Saturday, November 29, 2008

mnml ssgs mx14: marcel fengler


as we approach the end of each year there are always attempts to try and work out what have been the major trends and themes of the last 12 months. without doubt one of the big stories of 2008 has been the continued rise and rise of the berghain club in berlin and its accompanying label, ostgut tonträger. most of the attention has been on marcel dettmann, ben klock and, more recently, shed. for whatever reason - perhaps because he hasn't produced as much - i think marcel fengler has been under-rated slightly in the process. if this is true (and it may not be), it is a situation that won't be lasting for much longer. in my books his 'friction/yaki' ep on ostgut has just quietly been one of the best releases of '08, and as a dj, he is most certainly the equal of any of the other berghain residents. listen to this mix and you'll hear what i mean. this really is a perfectly crafted mix of forward-thinking, dynamic techno that demonstrates fengler's distinctive take on the 'berghain' sound. describing his philosophy to DJing, marcel says that he likes to build his "sets up, then down again. it has to be varied and it has to snake through the night in waves." this is obviously a man who practices what he preaches, because that is exactly what he does in this ssg mix he has kindly put together for us. much like rossella's set last week, marcel keeps a very close eye on tempo and structure, carefully building something special over exactly 60 minutes.

i have, rather belatedly, asked marcel some questions (better than last week i promise) and will post them up soon. but i didn't want to sit on this mix any longer. i figure you guys need something to dance to over the weekend. and marcel's set will most definitely get the body moving. for all of us not lucky enough to be at berghain, this is a very good substitute.

mnml ssgs mx14: marcel fengler (direct dl)
mirrors: rapidshare / megaupload

no tracklisting so far and that works fine for me. as i said, q&a to follow. more info about marcel over at his myspace or at ostgut booking. much, much thanks for marcel for continuing the incredible string of mixes for the ssgs. this really is next level shit. respect to marcel. enjoy.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

many thanks for this, have loved all the mixes so far. keep up the good work

joe h said...

yeah! cant wait to listen to this, thanks a lot.

joe h said...

my favourite ssgs mix this year, the way he builds the mix is something else. different to both klock & dettmann but equally as great.simply fantastic.

The Yurinator said...
This post has been removed by the author.
The Yurinator said...

Very nice start... Thanks as always!

chris said...

Great mix. especially love the last track... Any idea who it is?

teleost said...

fit

chris said...

"the way he builds the mix is something else. different to both klock & dettmann but equally as great.simply fantastic."

exactly. very well put joe, i agree completely.

Pete said...

Bloody fantastic ! Great way to start my Sunday. Thanks guys.
Agree - what is that last track ? Really lovin' that.

Anonymous said...

whats the name of the second track?

Benjamin said...

In my opinion, this is truly a groundbreaking set. It nearly brought me to tears, which hasn't happened since Dave Seaman's Renaissance Awaking mix about 10 years ago. Life changing! Chris, I know and understand your thoughts about tracklistings but if one was ever needed, it's now. Thank you so much Marcel and, of course, mnml ssgs.

Benjamin said...

Okay, it brought me to tears.

chris said...

@ benjamin: i'm glad this mix hit you so hard. i had a similar reaction. i was trying to work, but got nothing done for an hour. but like the dozzy set, that's exactly why i dont want a tracklist for it. keeps a bit of the magic...

(by the way - i am not holding out on you guys! with all the mixes, we let the artist decide if they want to provide a tracklisting or not.)

Anonymous said...

This mix is indeed something special, very well constructed from start to finish. It sounds modern yet it does not occult the past and in the feeling remembers some sets of the 90's.

Benjamin said...

I agree with you, Chris. It conjures up the feeling when you're on the dance floor during a mind-blowing set and wonder who could create such music. Robots? The Gods of Techno? Who? It's just that, as an aspiring dj/producer, a tracklisting can be a great teacher. I, however, understand and respect your opinion and realize it's up to the artist.

Cam said...

Wow. This is amazing. The flow is just incredible. Tightly plotted and controlled, yet very organic - nothing is forced here, everything fits just right.

There's real emotion here, too. Amazing stuff.

Huge thanks to Fengler for this.

William said...

wow, amazing. thanks so much marcel and ssgs!

Colin said...

Another stunning mix. Along with the Dozzy this is definitely some of the best I've heard this year. many thanks.

Barry said...

does anyone think they could make an attempt at a tracklist ? maybe everyone could pitch in and we could complete it ...

Anonymous said...

thank you thank you thank you

!!!

joe h said...

Barry said...
does anyone think they could make an attempt at a tracklist ? maybe everyone could pitch in and we could complete it ...


i didn't recognise a single track but for some reason i dont want to know. as at the moment its so pure & uncomplicated i think a track list might take some of the magic away.

& i'm normally all for tracklistings too!

Will Lynch said...

My contribution to the tracklist:

30:00 min: Modeselektor - Happy Birthday (Marcel Dettmann Remix)

great mix. although, i definitely wouldn't say its a tear-jerker...

Will Lynch said...

by happy birthday i mean black block...

devid.fdm said...

quality mix. big thanks!

William said...

Paul Brtschitsch & Cio D'Or - Safran off the Aroma EP is in there. Tune!

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know what the track before Gowentgone - Love & Respect is (approx 20 mins in)?

sven said...

really great mix! fantastic!
thanks to the ssgs and to marcel

sven said...

I woud really like to get an ID on some of these tracks that marcel is mixing so brilliantly.
I understand that some of you don’t want a tracklist, but I don’t really agree with that.

Here is why:
these 2 quotes come from ewan pearsons groove column and i totally agree with him:
1) ‘the supreme overlord of dance decrees: (december 2007) ... 11. DJs will undertake to be courteous and name any track they are playing to any member of the public that wants to know’
2) ‘on sleevenotes: (october 2008)
Well, one of the slightly pathetic reasons why people make stuff is the hope that it will remain after they're gone’

Although marcel fengler did an outstanding job selecting and mixing these tracks, I think the artists who produced them should be listed here as well. They deserve to get some credit for making this music just like marcel fengler deserves to get complemeted on his dj skills.

Without a tracklist this mix is just a piece of free semi-illegal music. With a tracklist this mix is a promotional piece of free semi-illegal music that enables me to identify the tracks and BUY the ones I like best.

With a tracklist, everybody wins: the ssgs provide us with great mixes so their weblog will get more attention, the deejays that do the mixes can display their talent and promote themselves, and the artists that made the tracks may even earn a few more bucks because they get some promotion too.

But without a tracklist the only ones that get fucked are the artists

chris said...

@ sven: i think you're going a bit far there. nonetheless, i've asked marcel for a tracklist, so we'll see what he says.

Anonymous said...

There's probably 2 or 3 tracks I'd buy if I knew what they were :)

Anonymous said...

second track is Arno E. Mathieu - Lamb Of Sun (3rd Vision) on http://www.discogs.com/release/1526930

Heard it in another mix :)

teleost said...

this mix just keeps giving.

looking forward to the Q&A

nightowl said...

i've never had the chance yet to attend a gig where marcel fengler is playing. but after listening to these approx. sixty minutes of electronic music from somewhere between detroit and berlin, i have to catch him in a club where he is gracing the decks. thanks a lot, marcel fengler and mnml ssgs!

LOOPUS said...

Fking awsome, thnx for the mix marcel and mnmlssgs
1st track is sequenz 31 by jens zimmermann on treibstoff

Brieskoo said...

The last (amazing track) is :
Danton Eeprom - The Infinity Symbol !

VS said...

I just wanted to add that from 26:00-27:00 is perhaps the best single minute of music I've heard all year. That shift that takes place in the rhythm..it's so subtle, you almost don't even notice it at first....I am not even sure how he did that!

rich-k said...

Hot! Hot! Hot! I'm practically climbing the walls. Come on then, who knows the name of the track before the last one? From 46.15 minutes onwards. Many thanks!!

Tsiridis said...

Wow. was very late on this one.. listened the other day. brilliant mix! was also blown away by the Eeprom track at the end. thanks for the id there... played this last night and you could gradually see all these people across the dancefloor kissing. became an emotional affair :) Thanks!

Anonymous said...

@ VS - It's Gez Varley – Political Prisoner followed by Modeselektor – The Black Block (Marcel Dettmann Re-interpretation)

@Rich K - It's wrongly listed on Beatport as Percy X - Maintain (Original Mix) on the Gain EP.

chris said...

sorry, been sitting on this for a while guys. been too busy. interview will be up soon too.

01: Jens Zimmermann Sequenz 31 Treibstoff

02: Arno E. Mathieu Lamb of Sun Earthrumental Music

03: Louis Guilliaume Time Relaps Syncom Data

04: D´Julz Carl Finlow Brain Hoover Klang

05: Speedy J Aesop NovaMute

06: GoWentGone Love and Respect Vidab

(Respected Tool)

07: G-Man Political Prisoner GMRRec

08: Modeselektor The Black Block BPC

(marcel dettmann

Redefininition)

09: Paul Kalkbrenner Torted BPC

10: Paul Britschitsch & Safran Broque

Cio D´or

11: Interstellar Fugitives2 Burning Spear UR

12: Percy X Maintain Soma

13: Danton Eeprom The Infinity Symbol Tsuba

mike said...

I was all in favour of keeping a secret tracklisting initially but Sven's argument is actually a very good and very positive one.

I think it's a nice middle ground to not present the tracklist straight away. without question seeing familiar names, labels and tracks forms some kind of unnecessary preconceptions about a mix before it's been listened to.