Over the last decade or so, Ellen Allien has become one of the most beloved and admired artists on the electronic music scene. In addition to recording, producing and playing all over the world as a DJ and performer, Allien has also been running Bpitch Control, (the record label she founded in 1999) and a namesake fashion line of casual, color-splashed active wear. She has often credited her enduring success to her family-minded attitude. This approach has resulted in her signing some of the most influential names in dance music and Berlin’s particularly tenacious DJ zeitgeist – Sasha Funk, Modeselektor, Apparat among them. Most recently, BPitch added trip-hop trio Jahcoozi, expressing an unmistakable desire to expand the label’s reach. Lucky for Allien, what she likes usually sells, even in these file-sharing times. Her new album is called Dust, which seems earthy enough until you notice the glamorous cover – a close up of Ellen, eyes closed serenely. She looks like a million-dollar muse sprinkled in silver. We rang her up in Berlin to talk about Dust, ghosts, drugs, how politics is personal and the perils of doing too much yoga.
URB: What are you up to at the moment? How’s it been going lately?
Ellen Allien: I just got back from Yoga. It’s been very busy. Last week I played in Italy twice. There’s a big gay scene in Bologna, I think it’s the biggest scene in Italy and they are very active, politically so it’s very cool. Lots of House music and beautiful boys! I also played Arena in the south; they opened the roof at dawn, so we got all the light and breeze from the coast in Italy.
After working with the music alone for so long in private, what’s it like to hear it out in a place like Arena, with the sun coming up?
EA: Completely different feeling. In the studio it’s a technical thing, but in the club it’s a journey of feelings. I really like to play “Ever” and “Flashy Flashy” – it’s a funny track, it makes people laugh. “Ever” is more brainy and “Our Utopie” I like to play when I’m ready to come down. “Should We Go Home” is more ambient, it makes a nice closer.
What’s with some of these song titles? Is it German, some kind of alien language?
No, it’s Allien language.
I walked into that one, fair enough. So what’s a “Huibuh?”
It’s a ghost. It’s a good ghost. Children know about it. He’s kind of a silly ghost and he lives in a Castle. It’s an old German movie, it’s popular with kids. It also describes a good feeling that you have. If you lose a friendship and you don’t know how to handle it, what do you do to get that “Huibuh” feeling again? If you have a lover, you make love; especially if you forgot to cook together for a few days. But this important for me as a DJ. If I don’t feel “Huibuh” I go home.
Some songs on here have guitars. How did rock find its way into this album? What other stuff do you listen to?
I’m a total indie girl. I like a lot of rock bands; love going to concerts. The guitar for me is something I use if I want to give an intimate feeling. Electronic music is a lot colder. With a guitar, it feels like your friend is playing the guitar for you. Electronic music feels more remote, like it’s in space, far away. The problem is my voice is very poppy, so in electronic music, I pitch my voice down, I play with a lot of effects. This time, I just let it play. It was very organic, very punk, we just let it go.
So you did just one or two takes and that was it? Not a lot of retakes?
No, I wanted it to feel like natural, even if it sounds very poppy. Many techno DJ’s don’t make music. My second album I used many guitars; I love guitars. Before I became a DJ I was in a lot of bands, I jammed a lot without recording. For me, I feel free making music. I do what I want to do. It’s not important to make a big hit or be very nerdy and make something “Oh, crazy!” I do it to express my feelings.
[...] The interview with Ellen Allien went up on Urb.com last week. Excerpt [...]