Various Artists | Berghain 07 Part I | EP | o-ton 86

The Berghain series on Ostgut Ton returns with volume 07 and eight new exclusive tracks on two EPs, all taken from the Berghain 07 mix compilation by Function. Part I features contributions from Steve Bicknell, Post Scriptum, L.B. Dub Corp and Blue Hour.

Since his first appearances at the club in 2008, Function has gone on to become a monthly resident at Berghain. Now an artist on both Ostgut's label and booking agency since the release of 2013's critically acclaimed Incubation LP, he's returned to conventional DJing after years of working exclusively with a digital, DJ/Live hybrid set up.

His residency at the club – particularly his extended closing set in February 2015 – combined with recent tour dates have all had a significant influence on the Berghain 07 mix. Additionally his use of the (currently unreleased) Rane MP2015 Rotary Mixer has also played a crucial role in its overall sound. Meticulously curated by Function, these exclusive tracks serve as a display of the new material used in his current DJ sets as well as hinting towards the future development of his Infrastructure New York imprint, where more exclusives will be released.

Steve Bicknell has been releasing music since 1993 through his label, Cosmic Records. From his productions to the label's output, his take it or leave it attitude and legendary Techno party series Lost, it's no surprise that he's left a huge impression on Function. “Since resurfacing after 9 years of silence, with Lost Recordings #8 & #9, I got in touch with Steve to see if he was interested in contributing to the project. He submitted two tracks, ‘Odyssey #1 & #2’ which now bookend these two 12"s. Much like the two 12"s on Cosmic, ‘Odyssey #1’ is a four minute slab of proper dancefloor hypnotica,“ Function explains.

From there it’s not far to Luke Slater – fellow Londoner and techno stalwart. Slater has played a defining role not only in Techno in general, but he has also put his stamp on Ostgut Ton and Berghain – be it through his real name, as Planetary Assault Systems or with the L.B. Dub Corp project. For Berghain 07 he’s contributed ‘So Much’ by the latter. Function describes it as “a modern, elegant take on Deep House and Acid House – complete with vocals by Luke himself.” Heady strings and a warped bass line are underpinned by a tight 707 workout on this future classic.

“Post Scriptum is an upcoming project by an immense new talent,” Function continues. There will be a double vinyl and CD album (Post Scriptum 01 due out on Infrastructure NY) at the end of June 2015. “‘Human Timescales’ is the precursor to that album and the debut of the Post Scriptum project.” Deep tonal frequencies guide this otherworldly cut full of hidden textures and complexities.

Blue Hour is a young UK producer living in Berlin who has been releasing some remarkable music through his own imprint by the same name – and a striking remix for “He Said” by Ostgut artist and in-house engineer, Tobias. (who also took on the role of mixing Function’s Incubation album). “Parallels” has a rather primitive feeling in the most positive sense, and “the floating synths give it a timeless feel” – very futuristic on the one hand but also very familiar.

This EP will be available on 12“ vinyl and digital download from the 18th of May. The Berghain 07 mix will be released as a free download via ostgut.de. O-TON 87 – features another new track by Steve Bicknell as well as new, exclusive tracks by Inland, DVS1 and Cassegrain & Tin Man.