Iconic Berlin producer and DJ Ellen Allien has announced a remix EP of her recently-dropped track ‘Take A Stand‘, which was released last August on Boddika‘s Nonplus Records.
Due out on November 16th via her BPitch Control label, the ‘Take A Stand Remixes‘ EP features four blistering remixes from four of dance music’s finest contemporary producers, Kobosil, Cosmin TRG, K‘ Alexi Shelby and Jonas Kopp.
As a press release states, “Kobosil’s rework unites the young Berghain resident’s interest for both euphoric rave music and industrial brutalism in one track: He turns Ellen Allien’s shouted slogan into a disembodied curse that haunts this lyser-gic peak time banger, which itself transforms Ellen Allien’s appeal for insurrection into a psychedelic mind trip. It’s rough and dark take on the original that not only channels but potentiates its energy.
The Berlin-based Romanian Cosmin TRG, known for his stylistic versatility and unusual approach to techno, gives the piece another unexpected turn. His take on “Take a Stand” harkens back to the classic acid techno sound while at the same time highlighting the moody, atmospheric qualities of the original. Out of the four re-mixes, Cosmin TRG’s synth-driven contribution is probably the one that radiates the most pessimism, making it feel even more urgent.
The B-side is opened by none other than the windy city’s Keith Alexander Shelby, here under his K’ Alexi Shel-by moniker. Known for his solo work as well as his collaborations with the Chicago aristocracy from Felix da Housecat to Larry Heard and Robert Owens, Shelby’s rough rendition of “Take a Stand” serves as proof that house and techno were once but two sides of the same coin: in a little under eight minutes, he distills the sheer ecstasy that once united the two genres into one thundering dancefloor anthem. A hard-hitting yet playful tune in true Chicago tradition, it skillfully combines looped vocal bits with a driving bassline and clattering percus-sion. Ron Hardy would have jacked to it, and he would have jacked hard.
Jonas Kopp in the meanwhile reimagines ”Take A Stand” with his trademark precision. The Berlin-based Ar-gentinian producer and DJ draws on the nervous energy of the track and turns it into a hyper-focused belter whose rattling percussion converts the explosiveness of the original into a highly hypnotic marching rhythm. After all, it is not his revolution if you cannot dance (yourself into a trance) to it. It’s a perfect coda for this ver-satile remix package that both highlights and amplifies the original’s unrestrained power.”
Last week Allien dropped the music video to ‘Take A Stand‘. Watch it below!
Tracklist
A1. Take a Stand (Kobosil Remix)
A2. Take a Stand (Cosmin TRG Remix)
B1. Take A Stand (K‘ Alexi Shelby Remix)
B2. Take a Stand (Jonas Kopp Remix)
