Ellen Allien

A widely admired figure across multiple domains, Ellen Allien functions as a DJ, producer, business operator, and style influencer while crafting experimental techno marked by elegance and allure through her well-known BPitch Control imprint. Active since the early '90s as a creator of minimal acid techno and a club performer, she achieved wider recognition via albums including 2003's Berlinette and 2005's Thrills, both of which merged glitch-driven techniques with forward-looking electro-pop. Later efforts such as 2008's Sool and 2013's LISm represented some of her most abstract output, whereas 2017's Nost restored the dancefloor emphasis of her earlier singles. Beyond original tracks she has issued numerous mix compilations such as 2002's Weiss.Mix and 2007's Fabric 34, and she has maintained regular DJ slots at prominent venues and gatherings including Tresor (Berlin) and Circoloco (Ibiza). After the 2020 album Auraa she assembled the multi-volume We Are Not Alone compilation series.

Born in West Berlin, Allien spent the late '80s in London, where the acid house movement introduced her to electronic sounds. After Germany’s reunification she returned home and began performing at venues such as Tresor, the Bunker, and E-Werk. She launched a Kiss FM program called Braincandy, which also served as the title of her initial label. Following a pair of 1995 EPs on outside imprints, she issued Rockt Krieger and Be Wild on Braincandy in 1997. Distribution issues prompted the label’s closure that year, yet after she began staging Pitch Control events she established BPitch Control in 1999. Subsequent releases including the 2000 EPs Dataromance and Last Kiss 99, together with various compilations and other artists’ material, led to her first full-length, Stadtkind, on BPitch in 2001. The record placed greater weight on vocals rarely present in earlier work and introduced more exploratory structures, helping define her characteristic approach.

After two mix collections Allien delivered her second album, the indie-leaning Berlinette, to widespread praise in 2003. Remix Collection gathered her reworkings of material by artists such as Miss Kittin and Barbara Morgenstern in 2004 and preceded the electro-tinged full-length Thrills in 2005. That same year she joined frequent partner Apparat for the wide-ranging Orchestra of Bubbles, which quickly ranked among the most popular releases from either musician. In a separate venture she introduced her clothing line, Ellen Allien Fashion, in 2006.

The 2008 album Sool, created with co-production from AGF, moved toward greater abstraction and minimalism than earlier long-players. Dust in 2010 adopted a somewhat more approachable stance, and the 2011 set Dust RMX highlighted its floor-oriented aspects. By contrast, LISm in 2013, created for a dance work at the Paris Pompidou Centre, shifted into weightless experimental ambient territory. After that release Allien put out at least two singles annually, culminating in the warmly nostalgic Nost in 2017, her most direct dance-oriented album. The commanding Take a Stand EP appeared on Nonplus Records in 2018. The track “UFO” inaugurated her UFO Inc. label in 2019 ahead of the refined yet haunting full-length Alientronic.

Auraa, a spacious collection of driving techno pieces, surfaced in 2020. Shortly afterward the first installment of the We Are Not Alone compilation series curated by Allien arrived, while she broadcast DJ performances from her Berlin balcony amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As the series progressed she released Auraa Rmxs 1 in 2021 and the EP Rosen in 2022.