RA.496 Len Faki Podcast

This techno thing isn’t too complicated for Len Faki. “For me the music, the quality and the productions, are the essential things,” he told Clubber.rs a few months back. “When this is put in the background and gets overlaid by show and glitter then it feels to me like more illusion than reality.” It’s no surprise that Faki keeps the tracks he makes and the sets he plays simple. Exhibit A: this week’s RA podcast. The mix treats sound economically, with each hi-hat, melody and bassline released only when absolutely necessary. Faki builds tension through a tight control of timbre, using the crunch of a filter and smart sequencing to heighten the taut mood.

RA496-Len-Faki-Electrobuzz.fm by Electrobuzz on Mixcloud

The roots of Faki’s style go back to the mid-’90s. He grew up in Stuttgart listening to rock and punk, eventually discovered techno through a friend, and spent most of the late ’90s and early ’00s releasing tracks under the name DJ La Monde through his own Monoïd and Feis labels. Under increasing police pressure, Stuttgart’s club scene began to crumble, so in 2003 Faki moved to Berlin to chase the action. He was soon offered a residency at a newly-opened club called Berghain. “Back then no one knew,” Faki said of the unprecedented success the club went on to enjoy. When word eventually got out about Berghain, Faki—along with fellow residents like Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann and Marcel Fengler—became an internationally renowned name. It helped that in 2007 he scored one of the year’s biggest techno tracks in “Mekong Delta,” and he was consistently turning out DJ-friendly sounds for his labels Figure and Podium. Not much has changed for Faki in this respect. 2015 has been one of his most productive years to date, with tracks like his massive “Basic Pain Procedure” remix and his Basement Trax, Vol. 2 release for Ostgut showing that he’s still finding new ways to make something straightforward sound fresh.

Tracklist /

Setaoc Mass – Planet Earth
Heiko Laux & Steve Rachmad – Politeness Protocol
Maurizio – Domina
Nicole Moudaber – She Wears The Pants (Shinedoe Remix)
Alan Fitzpatrick – Tribe
Slam – Convolute (Etapp Kyle Remix)
BNJMN – Berth (Eduardo De La Calle Remix)
Antigone – Astragral (Len Faki Remix)
Marcel Fengler – Trespass (Aubrey Remix)
Jeff Mills – Approching Moon
Orion – Patos
Avion – Sin (Distant Echoes Remix)
Len Faki – Street Dub
Roman Poncet – Suce Ma Dub
Truncate – Culture
DJ Deeon – Freak Like Me
TWR72 – Opticus
Bemjamin Damage – Cosmonaut
Setaoc Mass – Solo (Part 2)