Marcel Dettmann is a busy man. On top of maintaining a residency at Berlin’s infamous Berghain nightclub for over a decade, he holds down a regular job at seminal vinyl emporium Hardwax. Although he has been Djing for over fifteen years, his first release made an appearance in 2006, a move that saw his career take a different trajectory. Often found playing alongside compatriot and sometime collaborator Ben Klock, Dettmann has become the hot ticket in techno, and his services are enlisted across the globe. Intrinsically linked with the club that gave him his first real break, its impossible to conjure a true image of Berghain without touching on the man from East Germany, and his typically gritty, unyielding brand of techno. Now with a string of releases, and an upcoming album, you get the feeling this is a man just hitting his stride. Dettmann recently occupied the dark basement of the Twisted Pepper for a three-hour DJ set; and the second shower I needed after I got home captured the manic evening perfectly. Totally Dublin got a chance to sit down and talk shop with the man before his gig.
You’ve held a residency at Berghain for over a decade but your first release was in 2006, what inspired you to start producing, or was it something you had been doing privately long before 2006?
For me the most important thing is DJing. I am a DJ, not a producer. I began to produce music in 1997 with Ableton live, just for fun, doing disco loops and stuff like that. I did not have it in mind to release it – that came later. That came around because of my job at Hardwax. The people at Hardwax were telling me “you have nice tracks… release that, release that’, so I went to Michael at Ostgut (highly-respected local record label), and he said OK – so my first release was with Ben Klock on Ostgut Ton and then I started my own label.
You mentioned that you work in Hardwax. I think a lot of people might be surprised that you hold down a regular job in a record store?
Yeah, at the moment it can be difficult because I’m very busy. I am playing two or three nights a week and working three times at Hardwax. They are very understanding of my situation, I can come in at 12 o’clock or 4 o’clock if I want, but I have to go because there is a lot of work to be done. I work selling records, mainly European stuff. Personally I think its very important to have something like this because it gives some normality and keeps you grounded.
A lot of people would have first heard your name after the release of Berghain 02, your instalment of the Berghain compilation series. It was very well received, how did you go about selecting the tunes?
For me, a mix cd like this is like a business card. A business card for me, for the artists I like, and the music I like to mix. Its very difficult in an hour and 15 minutes to bring together everything you like. I like so many styles of electronic music, broken stuff, house, techno, and disco.
Because it was part of the Berghain series, were you aware of making it represent the club as well?
For sure, it tells a story. It tells a story about the club, about me, about the music I like. It was a strange process because I’m not the guy who thinks about what he’s gonna play before I DJ. I depend on the reaction of the crowd, and try to be creative in that moment. You don’t have that when you’re making a mix cd. You think about what kind of tracks you want and then try and bring it all together. Totally different to playing in a club.
A lot of Irish people are heading to the Bloc festival in England where you are playing live with Shed. How is the process of collaborating different to producing music on your own?
Obviously you need to find the right person creatively. I’ve worked with Shed in Hardwax for a long time. He is a good friend of mine. We didn’t start, with releasing anything in mind. It was something we were doing for fun, just to inspire ourselves for future production.
I’ve heard the Deuce EP. It is very raw and industrial.
Ya, I suppose I bring the more raw side, whereas Shed is more of the musician. He makes more of the cloudy, fluffy, funky, stuff.
10 years is a long time. Was there ever a time at Berghain, where you felt that maybe you wanted to stop and try something else?
No, every time it changes for me. It’s like a playground for me. You have the chance to create something, with the crowd, with the promoters, every party is different. 10 years is nothing, you know?
Tonight you’re playing in the basement of the Twisted Pepper, a room that holds about 230 people. This is much smaller than, say Berghain. Do you approach smaller crowds in a different way musically?
I like these kind of basement clubs because it’s what I grew up with. In the early 90s I played in clubs like this all the time. Just a hundred or two hundred people. This was my beginning. Berghain is bigger sure, and a festival with 10,000 people is bigger, but I love playing these smaller clubs as well.
More intimate?
Yes. There is a much greater connection with the crowd. This is the most important thing, ya? At a festival you are 10 meters higher, and a hundred meters away from some people in the crowd who can only see you on a screen. In a smaller club, people can give you high five or whatever. It’s a more intimate experience for the crowd and for me.
Do you have any upcoming projects that you’re excited about?
Ya, I have my album coming out in April. I’m working on some remixes and myself and Shed are trying to do some more tracks but he’s working on his album as well. My album is finished and I’m very happy with it.
Full length techno albums are relatively few and far between. I’m sure it’s completely different to an EP or a remix. Can you describe the process?
Totally. I see myself as more of a 12 inch producer. It was a nice experience for me to do an album. To select some tracks, to have this kind of discipline and say ‘ok, finished, that’s it’. It’s my first time doing an album and I feel like a child when I’m doing it. I’m looking at it and thinking which track sits better to which track. It’s a nice experience.
That’s coming out on Ostgut Ton?
Ya.
Words : Paddy O’Mahoney
