A brief interview with Shed

For some, René Pawlowitz‘ sound is Berlin. Under his production moniker Shed, the DJ and producer has crafted some of our favorite dark techno tracks; punishing, shuffling beats that transport our ears to dark concrete boxes filled with strobes, bass and sweat. Even as the city continues to grow and change, these are the sounds that remain: a pulse, a feeling that’s integral and irreplaceable. He’ll be appearing in the next edition of our Slices DVD series, but until then, here’s something a bit more brief, but no less intriguing.

Electronic Beats: You’re well connected with Berghain and its label Ostgut Ton – an ambassador of their sound and vision. Which is why I was suprised to see that your third LP The Killer was released via Modeselektor‘s 50 Weapons imprint.

René: I wouldn’t call myself an ambassador. There are others who deserve this decoration, but definitely not me. Besides, Monkeytown and 50 Weapons are a bunch of cool-ass people. We all fit together!

What’s up with your live project with Modeselektor and Marcel Dettmann?

Actually this year’s Bloc Festival should have been A.T.O.L.‘s first live show. But since the event was shut down at its first chaotic night, we only have one more show scheduled for this year at the Audioriver Festival in P?ock. We recently spent three weeks in the studio really focusing on putting together new tracks, we’re totally fired up for making live noise.

Speaking of noise, The Killer is an incredible piece of dystopic techno. It definitely evokes images of the gritty city it was created in, especially in beastly tracks like ‘Silent Witness’ and ‘I Come By Night’. What role does Berlin play in your sound?

‘No techno without Berlin’ is my personal formula. Berlin does techno like no other city in the world right now. I experienced my first raves here twenty years ago, and if this fantastic city can’t influence my music and musical attitude in general, I don’t know what possibly could.

Published July 27, 2012. Words by Michael Lutz.