Ellen Fraatz, known professionally as Ellen Allien, is a Berlin-based German

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

ian,

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and the founder of BPitch Control music label. Her album '' Stadtkind'' was dedicated to the city of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and she cites the culture of reunified Berlin as one of the main inspirations for her music. She sings in both German and English. Her music is best described as a blend of IDM and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

music, which is dance-floor oriented and has noticeable experimental elements.

Career

Ellen Allien was born and grew up in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

. During 1989, she lived in London where she first came into contact with electronic music. When she later returned to Berlin, electronic music had become increasingly popular in Germany. In 1992, she became resident DJ at the Bunker, Tresor, and E-Werk. She started her own show on the Berlin radio station Kiss FM and created her own record label, calling them both "Braincandy". Due to problems with distribution, she gave the Braincandy label up in 1997 and instead began organizing parties with the name, "Pitch Control". She released her first album, '' Stadtkind'', in 2001, and her second album, '' Berlinette'', in 2003. In 2005, she released the album ''

Thrills Thrills is a Canadian brand of chewing gum. It was originally produced by the O-Pee-Chee company of London, Ontario, Canada which was subsequently bought by Nestlé in the late 1980s. It is known for its purple colour and distinctive flavour. ...

'', followed by ''

Orchestra of Bubbles ''Orchestra of Bubbles'' is a collaborative studio album by Ellen Allien and Apparat. It was released through BPitch Control on 17 April 2006. Critical reception Thom Jurek of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "For anyone sincer ...

'', a collaboration with Apparat, in 2006. During the same year, Allien launched her own fashion line, "Ellen Allien Fashion". After the minimalistic '' Sool'' in 2008, she released her fifth solo album, ''

Dust Dust is made of particle size, fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian processes, aeolian process), Types of volcan ...

'', in 2010. Allien made a brief appearance in the 2009 electronic music documentary ''

Speaking In Code ''Speaking in Code'' is a character-based documentary directed by Amy Grill about people's obsessions with the techno electronic music lifestyle and the effects on their lives. It follows Modeselektor, the Wighnomy Brothers, Philip Sherburne, ...

''. Then she worked on the music for the dance performance "Drama Per Musica", which has been premiered in Paris in March 2011 under the direction of Alexandre Roccoli and Sevérine Rième. An accompanying album "LISm" was released in 2013. It has been described as a homogeneous mix of various genres, akin to her DJ sets. Her next album "Nost" also sets on variety, but only within the electronic spectrum. In 2019 Ellen Allien launched her UFO Inc. label with her "UFO" acid techno EP. Ellen Allien holds residencies in the clubs Nitsa, Barcelona and Circoloco at DC10, Ibiza. In 2019 she launched her bi-monthly rave "We Are Not Alone" at Griessmühle, Berlin, Upon the venue's shutdown in 2020, the event has been moved to RSO.berlin.

Record labels

Allien created the techno label BPitch Control in 1999. Earlier in her career, around the time she hosted 'Braincandy' on Berlin's Kiss-FM, she launched her first record label name using the same name, this paved the way for the BPitch Control imprint. The label has launched the careers of popular artists, such as Modeselektor, Paul Kalkbrenner and Apparat. In 2005 Allien created a BPitch sublabel called "Memo Musik" for minimal tech and minimal house.

Discography

Albums

* 2001 – '' Stadtkind'' (BPC021) * 2003 – '' Berlinette'' (BPC065) * 2004 – ''Remix Collection'' (BPC080) * 2005 – ''

'' (BPC106) * 2006 – ''

'' (BPC125) * 2008 – '' Sool'' (BPC175) * 2010 – ''

'' (BPC217) * 2013 – '' LISm'' (BPC264) * 2017 – '' Nost'' (BPC330) * 2019 – '' Alientronic'' (BPX001) *2020 – ''AurAA'' (BPX009)

EPs / singles

* 1995 – "Ellen Allien E.P." * 1995 – "Ellen Allien Vol. II ellow Sky (MFS7074-0) * 1997 – "Be Wild" (BRAINCANDY002) * 1997 – "Rockt Krieger" (BRAINCANDY003) * 2000 – "Last Kiss '99" (BPC008) * 2000 – "Dataromance" (BPC013) * 2001 – "Dataromance" (Remixes) (BPC029) * 2001 – "Stadtkind" (Remixes) (BPC030) * 2002 – "Erdbeermund" (BPC041) * 2003 – "Trash Scapes" (Remixes) (BPC066) * 2003 – "Alles Sehen" (Remixes) (BPC073) * 2004 – "Astral" (BPC085) * 2005 – "Magma" (BPC105) * 2005 – "Your Body Is My Body" (BPC113) * 2006 – "Just A Man/Just A Woman" (with

Audion The Audion was an electronic detecting or amplifying vacuum tube invented by American electrical engineer Lee de Forest as a diode in 1906.De Forest patented a number of variations of his detector tubes starting in 1906. The patent that most cle ...

) (SPC36) * 2006 – "Down" (Remixes) (BPC116) * 2006 – "Turbo Dreams" (BPC124) * 2006 – "Way Out" (Remixes) (BPC129) * 2006 – "Jet" (Remixes) (BPC135) * 2007 – "Go" (BPC160) * 2008 – "Sprung / Its" (BPC176) * 2008 – "Out Remixes" (BPC178) * 2008 – "Elphine Remixes" (BPC181) * 2008 – "Ondu / Caress" (BPC186) * 2009 – "Lover" (BPC199) * 2010 – "Pump" (BPC209) * 2010 – "Flashy Flashy" (BPC216) * 2011 – "Dust (remixes)" EP * 2014 – "Freak" EP * 2015 – "Allien RMXS" (BPC313) * 2015 – "High" (BPC315) * 2016 – "Turn Off Your Mind" (BPC324) * 2016 – "Landing XX" (BPC328) * 2018 – "Take A Stand" (NONPLUS064) * 2019 – "Ufo" (UFO INC001) * 2019 – "La Música Es Dios" (UFO INC003) * 2020 - "Auraa" * 2021 - "Rosen EP" * 2023 - "Dance And Kill" with

Ash Code Ash Code is an Italian dark wave band formed in 2014 in Napoli by the singer Alessandro Belluccio, the keyboardist Claudia Nottebella and the bass player Adriano Belluccio. Ash Code's music covers a wide range of genres including dark wave, post-p ...

Mix CDs

* 2001 – ''Flieg mit Ellen Allien'' ("Fly with Ellen Allien") * 2002 – ''Weiss.Mix'' ("White mix") * 2004 – ''My Parade'' * 2007 – '' Fabric 34: Ellen Allien'' * 2007 – ''Time Out Presents – The Other Side: Berlin'' * 2007 – ''Bpitch Control Camping Compilation 03'' * 2008 – ''Boogybytes, vol. 04'' * 2010 – ''Watergate 05'' * 2011 – ''On The Road Mix (Bpitch Control) – For the German issue of DJMag''

Remixes

* 1996 – Gut-Humpe – "Butterpump (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 1996 – Gut-Humpe – "Butter (Ellen Allien dub)" * 2001 – Malaria! – "Eifersucht (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2001 –

Miss Kittin Caroline Hervé (born 15 July 1973), known professionally as Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worke ...

& Goldenboy – " Rippin Kittin (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2001 – PeterLicht – "Die Transsylvanische Verwandte Ist Da (Ellen Allien Fun Maniac mix)" * 2002 – Covenant – "Bullet (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2003 – Apparat – "Koax (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2003 –

Barbara Morgenstern Barbara Morgenstern (born March 19, 1971) is a German electronic music artist, keyboardist and singer. Biography Born in Hagen, Germany, Morgenstern describes herself as self-taught, although she had piano lessons as a child and jazz lessons at t ...

– "Aus Heiterem Himmel (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2003 – OMR – "The Way We Have Chosen (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2003 – Sascha Funke – "Forms And Shapes (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2003 – Vicknoise – "Chromosoma 23 (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2004 – Gold Chains – "Let's Get It On (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2004 – Miss Yetti – "Marguerite (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2004 – Neulander – "Sex, God + Money (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2005 – George Thompson – "Laid Back Snack Attack (Ellen Allien Via mix)" * 2006 –

– "Just A Man (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2007 –

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

– "Cellphone's Dead (Ellen Allien rmx)" * 2007 – Louderbach – "Season 6 (Ellen Allien Away rmx)" * 2007 –

Safety Scissors Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 14 ...

– "Where Is Germany And How Do I Get There (Ellen Allien Germany rmx)" * 2009 –

Uffie Anna-Catherine Hartley (born December 9, 1987), known professionally as Uffie (), is an American-French singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and fashion designer formerly signed to French electronic music record label Ed Banger Records. Uffie's music ...

– "Pop The Glock (Ellen Allien Bang The Glock Mix 2009)" * 2010 – We Love – "Hide Me (Ellen Allien Remix)" (BPitch Control) * 2011 –

Moderat Moderat is a German electronic music supergroup (music), supergroup originating in Berlin between Sascha Ring, also known as Apparat (musician), Apparat, and Modeselektor members Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. The band have released four st ...

– "Seamonkey (Ellen Allien Remix)" (BPitch Control) * 2011 – AUX 88 – "Real To Reel (Ellen Allien Remix)" (Puzzlebox Records) * 2012 – Telefon Tel Aviv – "The Birds (Ellen Allien Remix)" (BPitch Control) * 2014 – Shinedoe – "Panomanic (Ellen Allien Remix)" (Intacto Records) * 2017 – Skinnerbox – "Gender (Ellen Allien Remix)" (Turbo) * 2017 –

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

- "Cover me (Ellen Allien U.F.O. Remix)" (Mute Records) * 2018 –

Mount Kimbie Mount Kimbie is an English electronic music and indie rock group consisting of Dominic Maker, Kai Campos, Andrea Balency-Béarn and Marc Pell. Mount Kimbie was formed in 2008 by Maker and Campos. The duo expanded on the musical template of the U ...

- "T.A.M.E.D. (Ellen Allien U.F.O. Rmx)" (Warp Records) * 2019 – Loco Dice - "We're Alive (Ellen Allien About XX Remix)" (Desolat) * 2019 – Shlømo - "Mercurial Skin (Ellen Allien Remix)" (Taapion Records) * 2020 – Amotik - "Tetalis (Ellen Allien Remix)" (AMOTIK)

References

External links

*
Orchestra of Bubbles Webpage

RBMA Radio On Demand - Live at six d.o.g.s - Ellen Allien (BPitch Control, Berlin)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allien, Ellen 1968 births BPitch Control artists German electronic musicians German women DJs German women pop singers German women singer-songwriters German singer-songwriters German record producers German techno musicians German women record producers Intelligent dance musicians Living people Singers from Berlin Synth-pop singers German women in electronic music Musical groups from Berlin German DJs