beirut leg of this tour SOON!

Boris Brejcha Kicks Off Showcase World Tour in Beirut on March 23

It’s no secret I’ve been very happy with TeknoAnd the past year or so. The Techno-focused party crew keeps booking artists that might’ve been seen as too risky by more traditional promoters, but I need 2 hands to count the artists they flew in that I was ecstatic to finally see in Beirut.

From Amelie Lens, to Berghain’s very own Boris, Len Faki, Oscar Mullero and what I personally feel was the best TeknoAnd night last year at B018: Boris Brejcha.

I discovered Boris Brejcha at DGTL in Amsterdam a few years ago, when a dear friend of mine took me by the hand to the stage where he was scheduled to play. His set ended up being the highlight of the festival for me that year, and seeing him finally come to Beirut was awesome.

He played a set longer than his scheduled one, and his vibe and interaction with the crowd was something special. He even came own and danced with everyone on the floor at one point, before going up and resuming his set till way past sunrise.

Boris Brejcha is coming back this year, with a bigger and better show. Beirut was selected as the first city in a 7-city world tour for his new showcase, featuring two artists signed to his label: Ann Clue and Deniz Bul. Brejcha is also flying in his own VJ and photography crew, with specially created visuals that pair perfectly with his music, with multi-layered, specially-built screens behind, in front and on each side of the DJ booth.

To get you ready, I’ve embedded some sets I selected for Boris Brejcha, Ann Clue and Deniz Bul. Closer to the date, I’ll also be giving away guest list passes on my Instagram account.

Boris Brejcha

I love this Cercle edition featuring Brejcha at the Château de Fontainebleau in France. Wish I was there, and enjoy if you still haven’t seen this beautiful video.

Ann Clue

This is a nice B2B set with Ann Clue and Boris Brejcha, between vintage combat aircrafts and helicopters.

Deniz Bul

I chose this set, cause it’s downloadable and has the tracklist below, a thing I love about Brejcha and his label (even though much of what they play is often unreleased yet, making their sets always special).

Don’t forget to RSVP for the special AV showcase at an extended B018 on March 23!

https://www.facebook.com/events/155477431826033/

BORIS and AMOTIK with TeknoAnd at CLOSR [WIN GUESTLIST PASSES]

It’s like with every event, TeknoAnd keep answering my prayers to the Techno gods and bringing us acts I would have never thought I’d see in Beirut.

On Thursday February 8, 2018 TeknoAnd will be transforming CLOSR into a veritable temple for Techno with none other than Boris, an artist very dear to my heart, and Amotik, supported by Raphael Merheb and Archetype b2b with Elie Kozah.

Why I Love Boris

We all have those nights that stay with you even years later. The ones you can get flashbacks of on command, and smile at the good time you had. For me, one of those nights was my first ever weekend spent at Berghain in Berlin. It was years ago, during my first trip to Berlin. And, you guessed it, Boris (a long-running Berghain resident) started his gargantuan 4-hour set only minutes after I had checked my coat and warmed myself up for an unforgettable weekend in a club I had been daydreaming of being at for the longest time.

I’d say the set was life-changing, but I don’t wanna sound cheesy. The venue, the sound system, the people, the surreal vibe all fell into place when he began. It was rough, uncompromising and gorgeous. If I focus hard enough, I can still feel the kicks from that set. That was when I fell in love with Berghain and the culture it represented. While living in Berlin, I’d check the Berghain lineups every month and check when Boris was playing to try and catch a glimpse of that very first night that solidified my everlasting love for Techno, Berlin Techno especially.

Anyway, I’m gonna stop here cause I could keep going for hours. In short, I’m super fucking excited that Boris is coming to my beloved Beirut. Here’s a set to help you get a feel of what’s in store!

AMOTIK’s Uncompromising Techno

It’s crazy that Amotik released his debut EP only 3 years ago, because his Berlin-drenched raw, hypnotic and relentless brand of Techno scratched a very particular itch hardcore Techno heads had. As if it wasn’t enough having Boris come all the way from Berlin, TeknoAnd have summoned another Berlin Techno heayweight, and TeknoAnd resident Amotik.

I will let his set below illustrate what I mean by uncompromising, raw and hypnotic.

We’re Hooking 4 of You Up with Guest-list Passes

For the occasion of Boris and Amotik coming to Beirut, and the first TeknoAnd night at CLOSR, we couldn’t help but sweeten the deal even more by letting 4 of you skip the line and enjoy your night on us.

All you need to do is:

1- RSVP to the event on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/events/1810554152312388/

2- Sign up to get into the draw here.

BONUS- You don’t have to, but if we see you post something or share the event link on your Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #ComeCLOSRtoTeknoAnd, I’ll personally make sure we enter your name into the draw twice.

I’ll announce the winners on my Instagram account on Wednesday afternoon, so make sure you stay tuned, and see you all there!

Please note, this is a 20+ event, so if you’re younger, you will not be allowed to enter at the door. Thanks for understanding!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1810554152312388/

It’s Back: What to do this Weekend

This was quite the week honestly, and I don’t know about you, but I had an extremely hectic one, full of lots of frustration, but also some much needed good news.

That’s why, I can’t wait for the weekend, for some Techno and some dancing to relieve the stress and celebrate something that’s still good in Beirut: the clubbing.

Friday

BBX Semi-Final: Tryangle Man / Pomme Rouge

I absolutely love the BBX initiative by C U NXT SAT and The Goethe Institut, where local live, electronic music artists compete for a chance to spend a month in Berlin, working with the legendary Tobi Neumann on releasing an EP at the prestigious Riverside Studios!

This Friday is the semi-final, and even though I’m extremely excited to see the up and coming talents, the real reason I’m ecstatic is because my dear friends and musical prodigies Three Machines will be performing LIVE! To sweeten the deal, Jad Taleb, last year’s BBX winner, will also be spinning a set!

RSVP Here

Ten Hymns for Corrosion

Frequent Defect are back, and this time at Yukunkun in Gemmayzeh. Frequent Defect are a party crew I’ve been really enjoying the past few months, with their bare-bones, puritanical approach to Techno and its many derivatives: dark, simple, affordable, inclusive and all about the music and the dancing, not the selfies and bouncers.

RSVP Here

Saturday

DJ Koze, Konstantin Sibold at The Grand Factory

DJ Koze is finally coming to Beirut! And he’s coming to The Grand Factory, supported by Tala, Rita and Nesta! In Reunion, Konstantin Sibold will be on the decks, supported by our very own rockstar Jade and Guillaume Sudre.

Here’s a remix by DJ Koze of a classic by Moderat!

https://soundcloud.com/aidandeno/moderat-bad-kingdom-dj-koze-remix

RSVP Here

Uberhaus x B018 Present Subb-An, Adam Shelton & Maher Daniel

Uberhaus is back this weekend, with Subb-An, Adam Shelton and Maher Daniel at b018!

RSVP Here

CLOSR to: Audiojack, Gorge, Ronin, Ledwarf & Patch

Audiojack is headlining this Saturday’s CLOSR lineup, which includes Gorge, Ronin, Ledwarf and Patch! If you haven’t danced under the void yet, then why not this weekend for the Gruuv Showcase?

RSVP Here

Techno Playlist 999999999

So for the past few weeks I’ve been obsessed tracks and a live set from the “Techno duo from outer space” as all their bios read, known as 999999999 (nine times nine).

I absolutely adore their take on acid. You can always feel the Cyclone 303 and all it’s analog sexiness at the backbone of all their tracks and performances, and I love it. X0001000X has been on repeat for the past few weeks in my car, been helping with the traffic.

Below, I’ve bedded my favorite (most) of what they’ve released so far. I love new, somewhat shrouded in mystery Techno acts, especially those that play live.

Techno Playlist 004

I haven’t done these in a while, but November was a good month for discovering good Techno, whether at insane parties, or chilling with friends. Here are some tracks I am listening to now and would love to share with you:

Voices Of The Ancient (Original Mix) — Charlotte de Witte

I’ve been falling in love with Charlotte de Witte more and more every week. I even grabbed her latest EP from the Halcyon record shop before coming back to Beirut. This is a beast of a track, and if you like it, I recommend you listen to the insane Keith Carnal Remix too.

In Silence — Amelie Lens

I love Amelie Lens. She’s another artist I’m really falling in love with the past few weeks. She released this on Drumcode 3 months ago, and it hasn’t gotten old in my playlist yet.

Blackhole — Victor Ruiz

Ruiz dropped a new track, and you thought I wasn’t gonna include it? Shame on you.

https://soundcloud.com/mixmag-adria/premiere-victor-ruiz-black-hole

Theater II — Recondite

People close to me will know how much I adore Recondite, and that he is my gun-to-your-head, absolute favorite producer. This is a gem he dropped on Dystopian, that I’ve found myself listening to during Subway rides and anywhere that listening to Techno will make funner (so everywhere basically).

The Invisible Man — Dax J

Dax J’s Beirut appearance a few weeks ago rekindled my interest in his relentless, tunneling Techno.

Acid Response — Reflec

KA — PARALYSIS AND AMIN FALLAHA

I don’t get why this doesn’t have more plays… And it’s free to download too. Thanks for sharing Ruede Hagelstein!

4 Halloween Parties You Don’t Want to Miss This Week

I don’t know about you, but I love Halloween. Everyone dresses up, they can be as scary, slutty and funny without anyone making a huge fuss, you know, cause it’s Halloween. Of course, you’ll always have the MTVs and Tony Khalifehs of the world thinking Halloween parties are “satanic rituals”, but what else can you expect from people like that? For me, it’s even funner that there’s a chance a hapless MTV crew might come and do a documentary about a costume party, or that annoying friend on your list that complains that “St Barbara is on December 4th, stop indulging in Western satanic stuff”.

Anyway, now that my rant against conservatives is over, let’s get down to business:

Thursday

Love Halloween: The Sultan’s Harem

I don’t know about you guys, but I miss Thursday nights at AHM. I almost ordered an Uber to go down there the other week, forgetting they were taking a 2-week break before this Halloween banger.

All the usual fun of Love Night, only with even more props and extravagant outfits. Yes please!

RSVP Here

Friday

Halloween with DAX J

TeknoAnd are back at B018 to continue their epic series of bookings this year, this time with none other than DAX J! I had the pleasure of seeing this man destroy Gashouder in Amsterdam during Awakenings, and given his marathon 10-hour set at Berghain, this man is a living Techno legend. Friday night, wear your costumes and head down to B018 for a Halloween party with DAX J ❤

RSVP Here

The Penthouse Raid

Skin City are opening up their 3 rooms this Friday, with 6 artists making sure your costume will be able to do that dance routine you’ve been practicing in it the past week or two.

RSVP Here

Cocoon Beirut Halloween: Sven Väth & Maurizio Schmitz

Papa Sven and Maurizio Schmidt are in town this weekend, in what’s arguably one of the biggest bookings at a Lebanese club this year. Who better than the vinyl-armed Techno deity to celebrate this Halloween with? Fuck, yes!

RSVP Here

There’s a couple of cool private events to, but respecting the hosts’ wishes, I won’t say where and when exactly, but ask your cool friends about them, and get yourself on those guest lists!

3 Boiler Room Live Sets You Haven’t Seen, But Should

Being the godless asshole that I am, the closest think I have to faith is in Techno. It’s not just a genre folder on my playlist, it’s all my playlists. I love the music across the Techno spectrum, but I love the culture that surrounds it even more. The unspoken, unwritten things you just know, like always wearing black, enjoying yourself the most when a 4-kick is blasting in your ears and of course, appreciating the genius of live Techno created on analog machines.

The below sets are an acquired taste, I admit. I doubt a person teleported here from 1960 would last more than a few minutes watching SNTS or Headless Horseman do their thing.

I love it though. The SNTS set is playing in the background as I write this. It’s what I’d want to listen to if I was a Sith Lord on my Devastator star destroyer. It’s what I imagine a cult of sentient robots would party to. It’s dark as fuck, and scary, and at times intimidating, but it’s also beautiful.

So, I hope you enjoy these Boiler Room sets by Headless Horseman, SNTS and Lady Starlight.

Headless Horseman

I remember Kelly saying Nur Jaber was playing at Tresor on a Friday, and taking the bus on Kopenickerstrasse all the way from Planterwald where I was living, to the massive 25-year-old legendary club. Nur played an awesome set, but after she was done, I had just barely started, and I remember loving the artist that came after her.

Tresor is dark and foggy, so it wasn’t till half an hour later that I could actually see the DJ booth, and what I saw was a black silhouette, head covered with a black hood and face covered with what appeared to be a black cloth. I called him “Kylo Ren” that night, a Techno Kylo Ren. It was one of the best nights I’ve had at Tresor, ever. Next day, I checked their website to see the lineup that weekend, and that’s when I realized I had just witnessed Headless Horseman live for the first time…

Imagine seeing the below, in a dark basement of a Berlin club, for the first time ever. Yes.

SNTS

I’ve never had the pleasure of witnessing SNTS live yet, but soon. Enjoy!

Lady Starlight

I remember Jan texting me he got us on the list for a Boiler Room session at Arena Club, just 5 minutes biking from my Berlin apartment. I gladly said, fuck yes, and met him in line in front of Arena. The last BR I had attended wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, with disco, housy vibes that just didn’t do much for me on a Tuesday after the pulling off a Kater-Sisy-Berghain hat trick the weekend before.

Boy, did that Arena Club Boiler Room make up for the one before at Badeschiff. The best act for me that afternoon was Lady Starlight, one of Lady Gaga’s best friends and a strong influence on her persona and music. Now, I know what you’re thinking, Gaga’s BFF and hard-hitting, Detroit Techno, live? Really? Well, that’s what I was thinking too, and wondering why the hell was she on the lineup… Then she started, and I shut up, and danced my long black socks off. It was unfortunate to see Konstantin be a racist douchebag towards her earlier this summer, and I’m glad he was punished by booting him off the Berghain lineup for his misogynistic comments. This set might be less dark and scary and the two above, but I feel it captures the early days of Detroit and Berlin Techno beautifully. I hope you enjoy this pleasant surprise as much as I did! Also, I was at that Boiler Room session, and

8 Must-Have Tracks in Your Techno Playlist

Twiddles — Atish

This track has just enough swirling synths to mesmerize a non-Techno head, but then the chunky beats kick in, the kind that would make it a floor-shattering track to drop in the early morning hours at a dark club. I love Atish, and this is one of my favorite Atish tracks.

I Know Where I’ve Been — Nicole Moudaber

This 11+ minute behemoth is Nicole showing off how much of a Techno queen she is. The Lebanese-born artist has been a fixture in the Techno scene and elsewhere for years now, and she will always be one of my favorite artists. The repeating percussion loop, with the excited clap, will make you dance to this Techno machine of a track, before Nicole’s crazy signature kicks in after more than 6 minutes, with the track transforming into a funkier, crazier mix of perfect sounds.

Primary K272 — Dubspeeka

Dubspeeka is fucking twisted and dark, and the atmospheric melancholy in his Techn0 juggernauts will leave most of y’all on the spectrum a bit gossebump-y by the end of it. It might be a bit on the heavy side, but get used to it 😛

Slam — Rotary

I couldn’t find the full track on Soundcloud, so this is part of Rotary with another track, Catacoustics. The analog, stripped-down feel of this track is what I love most. A true nod to what Techno truly was and is.

Temporary — Illario Alicante

Intimacy (Stephan Hinz Remix) — Martin Eyerer Ft. Princess Superstar

Chances are, you probably heard this dropped in a set or two the past year. The dark, relentless track gives you a break with dreamy synths that’ll make you think of that lover that got away, even if they’re right there with you.

Arise — Victor Ruiz and D-Nox

Did you really think I wasn’t gonna include a couple of Victor Ruiz gems before he hits Beirut’s AHM soon? Come on… The blend of soft, light harpy sounds is absolutely perfect with the heavy, dropping, phat basslines. Beautiful track when the party is getting on.

Apollo — Victor Ruiz and Thomas Schumacher

I think this is the perfect track to wrap up this list. I feel that when Ruiz teams up with other brilliant producers like Thomas Schumacher, you almost always get something that will destroy a club room. It’s like a solid Techno machine, magically infused with a little human emotion to create this beauty of a cyborg track.