- Ostgut Ton has been active for twice as long as the club it was named after. Now synonymous with Berghain, the label's fifth anniversary collection, Fünf, was quite literally a product of that club, as it featured music made partially from field recordings captured inside the venue. In contrast, tenth anniversary collection Zehn brings together new tracks and remixes from residents and regular guests, evoking the club in other ways. Impressive as the 30-song tracklist is, you'll need plenty of stamina to get through it. There's no shortage of industrial grinding, and contributions like Atom TM's "Stromlinien" sound like echoes of punishing techno knocking around the pipe systems sampled on Fünf.
Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann anchor both ends of the quality spectrum here. With its spooky, theremin-like sounds gliding over the beat, Klock's "Sirens" entrances like the titular mythical creatures, which can make Dettmann's "Encode II" feel like a muddy trudge in comparison. Ryan Elliott's "Smith Lake," DIN's "Mono" and Martyn's "Jah Bedouin" better capture the energy of Berghain's marathon weekends without the fatigue.
Some of the more interesting stuff on Zehn steers away from the techno that tends to dominate Berghain's dance floor. Steffi's "Iöweborschtel" continues with the Drexciya-style electro of her last Ostgut Ton single, JBW25. Virginia's "Never Underestimate" is sensuous house, and there's the genuinely weird "The Launderette" from S/D. Best of all is Barker & Baumecker's winding, breakbeat-laced epic, "Love Is A Battlefield."
Those tracks are the exceptions on a compilation solidly rooted in techno. To its credit, Zehn's techno ranges from the deep Detroit hues of Doms & Deykers "Whirling" to the sheer intensity of Planetary Assault Systems' "Hama Static." But if there's plenty here to shake Berghain's speakers, there's less that will shake your preconceptions.
TracklistZehn | Eins
A1 S/D - The Launderette
A2 Norman Nodge - Beastmode
B1 Boris - Lock
Zehn | Zwei
A1 Marcel Dettmann - Encode II
B1 Efdemin - unten links
B2 Kobosil - Saldae
Zehn | Drei
A1 L.B. Dub Corp - Roller feat. Function (Len Faki Interpretation)
B1 Function - DX3_Analog_Bass_Seq
B2 Substance - Keine Angst
Zehn | Vier
A1 Dinky - Planes (Matthew Styles Dub Mix)
B1 Nick Höppner - Double-Cross
B2 Virginia - Never Underestimate
Zehn | Fünf
A1 DVS1 - [Ecks]
A2 Answer Code Request - Zeitspielraum
B1 Doms & Deykers - Whirling
Zehn | Sechs
A1 Barker & Baumecker - Love Is A Battlefield
B1 AtomTM - Stromlinien
B2 Anthony Parasole - Heartbeat
Zehn | Sieben
A1 Martyn - Jah Bedouin
B1 AtomTM & Tobias. - Physik E7532
B2 Planetary Assault Systems - Hama Static
Zehn | Acht
A1 DIN - Mono
A2 Fiedel - Probe-806
B1 Tobias. - Like A Drug
Zehn | Neun
A1 Ben Klock - Sirens
B1 Ryan Elliott - Smith Lake
B2 Len Faki - Rainbow Delta (Ambient Mix)
Zehn | Zehn
A1 Marcel Fengler feat. Elif Biçer - Fallin’
B1 Etapp Kyle - Nolah
B2 Steffi - löweborschtel