international news _ 3rd April, 2007
Ellen Allien's Hip-Hop Harassment
Text by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
Berlin tech/ experimental scenester Ellen Allien unveiled details of her new compilation CD for Fabric this week and chatted further about her disillusionment with the Berlin hip hop scene in the early 90s, which led her to dive into techno.
"The whole hip-hop scene got on my nerves and I therefore got more interested in electronic music," she recalled, "There were so many interesting people- artists, gay people, freaks . . . With all those people I felt more connected. And I could finally feel free as a woman in a club- no harassment," she added.
The new compilation includes Bpitch new releases and classic tracks from techno pioneers Larry Heard and Roman 'Alter Ego' Flugel reflecting her own continuing commitment to the music that changed her life.
"For me, the starting point was entering the techno scene," she told Skrufff in an earlier interview in 2005, "I immediately had a vision, because everything was different and at the same time possible. For example, take the gender issue: it was no longer important in techno if you were a woman or a man, unlike in hip hop where they had, and still have, those fixed gender roles," she said.
"With techno we developed a whole culture, an alternative way of living, fulfilling our dreams and earning money with it at the same time. But the money was never in the forefront. It was more important to go a different way, to be part of that small and friendly revolution that enabled us all to be artists."
"Through music I've found happiness and a passion for life because I've found an outlet for my emotions," she added.
Fabric 34: Ellen Allien is out on Fabric Records in April.
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