RSSA Chat With : Marcel Dettmann
Marcel Dettmann and Berghain nightclub go together like Jodie Marsh and China Whites but any other comparisons between the two would be stretching things to an unbelievable level.
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Marcel Dettmann and Berghain nightclub go together like Jodie Marsh and China Whites but any other comparisons between the two would be stretching things to an unbelievable level. Marcel lives in the Berlin neigbourhood of Friedrichshain, about a ten minute cycle from the club many consider to be the best in the world. Those of you who’ve had to queue outside for an hour and a half only to be turned away while the some soap-dodger in a tracksuit gets in might have a different opinion. But with Tresor apparently off the boil, it seems that the only place for techno to move forward is Berghain. Marcel is an old school East German who was just hitting his teens when techno was in its infancy. Marcel recorded the second Bergain compilation this year. Resident Advisor described it as a “defining moment when techno got out of that locked groove.” We spoke to him.
What were the first parties you played at like?
Marcel Fengler, Norman Nodge and I used to organize parties in my hometown Fürstenwalde at Punk/Alternativ Club but I played a lot in East Germany in cities like Dresden and Frankfurt Oder.
Were you involved in organising the parties in Dresden and Frankfurt/Oder and were they legal or did you have to run risks to put on techno nights?
I didn´t organize parties in Dresden or Frankfurt but I used to play there at parties and for friends… they were mostly illegal parties.
Do you remember the first time you played at Ostgut (Berghain’s predecessor)?
Of course I do remember the first time it was in 1999 and I was 21 years old – it was totally new for me and one of my first gigs I had in Berlin. This kind of a club was a new experience for me. Ostgut influenced me and my development strongly.
How do you prepare yourself – physically and mentally – for an 8-hour set there. In most of the rest of the world it’s a long set if a DJ plays three hours. The idea of playing as long as you do in Berghain is so alien to us. Do you have a routine?
I love playing long sets cause I can show just how multi-faceted electronic music is. My Routine? first of all I start to listen to the music I like then I go and have dinner and then sex with my beautiful girlfriend and afterwards I relax and go to the club and play.
Are there disadvantages to being resident at a place as large as Berghain where you’ve so many different people in the place? People who are maybe into the clubbing and drugs scene more so than they’re into the music?
Far from it!- the mix of the audience is the main factor which makes up Berghain. It is inspiring but at same time it is also a challenge to get through to different kinds of people, to entertain them and also to inspire them
But isn’t it harder to be experimental when there are so many ears listening to you?
This is the biggest challenge for me and this is what attracts me most to playing there.
Do you have groupies at Berghain?
Yeah, I think so.
When your picking acts for Marcel Dettmann Records what do you look for?
MDR is built up mainly from my own productions but it’s also a platform for my friends and the musicians I like.
You’ve got so much praise for the ‘Berghain 2’ release. When you started putting it together did you have a phrase or keyword as a guideline?
On one hand my main intension was to choose timeless and modern tracks but I also wanted to install tracks which had accompanied me emotionally for years. And on the other hand I asked artists who I´m friends with for their unreleased tracks. These are the friends I work with everyday and who inspire me.
On your mix CD ‘Berghain 2’ you only include one of your own tracks, and that’s a remix. Why’s that?
I had so many good tracks and the mix became harmonious so that there was need for one more of mine.
How do you divide your time between creating new tracks and working on mixes?
I always take the time I need to make new music. It needs time. A track is ready when it’s ready.
Clime is such a spooky track. It’s not enough to say it’s dark, it’s kind of evil. I imagine you creating it in a basement surrounded by candles and upside-down crosses – how do you arrive at a sound like that?
I grew up with bands and musicians like The Cure, Joy division, Depeche Mode, Anne Clark, Kate Bush and later Electronic Body Music, Front 242, Nitzer EBB, Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft. Dark Melancholic music really catches me.
Where and when is the best time to listen to Marcel Dettmann? Always and everywhere.
Have you anything up your sleeve for the Dublin gig? I will do my best and hope that everbody is going to have fun
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Sexy time then an 8 hour set..some stamina..it will be an amazing 2-3 hour set in Pogo so!!!!
cant wait for this gig. ;)
hes only going to go in for the a mooch before pogo, short set loike.
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'first of all I start to listen to the music I like then I go and have dinner and then sex with my beautiful girlfriend and afterwards I relax and go to the club and play'
sounds like a good routine monsignor dettman. ha!