Could Ellen Allien and Thomas Muller be crowned the new dream team of tech-house? In all modesty -- with their current collaboration and the resulting 12" Free Nation the two long-standing label colleagues have delivered four absolutely killer tracks. The basic framework initially came about in Ellen's living room. Ultimately the tracks were completed independently of one another in Berlin and Thomas' previous home city of Paris. It is remarkable how a common starting point can lead to such different results: the Grande Dame of tech-house has her puppets dancing with no inhibitions as she mixes freaky noises with deliciously overdriven Roland SH-101 synth lines in "Free Nation" and Jupiter 6 synth lines in Delta Zoo before launching an all-out assault on the ears with an explosive mixture of straight-up, bone-dry, old-school beats. This creates a sumptuous retro-techy sound that still throbs with the energy of the present day. Thomas also takes a very punchy approach to his edits of Free Nation and Delta Zoo. Contrary to Ellen, however, he often leaves space between the straight-up, bone-dry beats for trippy atmospherics and subtly dispersed house elements. These lend his tracks a certain laid-back elegance, but without diminishing their raw power in the slightest -- without doubt four genuine floor-fillers and an extremely promising artist liaison!
Written and produced by Ellen Allien &Thomas Muller 2013 in Berlin and Paris Vocals by Ellen Allien
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