Norman Nodge – Berghain 06
Ben Klock is Berghain’s DJ’s DJ and Marcel Dettmann is the club’s purist, but Norman Nodge is the teacher. It was Nodge who introduced Dettmann to techno music 20 years ago and without the lawyer, family man and DJ’s influence, it is arguable whether the Berlin club where both reside would enjoy the same kind of global profile. Nodge’s DJing played a central role in shaping the club’s musical aesthetic and Berghain 06 is its most impressive articulation yet.
Mixing classic house and techno styles with contemporary variants, his selection veers from the wild abstractions of Birds Two Cage and Oni Ayhun to the explosive white noise intensity of Planet Assault Systems’ take on The Nightripper’s “Tone Exploitation” and the stomping industrial techno of Charlton’s “Black Slong”. While Nodge is clearly an expert in building a set – this writer especially enjoyed the transition from the dubbed out beats of Redshape’s take on Mokira and Patrick Graser’s “From Foreign Territories” into the stripped back bassy grooves and tweaked acid from Hauntologists and Stefan Linzatti – he doesn’t simply ramp up the tempo and cruise to a predictable climax.
Nodge follows the PAS/Charlton segue with the gnarly rhythms and chain mail percussion of Ctrls and Chance ‘Chancellor’ McDermott, but then drops into the trippy acid and infectious vocals of Tim Taylor & DJ Slip’s “New York Minds”. He follows this shift in sound with Radioactive Man’s melodic electro bass and Legowelt’s warm synth version of Xosar’s “Rainy Day Juno Jam”, bringing to a close Berghain’s most impressive mix.
Richard Brophy
Tracklisting:
1. Birds Two Cage – Gase
2. Oni Ayhun – OAR 002-B
3. Mokira – Manipulation Musik (Redshape Tape Dub)
4. Patrick Gräser – From Foreign Territories
5. Hauntologists – Untitled (B1)
6. Staffan Linzatti – Morning
7. Jeff Mills – Keeping Of The Kept
8. Silent Servant – Untitled (A1)
9. DJ T-1000 – Metra
10. The Nighttripper – Tone Explotation (Planerary Assault Systems Remix)
11. Charlton – Black Slong
12. Architectural – Looking Ahead
13. Mark Broom – Vault 5
14. Ctrls – Socket
15. Chancellor – Roundabouts
16. Tim Taylor & DJ Slip – New York Minds
17. El Gato #9 – Coefficient Of Friction (Monty Luke Back Catalogue Remix)
18. Radioactive Man – Nastyradio
19. Xosar – Rainy Day Juno Jam (Legowelt Remix)