For GROOVE Podcast 523, Traumer presents his side project Marion Poncet, the name behind the new double album The Raging Swells Crushing The Cliff Of My Love (Fuck Reality). Written during a period of longing and conceived as a personal dedication, it is his first album under the alias in almost a decade: eight tracks of dusty, woozy deep house that run from Rhodes-laden shuffles to dub-house hypnosis and jazzy, break-heavy bass, with a cinematic melancholy running through them.
The mix consists solely of exclusive, unreleased tracks that fit the alias. Recorded early in the morning, between night and day, it came together on a laptop with Ableton and a MIDI controller, using only volume and a high-pass filter, and follows the arc of the hour: smooth beginnings, a dubby, more somber middle and a sunrise finale. In the interview, Traumer talks about closing Berghain for 13 hours as Roman Poncet and about what’s coming next.
GROOVE: What did you have in mind when recording this mix?
Traumer: First, a bit of context: It was early in the morning, at that moment when it’s not quite day, but not really night anymore. That naturally set the mood. Since I had just woken up, I wanted to start with some smooth vibes to ease into the waking process. But because the darkness hadn’t completely disappeared yet, I naturally moved into something a little more somber — the „dubby” part of the mix. Then, finally, the sun came up, and I wanted to end the mix by following its appearance and the change of atmosphere that came with it.
Where did you record it and which setup did you use?
I recorded it in a rather unusual way for me. Since I’d been away from home for a month and was already running a bit late with the deadline, I simply used my computer, Ableton and a MIDI controller. I loaded all my unreleased Marion Poncet tracks into the session and mixed them following the flow of the mix. I kept things very simple: just volume and a high-pass filter.
What’s the most memorable gig you’ve played so far?
Closing Berghain as Roman Poncet for 13 hours, sometime in 2016 or 2017.
Can you name a secret weapon that you use frequently?
If you mean in the studio: „The Sauce” by Swivel Audio is definitely a tool I use on pretty much every track. More recently, I discovered „Kontrast” by Dawesome, which can generate some pretty crazy textures and sequences. But I assume you meant in my sets: Well, it depends on which character I am playing as :)
Let’s go with Traumer, since that’s the project I perform as the most. My secret weapon at the moment is a remix I did of Jovonn’s „L Speex”, which will be released soon on my label, get—traum.
Three recent releases that caught your attention?
GIEGLING 30 – Ende Gut Alles Gut
Hildur Guðnadóttir – Origins
Curation 03: Verraco – The Third Room
What do you have coming up?
While trying to recover the projects from the MP album on my old computer, I found myself completely drawn back into the sound aesthetic of those older tracks. It made me want to start working on MP again — and somehow I ended up making 35 tracks … So you can expect quite a few of them to come out in 2027.
I’ve also been busy working with the „big brother”, Roman Poncet. I’ve finished a lot of tracks under that alias as well, and some of them should be released in 2027. As for Traumer, I’m definitely thinking about working on an album next year.
