If you’re going to celebrate an anniversary, there’s not much glory in being humble about it. Gegen has taken this to heart with a very big plan: an anniversary compilation so big it had to be broken up across three separate releases.
Gegen DECADE celebrates the Berlin event series and label’s ten year anniversary with a 30 track release from “the true ride-or-die residents at the core of the project, to the headliners” who have supported the Queer techno political project. Among the latter are Ellen Allien, Oliver Deutschmann and Paula Temple, but any techno DJ is going to find something they like and more than likely something they love in the collection, particularly some of the tracks that reveal Gegen as a clear source of inspiration in their composition.
Ellen Allien leads of the first spread of ten tracks with the electrifying “Acid Against Fascism” (gegen means “against” in German; non-German speakers may be familiar with the term from its common appearance in the literature of protest against oppression). Flavia Laus, a Gegen resident, scores another highlight with “Catharsis,” as do PVS with the hectic “Panic Room” and Sarah Strandberg with “Helter Skelter.”
The second volume has two tracks that cite the project in their name, including Paula Temple’s “Gegen X” and Bombadier’s rampant lo-fi piece “Generation Gegen.” It’s not all purely techno but most of it is, and anyone who plays hard will find something useful here.
When it comes to projects like this, I basically have two guidelines that I try to follow. One: you don’t write about music you haven’t heard; and Two: you don’t write about places you’ve never been. You’d be surprised how often these both happen, though I’m sure you’ve read someone from New York or London writing about a club in your hometown and you strongly suspect they’ve never set foot in the place. I’ve never been to Gegen so someone else will have to vouch for the sights and sounds and vibe of a place that really does look incredible in their photographs. But I can vouch for the music. You can’t do better.
V/A: Gegen DECADE (Parts 1, 2 & 3) (Gegen Records / September-October 2021 / Digital)
Part One:
1. Ellen Allien – Acid Against Fascism (05:33)
2. La Fraicheur & Leonard De Leonard – Lost In Midland (06:01)
3. Bloody Mary – They Come For Us At Night (05:00)
4. Flavia Laus – Catharsis (06:08)
5. Oliver Deutschmann – Delete Religion (06:15)
6. Ayako Mori – Shrine Of Gegen (06:29)
7. P.E.A.R.L. – Perfume Of Sweat (05:03)
8. Cristian Marras – One Of A Kind (08:00)
9. PVS – Panic Room (05:39)
10. Sarah Strandberg – Helter Skelter (05:00)
Part Two:
1. Paula Temple – Gegen X (06:35)
2. Mar/us feat. Espectra Negra – Against Yourself (06:13)
3. Esther Duijn – Exomorph (06:13)
4. Scalameriya – Grappler (04:46)
5. OCD – Nature Abhors A Vacuum (04:38)
6. Lady Maru – Kill Ur Lobby (05:44)
7. Non Reversible – Obscuration (06:32)
8. Bombardier – Generation Gegen (06:40)
9. Femanyst – California Killer (05:14)
10. Tunnel – Identity And Equity (05:15)
Part Three:
1. Ayarcana – Igne Natura (05:37)
2. Espectra Negra – Cyber City (04:57)
3. Hypnoskull – Im Gegenzug (04:31)
4. Kareem – whyareyousoscared? BUNKERPROOFBULLET-MIX (06:31)
5. Liza Aikin – Muriel (05:14)
6. Years of Denial – Pleasure (07:04)
7. Dominik Müller – I Saw Her At K. – Str. 76 (06:16)
8. Huren – Pool Footage (05:22)
9. Stave – Grain (05:13)
10. SKD – Serpents Of The Snake Pit (04:08)
⚪️ Disclosure Statement: This record was submitted as a promo on behalf of the label.