„The tracks themselves are a mix of inspirations and atmospheres, bright, colorful, vivid memories from being on dance floors and part of different scenes from Melbourne to London to Cologne and now Berlin. Some sounds or atmospheres transport me mentally back to those feelings of those places where I heard or felt something that really made an impression on me,“ says Sarah Sommers about her recent album VIVID on Ellen Allien’s BPitch.
Something along these lines probably goes as well for the recording of one of her notorious hardware live sets that she played in LA recently. Fuelled with unbridled energy, it interconnects rave nostalgia with an abrasive, contemporary take on Acid Techno.
What did you have in mind when recording this set?
This set is what I performed during my first US tour. I wanted to include a range of my older and newer tracks so there would be some things some fans would know but there would be plenty of new things to discover. Like „HeartCore“ from my debut album and „New Beginnings“ from my last EP. I also wrote a kind of reinterpretation of „Good Life“ by Inner City especially for the tour because it has some of those old school 90’s sounds that came out of places like Detroit which a lot of early techno tracks used which I also love, and thought would be fun for some of the old school ravers.
Where did you record it and which setup did you use?
This set was recorded live in Los Angeles at an underground rave put on by two LA collectives, Trans*cendent and TechnoFamLA. I recorded it the same way I record most of my shows, directly into my 1010music pink box mixer. I took my entire setup on the tour, which was at times pretty challenging, since it’s two large pelican cases full of gear plus a third smaller one for my clothes. My setup consists of an Eurorack Modular with a bunch of synth, drum, and sampling modules, an Elektron Analog Rytm and Syntakt, a tb303 clone, and my beloved Erica Synths Perkons. I was very happy with the performance and the energy on the night. People were really into it and it was lovely to also meet a lot of fans after the show in real life since we’d only had an online connection before that.
What’s the most memorable gig you played so far?
This is a tough one, there have been so many memorable gigs. The show in Denver was really beautiful. Even though it was the last show on my tour and I was pretty exhausted by that point. People came with such energy and love for the music and music in general. It felt really down to earth, genuine and really warmed my heart. The shows in New York at the Chocolate Factory and at Drugstore in Serbia were also both amazing shows for me. It’s usually a combination of the energy of the people on the dancefloor, my performance and the soundsystem which make it memorable for me.
Can you name a secret weapon that you use frequently?
Up until now I feel like it’s been the Perkons drum synth by Erica Synths. This combination of raw and sometimes harsh sounds with flexible sequencing means I keep discovering interesting things on it that I love, I just wish it was smaller for travel! I also have a new secret weapon, which I’ve called Stardust, which is a mini modular I have put together consisting of a crazy kick drum module called the Bohm by Ohmforce and an equally crazy drone synth called Vhikk by Forge TME.
What do you have coming up?
Well apart from my new album VIVID on Bpitch I have a string of festival gigs for the rest of the summer around Europe which will be exciting. Kicking off with Garbicz Festival in Poland, then Lethargy Festival in Zurich, Dark Matter in Berlin and Body Movements Festival in London. You can checkout the full schedule on my website.
And: Tell us about your BPitch Debut: What’s special about it?
VIVID, my first solo album release on Bpitch, is very special to me. It brings several things together that mean a lot to me. The tracks themselves are a mix of inspirations and atmospheres, bright, colorful, vivid memories from being on dancefloors and part of different scenes from Melbourne to London to Cologne and now Berlin. Some sounds or atmospheres transport me mentally back to those feelings of those places where I heard or felt something that really made an impression on me. For example the big Warehouse raves in Melbourne down at the docks at Shed 14. The Sunrise over the dancefloors when you’ve been dancing all night and smiles from strangers as you dance together as the sun comes up, which I experienced many times in the bush parties in Melbourne but also in Berlin. The feeling of the crazy bass at my first dubstep parties at Mass in Brixton, London. The atmosphere for me at specific times of being on the dancefloor at Tresor in Berlin. On top of this, I’m honoured and it is really a dream come true to have this release come out on Ellen’s label Bpitch which has been a legendary part of the Berlin scene since the early days, to be able to contribute music really to the heart of the Berlin scene is something which I have dreamt of most of my life.
