sound of berlin

SOUND OF BERLIN CELEBRATES LOCAL SCENE WITH TRIBUTE COMPILATION ‘BERLIN UNDERCOVER’ (OUT NOW)

sound of berlin

Inspired by everything a compilation can constitute, Sound of Berlin has come up with their very own concept: ‘Berlin Undercover’, a tribute of cover versions spanning over four decades from the 1970s prog-rock and 1980s new wave to the 1990s trance and the noughties downtempo – all brought to the 21st century and turned into one ginormous dose of big-room grooves, pulsing electro-funk, glittery synth-pop, smoky deep house, and throbbing techno. Berlin underground style.

TRACKLIST

CYRK – Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield Cover)
Low Volume – Greece 2000 (Three Drives On A Vinyl Cover)
Namito – Café Del Mar (Energy 52 Cover)
Northern Vector – Jazz Is The Teacher (M500 & 3MB Cover)
Olin – All That She Wants (Ace of Base Cover)
Marc Houle – Computer Madness (Steve
Cleymoore – Schism (Tool Cover)
Anton Kubikov – Café de Flore (Doctor Rokit)
Dan Curtin – Der Klang der Familie (3 Phase Cover)
BB Deng – Bizarre Love Triangle (New Order Cover)

The goal of the original project was simple enough – to celebrate the Sound of Berlin roster, each with their unique sense of aesthetics and musical heritage as rich and vibrant as the city’s underground dance music scene itself. Until someone at Sound of Berlin HQ thought: Why stop there? Why not use this opportunity to investigate the musical origins of the intricate sonic tapestry that these producers are part of?

Essentially giving the artists carte blanche, they put a call out and invited them to pick a track that has either had a huge impact on them, or they consider the most iconic, and then produce their own cover version of it – ‘a cover’ being defined as a new sound recording of a previously released song by an artist other than the original one with the lyrics and the basic melody left intact but with a different key, tempo, time signature, and instrumentation.

TRACK DESCRIPTIONS

CYRK – Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield Cover)

CYRK’s slick treatment of Mike Oldfield’s spellbinding 1973 prog-rock instrumental ‘Tubular Bells’ is much more John Carpenter-esque than the chilling original in ‘The Exorcist’ – and all the better for it. Going for a total sonic makeover melding electro-funk and synth wave, Goossens and Hetzel have left the main theme intact, dropped the tempo, and transformed the track into a neon-lit spectacle of dramatic synth riffs, bouncy basslines, and spectacular drum fills.

Low Volume – Greece 2000 (Three Drives On A Vinyl Cover)

Rising to the occasion, Low Volume’s track of choice – 1997 single ‘Greece 2000’ by the Dutch duo Three Drives On A Vinyl – still carries some serious clout. “This track has been an anthem ever since it was released and today after almost 25 years it still is an anthem,” Gupta says. “It never gets old.” Toning down the original stab sequences with TB 303 bassline, atmospheric pads, and reverb effects, Low Volume has extracted the otherworldly essence of the original and given it a delicate Balearic twist.

Namito – Café Del Mar (Energy 52 Cover)

There’s no two ways about it: that you can take any tune off the Mixmag’s ‘50 Greatest Dance Tracks Ever’ and make a cover version of it means you’ve got some cojones. And that’s exactly what Khalaj has done here with the genre-defining moment that is Energy 52’s ‘Café Del Mar’. Arpeggiating those iconic plucky notes and laying them on top of sustained chords, the fierce trance cut that becomes noticeably less cluttered and more contemplative, melodic techno experience stretching across 8 minutes.

Northern Vector – Jazz Is The Teacher (M500 & 3MB Cover)

For Northern Vector, paying homage to their idols from two techno capitals of the word – Juan AtkinsThomas FehlmannMoritz von Oswald – by tackling the deathless 1993 tune ‘Jazz Is The Teacher’ by M500 & 3MB became something of a learning curve. “Learning the jazzy keyboard parts and synth chords took some effort. But it was a great learning experience. It was a nice afternoon session at Mike’s Berlin studio coming up with the ideas.” Ditching the original synth strings, accentuating the bassline, and jazzing it all up with silky major sevenths – while retaining the signature sound of Northern Vector – their tech house-leaning take has every opportunity to get the floors moving this summer.

Olin – All That She Wants (Ace of Base Cover)

The most leftfield moment of Berlin Undercover by some distance is Garden’s tongue-in-cheek interpretation of the 1992 reggae-pop smash hit ‘All That She Wants’ by Swedish group Ace of Base. Working his magic by transposing the song to a different key, splicing up the chords and interweaving them skittery 808 breaks, Garden’s frenetic, dubby electro funk is closest you can get to imagining what would happen if Yellow Magic Orchestra and Aphex Twin joined forces in some bizarre parallel universe.

Marc Houle – Computer Madness (Steve Poindexter Cover)

True to form, Berlin Undercover sees Marc Houle crossing yet another border with his blistering, bottom heavy reiteration of Steve Poindexter’s eerie acid-house pandemonium ‘Computer Madness’ from 1989, a textbook case of making a bona fide underground hit on limited gear and shoestring budget. Striking the balance between the authentic feel of the original and putting his own stamp on the tribute, Houle has emulated legendary chiptune samples of a battery-powered Casio while swapping the wiry CZ-101 samples with chunky, acoustic kickdrum and toms. Tapping into the raw analogue energy of the original and beefing up the sound with exceptional drum programming is the name of the game here.

Cleymoore – Schism (Tool Cover)

On Berlin Undercover, Santos reveals his fascination for rhythmic complexities with his deep downtempo cover of TOOL’s 2001 ‘Schism’ known for its mind-boggling time signatures. What could become a tough act to follow, Santos grabs by the tail – recreating the instantly recognisable bass lick with organ bass and offbeat hi-hat rolls, fleshing out the melody with pads while keeping the track slithering and sliding forward, Santos gives a prog metal masterpiece a new lease of life somewhere between Pye Corner Audio and Recondite.

Anton Kubikov – Café de Flore (Doctor Rokit)

For Berlin Undercover Anton Kubikov brings a touch of Chicago to the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés with his version of ‘Café de Flore, the Parisian coolness exemplified in 2000 by Doctor Rokit (one of British producer Matthew Herbert’s numerous aliases). Bringing up the tempo a notch, leaving out Herbert’s accordion and acoustic guitar, working a steel tongue drum plugin and reverberating, atmospheric pads into the skippy 4/4, et voilà, French downtempo becomes jazzy microhouse with Kubikov’s fingerprints all over it.

Dan Curtin – Der Klang der Familie (3 Phase Cover)

Refusing to pull any punches, Dan Curtin puts his spin on ‘Der Klang der Familie’ by 3 Phase feat. Dr. Motte, a proper underground heavy hitter with serious pedigree and the instantly recognisable hypnotic synth riff that has been sampled numerous times from hardcore breakbeat to gabber. It’s only fitting that Curtin nods towards the 90s sound at large – syncopating the beat with snares and claps, and making those 303 squelches really sing, Curtin’s version has a crystal clear upper registry and yet faithful to the uncompromising spirit of the original.

BB Deng – Bizarre Love Triangle (New Order Cover)

Wrapping up Berlin Undercover in style, BB Deng delivers a delightfully fresh interpretation of New Order’s 1986 synth-pop sensation ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’. Ditching Peter Hook’s finest moment for a Hi-NRG-style offbeat bassline, augmenting the melody to the nth degree, and – wait for it – grabbing the microphone, Deng’s musically luscious tribute wouldn’t feel out of place on a Best of Eurodisco compilation between ‘You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul’ and ‘Voyage Voyage’. Right up there with the versions by Desire (Johnny Jewel) and Sugar for Sugar (Scarlett Johansson).

Sound of Berlin is a brand new platform supporting structural change in the electronic music scene. It’s a multichannel platform, as well as a record label, with the sole aim of amplifying the smaller voices around Berlin’s iconic music- and nightlife scene. At a time where mobility has drastically changed and impacted the global live music industry, Sound of Berlin wants to give emerging artists a platform with worldwide reach.

We want to drive innovation and creation in the scene by mentoring and supporting artists during those difficult times, be they independent one-man labels, self-releasing artists, club owners, independent curators, or stage- and light designers, to name a few. It’s our goal to shine a light on all aspects of the scene and give everyone a voice.