EX.818 Marcel Dettmann

The Berghain resident on punk's ethos, choosing the difficult path and his new album, My Own Shadow.

Marcel Dettmann has become synonymous with Berghain and its primary cultural export: Berlin techno. He began DJing at Ostgut, Berghain's predecessor, in 1999. When Berghain opened its doors in 2004, he was one of its first residents, on a roster that grew to include luminaries like his longtime collaborator Ben Klock.

In this RA Exchange, Dettmann talks about the long road from bedroom DJ to one of techno's leading figures: first falling in love with '80s new wave records, running a record store out of his mother's house, sharing vinyl with neighbourhood friends like future Berghain resident Marcel Fengler, and eventually landing behind the counter at Hard Wax, which he calls his "school".

Dettmann has been a fixture on the techno circuit for more than 25 years, yet there are still sides of his artistry that fans may not know. My Own Shadow, an expanding project of EPs and visual work that now includes a full-length album, shows his creative world from another angle. He breaks down the album's cinematic imagery, reflects on the years it took to get where he is, and explains why the path that takes the most work is the one that pays off.

My Own Shadow is out November 13th on !K7.

Listen to the full episode.

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