Luciano, Âme and Sleeparchive score the ballet ‘Shut Up and Dance: Updated’ at Berghain in June. Watch out for a CD release also on Ostgut Ton.

'Shut Up and Dance' is a new collaboration between the Berlin Staatsballet and the city’s clubbing Mecca Berghain. Five members of the Staatsballett will perform the ballet at Berghain at the end of June, but techno fans elsewhere might want to pick up the soundtrack, which features unusual compositions from dance heavyweights NSI, Sleeparchive, Luciano and Âme.

The musicians were given no instructions on how the music had to sound, but most of the results are calm and hypnotic. NSI (Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer) offer an abstract track built from low frequencies, Âme’s sixteen-minute effort could be compared to Philip Glass, while Luke Slater hands in a lush ambient track under his moniker The 7th Plain. Luciano described his approach to RA: 'Before I started producing the track, I brought the dancers to mind: how they merge with the sound, how their bodies move to the music and what kind of music should come out of the speakers. I wanted to put dance music in relation to modern dance.”

The project is a new experience for the ballet company too. "Dancing between those old and high walls is something completely different from what I’m used to on the vast stage at the opera,” says choreographer Ronny Savkovic. Kathlyn Pope, who choreographs Luciano’s 'Drunken Ballet' remarks: "To me, Berghain’s architecture is the most appealing bit about it. It is very different from what I’m confronted with normally. I really like the music I’m doing my choreography for. It is very casual and humourous. After listening to it, I immediately had a lot of images in my head. I think my work will have a lot of humour as well."

‘Shut Up and Dance’ is the third full length release on Berghain’s label Ostgut Ton, following on from André Galluzzi’s ‘Berghain 01’ and Cassy’s ‘Panoramabar 01’.

‘Shut Up and Dance’ tracklist

1. NSI – Bridge And Tunnel People
2. Sleeparchive – Perspective
3. Âme – Fiori
4. Luciano – Drunken Ballet
5. The 7th Plain – Symphony For The Surrealists

Luciano’s ‘Drunken Ballet’, the most club friendly of the tracks, will also be released on 12” vinyl in September, backed by a remix from Moritz Von Oswald from Rhythm & Sound.

12” tracklist

A: Luciano 'Drunken Ballet'
B: Luciano 'Drunken Ballet' (remixed by Moritz Von Oswald)

'Shut Up and Dance! Updated' will take place on June 27th-29th and July 3rd-5th at Berghain in Berlin. The CD of the same name will be released on Ostgut Ton on 29th May, 2007. 3 Comments