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Under the gun: Sascha Funke
Each week RA stalks your favourite DJs and asks them to give up their top ten vinyl secrets. This week Sascha Funke puts his hands in the air.
Sascha Funke is probably most known as a producer, releasing a dozen 12"s on Berlin’s Bpitch Control and Cologne’s Kompakt. His debut longplayer 'Bravo' (2003) demonstrated his flair for wistful melodies and dreamy synths, and latest single 'In Between Days’ shows him dabbling in minimal techno. But Funke is also a DJ (and a bit of an unsung one at that) with a penchant for euphoric highs, emotional lows and the dramatic breakdown (Check his debut mix compilation 'Boogybytes Vol. 2' (2006) for the evidence). In his free time, Sascha is also the Ronaldinho of the Bpitch soccer team.
Funke also helps out at the BPitch offices and not surprisingly, colleagues Ellen Allien and Paul Kalkbrenner both figure in his top ten. Next up for him on Bpitch is a collaboration with Chloe, though you won't find it here in his top ten – he’s too humble to list his own records.
RA cornered Sascha Funke last weekend and prodded him to give up his top ten. Though it took a couple of sessions to get it out of him - we don't know if it was the upcoming gig or RA threats which were making him a bit nervous and forgetful.
***
 Marc Houle - Bay of Figs [M_nus] & Superpitcher - Tonite [Kompakt]
Sascha: “These are two of my favourite tracks at the moment. 'Bay of Figs' is the first track off Marc Houle's album and it's really cool. 'Tonite' was on the Kompakt 'Total 7' compilation. I like both because I always mix from the Superpitcher track into the Marc Houle! So I think these two records really love each other.”
 Audion - Mouth to Mouth [Spectral]
Sascha: “Another American who is really cool at the moment is Matthew Dear who's done a new track on Spectral. The track is 'Mouth to Mouth'. It's twelve minutes and it's a real techno track as it really is just bass. It just has a line, some percussion but it's enough. It also has some siren sounds and it goes up and then it goes down. It's like a trip. This one is completely amazing. I've always liked Matthew Dear but now I think he's found a way to express himself more directly. Before he had the talent but now he's brought everything together to make the perfect track. Sometimes the arrangement of his earlier tracks was not very useful for DJs but this track is a statement to say "I'm here".
 Ink and Needle – One [Tattoo Recordings]
Sascha: “It's Tattoo. It's a new label. I don't know who it is. I prefer number one. I don't know which nationality they are. It's a very useful track, really easy to play as a DJ. It has a good start. Then the bass comes in and you have all the things you need for a good situation on the dancefloor. Then there's a break. It's like a typical techno track you need every night. It has a good end to mix out of too.”
 Ellen Allien & Apparat - Jet (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix) [BPitch Control]
Sascha: “This is an Ellen remix from the last album 'Orchestra of Bubbles'. The track wasn't so big but now BPitch are releasing it as a single. The remix is by Paul Kalkbrenner and it's quite melancholic. It has a really warm start. At first there's nothing, just a melodic line but then it comes closer and closer. After four minutes nothing still has happened but then you have a quite nice situation on the dancefloor where everyone is waiting for something. And then it happens, and it's just for two minutes and then it's over. Maybe it's like a short miracle.”
 Shinedoe - Face Your Fears [100% Pure]
Sascha: “This song is on the new album from Shinedoe. It's her first album. In the past, there were a lot of techno albums from America that were released as two records in one sleeve and you had to buy it as one package. She has done something like this which I find very interesting, almost exotic. My favourite track is on the D-side. It's really nice to see this happening again because now there's always an element of marketing to techno. It's like pop. You have to make a CD, you have to make vinyl, double vinyl and a nice cover. I received these two records together and it was like travelling back in time to ten years ago.”
 Marc Romboy & Stephan Bodzin - The Alchemist [20:20 Vision]
Sascha: “This is a new record on UK label 20:20 Vision. I bought it in a month ago and it was completely white with only the words 'The Alchemist' written on it. But now I know it's Marc Romboy and another guy. This one is quite old school. It's like it was made ten or fifteen years ago. It's quite minimal but there's enough in it to have an impact on the crowd. You can make a nice mix with it because nothing happens for three minutes but then it completely explodes.”
 International Pony - Gothic Girl (Mense's Club Mix) [Columbia]
Sascha: “International Pony is important because in Germany we fuse techno and other styles. But this band seems to be the only one who can put soul and techno together or soul and electronic music. It's important that we have that. I like the remix by Mense. He's part of Egoexpress and he's done a great remix.”
 Microbots - Chip 1 [R&S Records]
Sascha: “There's a track from '92 or '91 I guess '92. It's on R&S. You know R&S are re-releasing tracks but I'm so happy that this record is not out again. It's one of those tracks from the past which is quite trancey. Now we say "It's trance. It's not cool" but in the past, you could play this kind of track with hard techno or house and it was really effective. I still play it now and I'm really happy that it hasn't been re-released yet. I would like that trance not happened in my life but it still exists. I love trance.”
 Loco Dice - El Gayo Negro / Flight LB 7475 [Ovum]
Sascha: “There's no better track than this one to close the night. It has some very Detroit or Carl Craig sounds like chords and strings which move up and down, like a trip. Loco Dice did it together with Martin Buttrich who is now releasing on Planet E so I think there is a timeless link between Detroit and Düsseldorf, where both Loco Dice and Kraftwerk come from.”
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Published / Fri, 22 Sep 2006
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