Ellen Allien

Ellen Allien

Ellen Allien is a Berlin-based electronic musician, producer and label owner. Born Ellen Fraatz in 1969 in Berlin, Germany, she works in techno, acid techno, minimal techno and electronic music. She sings in both German and English.

Background and early work

Allien lives in Berlin and travels extensively. She says the culture of reunified Berlin is a major influence on her music, and her album Stadtkind is dedicated to the city. In 1989 she spends a year in London, where she first encounters electronic music. After returning to Berlin, she works at Fischlabor in 1992 and becomes interested in DJing. She then becomes a resident DJ there and also plays at the Bunker, Tresor and E-Werk.

Radio and labels

At around the same period, she starts a radio show on Berlin station Kiss-FM and creates her first label, Braincandy. She later drops Braincandy because of distribution problems. She then organises parties under the name B Pitch, and in 1999 she founds Bpitch Control. The label becomes successful with releases by Sascha Funke and Tok Tok. She also runs UFO Inc. and creates the Bpitch sub-label Memo Musik in 2005 for minimal tech and minimal house; its first artists are Ben Block and Zander VT.

Albums and collaborations

Her first album, Stadtkind, appears in 2001. It is followed by Berlinette in 2003, made with Apparat, also known as Sascha Ring. She releases Thrills in 2005, the collaborative album Orchestra of Bubbles with Apparat in 2006, the mix album Boogybytes, Vol. 04 in 2008, Sool in 2008 after her grandmother’s death, and Dust in 2010.

Mixing and live profile

In 2007, Allien becomes the first female artist to mix for the Fabric series with Fabric 34: Ellen Allien.