2. Secondary research
Tags:
Berghain, Berlin, techno, minimalistic,
dark, underground, Germany, Ostgut
Ton, Marcel Dettman
http://crackmagazine.net/music/ben-klock/
You seem more than ever to be the one that flies the flag for German techno around the world.
Why do you think that you more than others are chosen to represent this sound around the world?
I think I got my reputation for longer Berghain sets, taking the last slot and doing ten/eleven hour
sets and going into deeper moments. My approach is always to try and create some magic. Maybe
this is the reason why I became quite big. Sometimes at Berghain those sets are just magical.
What were your first experiences of techno and what were your first experiences of discovering the
techno you play?
My first experience of techno was in the late 80s with acid house. ’88, maybe, I don’t really
remember. Then in the early 90s after acid house I was going back to other music. I got back into
techno around ’94. I met Marcel (Dettmann) after a couple of times I played at the beginning of my
residency in Berghain.
Is your passion for furthering the culture that you’ve helped create as strong as ever? Do you still
manage to devote as much time as you need to stay on top of the game and discover new records?
Yes I do. I spend a lot of time discovering new music and going through demos. As soon as I realise
that I might get tired of what I’m playing, I have to dig for new music or else I couldn’t do this job
anymore. Of course, I could just say ‘I’ll do it as long as I can and take the money’, but that doesn’t
work. I have to feel the passion and discover new music. The problem is I don’t have as much time as
I’d like to work in the studio and this kind of sucks.
In this interview which Ben Klock did for fact magazine he talks a lot about his roots and what it is in
the techno scene which he thinks makes it special. He talks about a wide range of things such as what
got him into techno through to his monthly residency at the infamous club the Berghain and other
topics such as how the scene has changed recently and what he thinks the future hold for it. He also
talks about his plans for future music production and playing at venues other than the Berghain. He
also goes into detail about things such as how different it is playing “standard” length sets at different
venues and festivals around the world in comparison to playing long sets in the Berghain, the longest
of which lasted 13 hours as a solo set and 16 hours back-to-back with Marcel Dettman.
3. Secondary research
Tags:
Klockworks, BPitch control, hard wax
Vinyl records,
http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2014/05/20-questions-ben-klock-talks-ber
Where were you born?
Born and raised in Berlin. The former west part of the city before the wall came down.
What kind of jobs did you have before becoming a DJ?
My first job ever as a kid was handing out flyers for clubs on the street, followed by being a Santa Claus
for Mars and Snickers. I did many things: sold Olives at a market, did factory work, was a call center
agent, I did child-minding, was a street musician with a guitar, a bartender, all kinds of things. As a
serious, full-time job, I was graphic designer for a couple of years.
What's a production technique that you think more people ought to know?
The most important production technique is to not look at your computer screen when you're
arranging a track. It's better to look in the opposite direction or out a window; imagine a dancefloor or
get up yourself and dance to your beat. It's definitely better for the track.
What is the longest DJ set you’ve ever played?
13 hours alone, 16 hours back to back with Marcel [Dettmann].
How many records do you own?
I never counted or even calculated roughly. The quantity doesn't mean anything to me.
What is the most you've ever paid for a record?
Six Deutsche mark for the single of Michael Jackson's "Beat It." It's the first-ever record I bought with
my own money. Six Deutsche mark (which would be three Euros now) was worth more to me back then
when I was a kid than any other record I paid for later on.
This interview is much more sparse and doesn’t go into as much detail as his interview for Crack
magazine, however I think this is partially due to the fact that the questions are much more specific and
focus on things he does rather than things about him as a person. It asks questions about things such as
what made him want to become a DJ, what he does before playing a set, what he would do if he wasn’t
a producer/DJ and how many records he owns. it
4. Secondary research
Tags:
Tresor, raw, powerful, DJ,
producer, atmospheric,
collaborate, unforgettable,
pulsating
http://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/lp/prj/mtg/men/lau/klo/enindex.htm
He has been voted a top DJ of 2009 by Resident Advisor, the independent online music
magazine. And it all began with jazz. ‘I grew up wanting to be a jazz pianist,’ he said with a laugh.
Klock played his first gigs at Cookies, WMF, Delicious Doughnuts and Tresor. In the beginning he
tended to spin house, but after a time his sets became more raw and powerful. When
Electroclash dominated the music scene he lost interest but his passion was re-ignited in 2004
with the opening of Berghain.
‘My development as a DJ in the last two years has been dominated by playing two-hour sets,
which are pretty much the standard in clubs all over the world,’ he said. ‘I’ve learned how to play
shorter, compact sets keeping the energy up throughout.’
This article is a more informal interview where the writer has had a spoken conversation with
Ben Klock. It is a different type of interview I comparison to the other two in the way it is
written and the writers approach. Instead of being a simple question and answer sort of layout it
is more journalistic and similar to an article. The writer talks a lot more instead of leaving the
talking up to Ben Klock. They briefly look into the origins of the techno scene as well as how Ben
got into it. It starts off with this introduction to techno and the scene which surrounds it and
goes on to talk about where Ben started and what sort of venues he played at, as well as the
character of the sets he played.
5. Secondary research
Tags:
DVS-1, dark, white label,
vibe, architecture
http://www.littlewhiteearbuds.com/feature/little-white-earbuds-interviews-ben-klock/#.VGSR-Siw4qY
So, where do you head from here?
I'm flying to Minneapolis tomorrow with DVS-1. We’ll have a party at a place that he owns and throws
parties at. It’s supposed to have a great sound system because he was into renting sound systems. I’m
looking forward to playing there; It’s just going to be a dark box with a good sound system.
Well, the aesthetic of stamped white labels without promotion is sort of coming back.
Yeah, I mean, even five years ago we had some labels like that, but this style is growing more and more,
that’s true. Even that, though, can get to the point where it’s kind of ridiculous. Every label with a stamp
on it is like, ‘Wow, it has to be something great because they don’t do promotion. They just do stamps, so
it has to be good.’ That’s the attitude sometimes. If it goes into this direction, that everyone just wants to
do this, it’s the same bullshit.
“Even for my father, he recently came to Berghain for the first time at the age of 75. He stayed there for
ten hours, didn’t even want to leave, and after that he said, ‘Now I understand what you are doing.’
Because he really experienced it; the sound and the vibe there, the architecture and the idea of playing
the music the way we play it.”
This interview is a much more in depth interview than many of the others. It is a lot longer and you get
the feeling that Ben enjoyed the interview and was not rushed. He talks about all the normal stuff that he
talks about in the other interviews such as how he go into techno and why, his residency at Berghain, his
“marathon” DJ sets, his album and 12” releases etc. but it also touches on a lot of other things and goes
into much more detail about things. For example he talks about his record label Klockworks and how that
started and goes into depth about the whole vibe that surrounds the Berghain, as well as the
timelessness of the music and the way people can be themselves there as no one judges. He also goes
into the whole hype about Berghain and what he thinks about it. This interview is a lot more personal
than the others as he says things and talks about think he doesn’t not in others, even if the questions
asked in the others gave him a chance to, he even talks about the time he took his dad to Berghain.
6. Video interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asPH1lyuq_Q
In this interview with mixmag Ben talks about pretty much the same things he talks about in every interview. I think that this is
due to the fact that everyone wants to know the same sort of stuff; how he got into techno, what he did before that, where he
first started playing and how he got into becoming a DJ, and of course the thing that comes up time and time again is Berghain.
Everyone wants to know about his residency at Berghain and his long sets which he plays here. I think this is mainly due to the
mystery and exclusivity which shrouds the club.
There are strictly no photos allowed to be taken inside the club, and it is notoriously hard to get into, the door policy is random
and the vast majority of people are turned away for no apparent reason. It has been called by many the hardest club to get into in
the world. I think it is this as well as the fact that it is largely regarded as the undisputed techno capital of the world and many
people claim it is in fact the best club in the world.
Everything about the club is raw and mysterious, the venue itself used to be a power station. It is very minimalistic and industrial
and this goes hand in hand with the music that gets played here. I think that this is the reason everyone wants to know about
Berghain when they get the chance to speak to Ben Klock, because he was there from the start and has always been a huge part
of Berghain it is the first thing people think to ask when they get the chance. Ben Klock, Berghain and Berlin are all a huge part of
each other.
In the interview he also talks about meeting one of his close friends Marcel
Dettman, and how they met and liked each other and would hang out playing
football and video games as well as making a bit of music. They then had no
intention to create the Ostgut Ton label, and said it was not hard work at all to
make this first record, they made it casually and didn’t think that it would
make the label. In his own words he says “we just came up with two/three
tracks, showed it to the owner of Berghain and he said ‘yeah, lets… lets make
a label’ and we were really surprised with how well it was received and how
the gates opened up for us suddenly”.
