It’s a bit surprising that the merging of ballet and electronic dance music didn’t happen years ago as both are centered around fluid movement. On the other hand, maybe it would have been ludicrous to place the grace of ballet around the type of banging techno which emerged from Berlin in the 90s. However, the intricate electronic patterns and snaking grooves of the minimal sound which the city has pioneered fit like a glove. Shut Up And Dance! sees Berlin’s Staats ballet join forces with the Berghain club, from where operates the Ostgut Ton label. Five dancers perform choreographies developed to electronic music for the occasion by five of the scene’s foremost studio names. Their sounds are mellower, created with a different kind of dancer in mind. It’s a fascinating and luxurious take on a form of music which is progressing so fast it’s hard to come up with something new. Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer – aka nsi. – provide the perfect scene-setter with the gentle tribal funk of ‘Bridge And Tunnel People’, Ame’s 16 minute ‘Flore’ hits Philip Glass/Tangerine Dream territory, Sleeparchive go low slung and sparse on ‘Perspective’ and Luciano pops the most floor-friendly offering in ‘Drunken Ballet’, which will be released as a single in September with Moritz Von Oswald remix. To close, Luke Slater goes beatless and deep under his 7th Plain alias. Beautiful experiment all round.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
