CLUBS

Ist Das – TB2’s in-house club night – continues its string of high-profile headline bookings as a modern techno icon arrives at the club on 17 Feb. Ben Klock is a DJ and producer who has served a seminal role in rejuvenating and redefining the Berlin techno sound over the past 10 years – a sound that has been at the core of the wider genre since the late 1980s. Berlin can be seen as techno’s second city, and just as in the genre’s spiritual home Detroit, the city and the sound have shared an almost symbiotic relationship, nurturing and defining each other’s identity. This was played out at parties in the city’s abandoned buildings, as well as legendary clubs such as Ufo, E-Werk, Tresor, and latterly Ostgut – now Berghain – the venue at the nucleus of the current Berlin scene. A nightclub as famous for its musical influence as for the unhinged hedonism that exists beyond its imposing industrial façade, it has become something of a mecca for techno pilgrims worldwide, and Ben Klock has been an essential cog in its mechanism since it opened in 2004.

Having built a solid reputation on the Berlin DJ circuit throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, Klock was invited to take up residency at the newly opened Berghain and quickly gained notoriety for his lengthy sets, sometimes exceeding 10 hours and voyaging far beyond the realm of the purist techno regime that had become such a staple in Berlin. Alongside residents such as Marcel Dettmann and Len Faki, Klock helped distinguish the ‘Berghain sound’, where genres go out of the window in favour of a deep, dark, and intense sonic aesthetic. Techno is the mainstay, but one of Klock’s marathon sets could easily see him dropping dubstep-leaning records by Scuba or Actress, or venturing into classic Chicago house territory.

DJing aside, Klock’s own productions have added substance to his status. He's become a regular fixture on the roster of Berghain’s genre-defining label Ostgun Ton and Ellen Allien’s equally iconic BPitch Control, as well as his own imprint Klockworks. Perhaps his most notable output to date has been the collaborative work produced alongside Dettmann, with 2007’s ‘Scenario’ EP gaining wide acclaim for its considered, dynamic soundscapes at the harder edge of the minimal techno spectrum. Equally well received was Klock’s 2009 debut solo album ‘One’, a 13-track pulse of moody and mechanical techno grooves stitched up with subtle melodic textures. His set in Bristol promises to be a rare, intimate three-hour experience, and unmissable for any techno fan. Here’s hoping he brings some of that dark Berghain magic to the arches of TB2. (Ed Oliver)

BEN KLOCK PLAYED TB2, BRISTOL ON FRIDAY 17 FEB. FFI: http://www.tb2.co.uk/

Copyright Ed Oliver 2012; pic copyright Randolph Quan 2012