- Unexpectedly limber club tracks from a Berlin techno institution.
- It's been seven years since Nicolas Endlicher (MCMLXXX) and Cem Dukkha (CEM) started Herrensauna, a queer haven for harder-edged techno and hedonism in the German capital. Since 2015, they've grown from an underground sensation to something of a global phenomenon. While this rise has hugely helped the party, it's also come to pigeonhole their aesthetic. As Dukkha once explained to an interviewer: "People have come to expect that intense banging sound, but [Herrensauna] like myself, is so much more than just four-to-the-floor extreme." The party's second release as a label, Herrensauna Vol. 2, collects tracks that reflect this versatility, bringing together a global cross-section of artists and sounds—from trap to trance—that maintain Herrensauna's trademark intensity, but make its aesthetic more elastic.
It's hard to imagine the best tracks here in a straightforward techno set. Take Slikback's contribution, "Stunt," which melds brooding experimental electronica with trap and Baltimore club. Think DJ Technics soundtracking your comedown. Or listen to the way Verraco, one of the minds behind label-of-the-moment TraTraTrax, refigures fellow Colombian producer Merino's "Those Days." He starts with razor-sharp synth chatter and chest-rattling sub hits before the pads and rolling drums give it the sort of pathos you might hear on an Innervisions release. These are heavy songs, for sure, but they show that you don't need to bang it out to keep the energy dialed up to 11.
Don't worry though, there's still industrial grade techno and electro weaponry here. Boston producer (and Berklee College of Music professor) Isabella Koen offers a particularly demonic take on the Herrensauna sound: 140 BPM-plus techno churned through a grinder of monstrous synth contractions. DJ Stingray also delivers the goods on his decaying electro flip of Salome's "Tsru Ghelva." But even when the aggression is turned up, the label keeps things light. DJ Loser & Malafama's "Saliarr 0," for example, has gabber-style kick drums but a goofy trance melody that makes the whole thing feel very tongue-in-cheek.
Some have been quick to criticize Herrensauna for the way the duo have capitalized on their success, hosting a Boiler Room and even partnering with Carhartt for some branded merch. But the crew have shrugged these critiques off, pointing to both the economic realities of promoting and the importance of visibility for their community. What is perhaps harder to shake off, though, is the aesthetic you get tied to. Herrensauna Vol. 2 does just that—opening up a whole new world of sounds for the party and label.
Tracklist01. Isabella Koen - Stunt
02. Slikback - Density
03. Nebuchadnezzar - Comesediceblood
04. God69 - Xhala
05. Merino - Those Days (Verraco Remix)
06. Salome - Tsru Ghelva (DJ Stingray 313 remix)
07. DJ Loser + Malafama - Saliarr
08. ZVRRA - Glance