Ben Klock & Marcel Dettmann

Ben Klock

Berlin born DJ, producer and label owner Ben Klock is without a doubt one of the most influential players inrecent Techno history. As a resident at Berghain he has been able to leave his mark on the club’s soundsince its opening in 2004. But the relationship is mutual, as this space definitely had an influence on howBen approaches Djing and producing as well. With his hypnotic, heavily grooving dj sets and his tracksreleased on labels such as Ostgut Ton, Bpitch Control and his own imprint Klockworks, established in2006, Klock managed to gain an excellent, international reputation. His musical background goes back tohis youth. He trained to play the piano at an early stage resulting in his first job aspiration ever: Jazzpianist. Around this time, he encountered the concept of minimalism for the first time by listening to SteveReich’s „Music For 18 Musicians“, which still holds a strong fascination for Ben up to this day.In an atmosphere of departure, Berlin’s club scene blossomed in the early 90s capturing young Klock’sattention with full force: „For me the 80s epitomised Pop and a very superficial music in general. I reallyloved how things went more serious, how all stops were pulled, when the music got more intense andphysical.“ In 1994, Ben started to play first gigs in Berlin clubs like Cookies, WMF, Delicious Doughnuts andTresor, where he held residencies. At first, he mainly spun house, but after a while his sets became moreraw and powerful. When Electroclash took over in the late 90s, his interest in nightlife ebbed away for a fewyears, so he focused on his day job as a graphic designer. The opening of Berghain in 2004 rekindled hispassion with a vengeance, though: „The architecture, the sound: That was how this music was meant to bepresented. Everything finally fell into place. When I go record shopping, I think in 2 categories: ‚PanoramaBar’ and ‚Berghain’. They are my centre and pulse generator.“Over the last few year’s Ben Klock’s tracks, be it solo or with his sparring partner Marcel Dettmann, foundtheir way into a lot of DJ’s boxes. His debut album „One“ released in february 2009 on Ostgut Ton, marksthe preliminary highlight of his creative output. Similar to his DJ sets, his music is steeped as much in theexperience of Techno in the 90s, as it is breathing fresh air into a more than 20 years old genre. Hence,fusing the old with the new comes natural to him. He also learned how to adapt to different expectationsbrought to him in clubs outside of Berlin. „My development as a DJ in the last two years has beendominated by playing two hour sets, which pretty much are the standard in clubs all over the world. I’velearned how to play shorter, compact sets keeping the energy up throughout. Being able to play very longset still is very important to me, though, as you can tell a longer story. But I really enjoy taking this kind offeeling abroad, where people sometimes literally hunger for it.“



Marcel Dettmann

Marcel Dettmann is one of the supporting pillars of the Berghain sound: Powerful, sexy and knowing inthe right sense. One could also say he knows his edutainment. Since 1999 Marcel is and has been asteady fixture at both the old OstGut and the new Berghain. The classic sounds of Chicago and Detroithave had a huge influence on him, but Marcel also says that „the music and the sets have to work, shouldhave a soul and be ignorant of boundaries. I re-invent my dj philosophy for every new set, location andnight. Generally, it is very important to me to play as varied as possible sets fusing classic tracks with thecontemporary ones.“Besides his dj activities, Marcel also works at Berlin’s highly influential record store Hard Wax. The store’sexcellent musical portfolio provides Dettmann with a constant inspiration for his upcoming projects.„Dawning/Dead Man Watches The Clock” on our label OstGut Ton is his first ever released record, acollaboration with another Berghain resident, Ben Klock. It has gotten an excellent feedback andmanaged to chart Groove Magazine’s Top50 at number 2.„Music always works in a certain context at a certain time, or it doesn’t. There still are a lot of interesting,very varied artists and labels releasing loads of good stuff, be it classic or experimental.“