Prosumer mixes Panorama Bar 03

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    Mon, Mar 7, 2011, 00:15
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  • Classic house and mysterious new projects make up most of Achim Brandenburg's first mix CD.
  • Prosumer mixes Panorama Bar 03 image
  • Panorama Bar 03, mixed by Prosumer, is due out this May on Ostgut Ton. Out of all of the Berlin club's (20 some odd) residents, none are more house-obsessed than Prosumer. Though most of his sets are peppered with techno, disco and acid, his specialty is warm, jacking house, be it from late '80s Chicago or current day Berlin. By the looks of it, Panorama Bar 03 stays loyal to this style, mixing up new tracks by Steffi and Hunee with classics from Fingers Inc and Theo Parrish. As with all of the Berghain and Panorama Bar mixes, a handful of exclusives are includes as well, some of which come from artists whose identities are under wraps (Soundstore, Soundso and TSOS). On recent Thursday afternoon, we rang up Prousmer at his Berlin apartment to talk about the mix and the club that inspired it.
    What was the creative process behind the mix? How did you choose the tracks? Well, obviously recording a mix at home is totally different than playing one at the club, but I try to keep it as much like that as possible. I kind of started packing my record bag in my head, like every time I got reminded of a special track, "OK, there's one," or "Oh, that might be an option," so I just selected tracks that I liked over periods of some weeks and eventually made a final decision of what I wanted. Obviously when you play in a club, the atmosphere gets you in the mood and helps you decide what to play. Was it hard to get the vibe going in your apartment? Sure. I've done several podcasts before so I know what to expect. It's totally different than the club—there you always get feedback from the crowd and of course the music is much louder, you start to dance, so it's different. But I was dancing while I was recording at home so it was a bit of the same. [laughs] How many takes did you do? I did two takes and the second one made it. You play a lot of old records when you're in the club. Was it hard to clear all the tracks that you wanted or were there any you couldn't use because of licensing problems? There were some tracks I couldn't license, it's a bit complicated. For some tracks, we only would have gotten the rights for Europe, but not America, stuff like that. So it was a bit complicated and I'm quite thankful for Nick [Höppner]—he did it all and I didn't have to take care of that. And I'm happy with the final result. Actually with one track which didn't make it on the CD that we couldn't license, in the end I'm quite happy that it didn't go ahead because the replacement track I chose instead works so much better for me now. So yeah, it's complicated sometimes, but there was no big drama or anything. Some of these exclusive tracks are by artists I've never heard of: Soundso, Sound Store, and T.S.O.S. Can you tell me a little bit about these artists? Um, I can't actually. [laughs] It's the typical thing of people not wanting to know who they are, so I respect that. I'm not involved, it's not me, that's all I'm going to say. Do you feel like Panorama Bar has changed a lot over the last few years? How do you feel when you're DJing there these days? I mean, the whole scene is changing constantly. Even when I was starting to be a resident at Panorama Bar, there were not too many people who would describe the style as house then. It was not so popular and I think that changed a lot over the last year. It's not always what I called house, what people call "house," it's a constant change. Sure, Panorama Bar changed over the years, I cannot say for better or worse. Some things I miss, some things I say, "Hey, it's great they changed like that." It's still an amazing place to play and I'm still really really grateful that I got the chance to have a residency there. Is there anything you don't like about these days? Basically I don't like the attitude of Berliners sometimes. Oh god, I shouldn't say it like that! No, what's really getting on my nerves is Berliners being like, "Oh yeah, all the dicks are coming in," when there are so many great people from all over the world there. I mean sure, it's also some idiots coming in, but it's also so many good people, really going there to have a good party, to have a good time. They bring such a nice attitude and they really open up there and celebrate the night and themselves. So it really annoys me when some Berliners think it's cool to dislike everything once it's not new anymore. They keep going on about the "bad" tourists, even though they are really great people. I read a few years ago you said that sometimes when you're mixing at Panorama Bar, you get so moved that you get tears in your eyes. Yep, it still happens. So even if it changed a little, it's still a very special place for you? Sure. It's changed, but I think it will always stay a special place. What are some of the other places you really like to play? I was really thrilled in Japan recently, I really really liked Eleven. In Amsterdam, Trouw I enjoyed a lot. Most places I play in the UK, it's always such a great crowd, I'm really happy there with the crowd really often. Do you feel like a Panorama Bar DJ even when you're at another club? I mean, that's part of it, but I'm still my own person, I'm still "me" mainly. [laughs] So yeah, a lot of people come to see me to get something of the Panorama Bar vibe. I'm aware of that and I mean, it's also something we can be proud of as residents. I'm not going out there to represent Panorama Bar, but yeah, I'm a Panorama Bar resident so I will always be a part of that. Does it feel strange at all to have a mix CD with your face on the cover? It all feels weird to me! [laughs] I mean listening to a record with my voice on it is still weird for me. People allowing me to fly to Japan and to DJ there is weird to me, but weird in a good way. I enjoy it, of course. I will see once the CD is finished of what I think of it once I see it somewhere in the shop.
    The 12-inch sampler for Panorama Bar 03 is due for release in May, a few days before the mix itself. It features exclusive tracks from Steffi, Hunee and a new project called Soundstore. Tracklist 01. Steffi - Sadness 02. DJ Duke - Heard 03. Hunee - A Leaf For Hand In Hand 04. Soundso - Untitled 05. Theo Parrish - Twin Cities 06. Morgan Geist - Current 07. Romanthony - The House O' God 08. Circulation - Sincerely (Creation Mix) 09. Lil Silva - Pulse vs. Flex 10. Soundstore - Take U 11. J.T. Melody presents Tina Reneé - Prove It (Instrumental) 12. Fingers Inc - Music Take Me Up 13. Oracy - Bass Mood 14. i - L.T.B.C.Y.B. 15. T.S.O.S - Over And Over 16. Servo Unique - Let's Swing It 17. QX-1 - Love Injection (Inject Me Love Mixx) Ostgut Ton will release Panorama Bar 03 on May 9th, 2011.
RA