poptimists | bubbles = POP

I am very pleased to see from the last post that Ms Ellen Allien of Berlin and her album are getting so much love on Poptimists! I think she deserves a post of her own. Specifically:

1) what is everyone's favourite song or sound?
2) what are the two songs which weren't on the promo like?
3) everyone who hasn't got Orchestra Of Bubbles or heard any music by Ms Allien yet, I fully recommend her to everyone on Poptimists - I can't think of anyone who'll be disappointed by her music
4) how absolutely amazingly gorgeous is she, as well?
5) we can maybe give Apparat some credit at this point as it is his album as well, and his own stuff is good, though not as good as Ellen's
6) we can also talk about how great Ellen's record label Bpitch Control (this year's Boogybytes mixes by Kiki and Sascha Funke are totally recommended) is in general, and any bobbins pertaining to women-in-electronic-music you feel like mentioning
6) BERLIN

To further the cause of 3),
ELLEN ALLIEN & APPARAT
Orchestra Of Bubbles (Bpitch Control)

He's the co-owner of Shitkatapult. She's the Bpitch Control matriarch. He's made his name by melting down glitchy post-IDM experiments and gorgeous, swooning microhouse, with the resultant genius best expressed on 2004's Silizium EP. She's delivered a series of increasingly forward-thinking solo albums, culminating in last year's incredible Thrills, which have placed her at the forefront of the most thrilling scene on the planet right now. Together, Ellen Allien and Sascha Ring, aka Apparat, are a power couple able to draw on resources and power and ludicrous amounts of creative talent to push things forward yet another step; if 21st Century electronic music ever published its equivalent of a Forbes list, you bet your ass they'd both be found in its higher echelons. They've crossed paths before - Ring contributed beats towards Allien's 2003 album Berlinette, a time during which they also dated - but Orchestra Of Bubbles is their first official collaboration. It's momentous.

This album is propelled by vast amounts of open-ended creative tension: Allien and Ring took turns in adding layers to each track, rather like solving a puzzle or possibly playing chess, with no idea where they'd end up. Some tracks are more obviously aligned with one over the other: 'Edison', with its filament-thin twangs of sound, is very much Ring's baby, while 'Turbo Dreams' carries on where Thrills left off, Allien's trademark ARP synths peaking and peaking and peaking over a no-nonsense 4/4 pulse. But though every song pulls first towards one pole and then the other, there's no awkwardness: microscopic whisper-subtle details are seamlessly integrated into the overwhelming dancefloor imperative. 'Jet', for example; it begins fuzzy, clicky and cosy like Sunday morning, but at some point you never quite notice takes off, unravelling its glitchy knots and tangles and blossoming into aureolae of James Holden-style minimalist bliss. 'Way Out', too: four astounding, brazenly anthemic minutes during which Allien essays her most spectacular vocal performance to date, replacing her usual Sprechgesang with full-blooded, light-headed house diva belting. And then 'Retina', chamber music for a chamber of horrors: psychotic stabs of cello coming at one ear and then the other, much closer than you think, and underpinned by a demented rhythm which, flitting between time signatures at random, can't decide whether it's a broken beat or a sped-up amphetamine heartbeat.

It's not just each other's sounds that Allien and Ring are opening themselves up to; indeed, the defining characteristic thus far setting Bpitch Control apart from other labels producing the cream of dance music in 2006 has been versatility and variety rather than refinement of a distinct aesthetic. Most revelatory on Orchestra Of Bubbles is 'Metric', which reveals a certain fascination on the part of Allien and Ring for the still-thrilling, still-evolving sonic palette of grime. It's already been hinted at on Allien's label - the latest Modeselektor EP features a mysterious anonymous grime remix of 'Silikon' - and with its knife-sharp Hitchcock strings and sub-woofer bass, 'Metric' slots neatly alongside the work of London producers such as DaVinche and Wonder, and virtually begs for Riko or No Lay to set down some verses over the top.

The fearlessness of it all is beautiful: Allien and Ring seize new ideas and run with them, bending them to suit their purposes and always ready to swerve off in unknown directions if the mood takes them. Take a ride with these amazing people.