Berghain 04 - Ben Klock

With techno luminary Ben Klock at the helm, it's safe to say Berghain 04 is one of Ostgut Ton's most important compilations yet. During the club's meteoric rise over the past eight years, Klock has played an essential role in defining what's now considered the Berghain sound: Dark, throbbing techno that's both subtle and aggressive. But his DJ style is also very much his own, and his extended Sunday afternoon sets remain one of the club's strongest attractions. And while Berghain 04 doesn't exactly simulate his club sound, it does sample his exceptional taste and technique—like a "business card," as Marcel Dettmann described his own edition in the series.

The mix shows Klock covering a lot of ground without straying too far from a techno framework—a skill that characterizes his club sets as well. Take the first three tracks: "Apricot" by 154, "Pressure" by DVS1 and Dettmann's remix of "Working" by Junior Boys. Each track offers something very different: emotional ambience, anxious techno and breathy pop vocals. Architecturally, though, all three songs are compatible—each slots neatly into the one before it. The same goes for Tyree's "Nuthin' Wrong," a longtime Klock favorite that appears near the end of the mix. At face value, it's something of a curveball: Early '90s house with goofy vocals, slipped between two lean and dubby techno tracks. But thanks to its rigid beat and determined bassline, the juxtaposition works perfectly.
Tracklist /
01. 154 - Apricot
02. DVS1 - Pressure
03. Junior Boys - Work (Marcel Dettmann Remix)
04. Martyn - Miniluv
05. STL - Loop 04
06. Levon Vincent - The Long Life
07. Jonas Kopp - Michigan Lake
08. ACT - RoHd
09. Mikhail Breen - Veracity
10. DVS1 - Confused
11. Rolando - De Cago
12. Kevin Gorman - 7am Stepper
13. Ben Klock - Compression Session 1
14. Roman Lindau - Keppra
15. Tyree - Nuthin Wrong
16. The Echologist - Dirt (Ben Klock Edit)
17. James Ruskin - Graphic
18. Ben Klock feat. Elif Bicer - Elfin Flight
19. Rolando - Junie