5 year anniversary of Phase Fatale's first album on Berghain's in-house label Ostgut Ton repressed in special pink marble vinyl on his label BITE. Out February 14th.

Scanning Backwards, Phase Fatale’s second full-length album following his 2017 debut album for Hospital Productions, is music about control. Using the connection between weaponized sound and psychological manipulation as a conceptual foundation, Hayden Payne explores the ways in which music – and sub frequencies in particular – are used to influence thinking and to synchronize emotions and behavior: from military technology to sound systems and the physicality and sexuality of queer techno culture. 

Known for his innovative post-punk takes of dance music as featured on EPs for unterton and Ostgut Ton, the Berghain resident draws on his background as both a guitarist and sound engineer to create a heady mix of broken rhythms, noise-, and shoegaze-inflected techno, often at slower tempos. The result is music with space and pace to expand, highlighting the intense rushes of frequencies found in both sonic warfare and functional dance music. Over eight tracks named after a combination of historical and fictional narratives from literature and science fiction, Payne’s rhythmic excursions explore different manifestations of sound as power – specifically within the context of seeing Berghain as an instrument itself. This is also reflected in the album artwork, taken from an early flyer for the SNAX party series and an obvious ode to the fetishization of power dynamics. 

In his own words: “All tracks on the album, no matter the style, were tailored to sound a certain way in Berghain – something I figured out through years of dancing in the middle of the floor, DJing as a resident and investigating what frequencies really penetrate the body. This includes speech and high-frequency, brain-penetrating instrumentation and drilling textures that I had not utilized so often before, but which I think also have an effect on thought and memory. It's especially true in a space where gay and fetish roots combine with music in unexpected ways, almost in a cultish manner. A musical and physical deprogramming and reprogramming, psychic driving and de-patterning, the erasing and replacing of memories.” 

Ultimately, Scanning Backwards surveys not only the manipulative properties of electronic music (mantras, loops, subliminal messages) but also how rhythm facilitates both moving and thinking in synchrony; a pulse of coordinated sound- and brainwaves.

Phase Fatale - Scanning Backwards Reissue (BITE035)

Phase Fatale - Velvet Imprints

5 year anniversary of Phase Fatale's first album on Berghain's in-house label Ostgut Ton repressed in special pink marble vinyl on his label BITE. Out February 14th

Phase Fatale - Polystyrene

Phase Fatale - During the Freezing Process

Phase Fatale - Binding by Oath

Phase Fatale - Mass Deception

Phase Fatale - De-patterning

BITE is the Berlin-based techno label co-founded by Hayden Payne (aka Phase Fatale) in 2018. Beginning with the debut collaborative EP by Silent Servant & Phase Fatale, the label aims to platform artists who operate outside the conventional preconceptions of techno and are united by an ambition to push the boundaries of electronic music. This drive is further exemplified by regular showcases at renowned institutions Berghain, Basement, and Tbilisi’s KHIDI as well as a multitude of clubs throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

With a vast artist roster from stalwarts such as Ron Morelli and Teste to contemporary talent from the likes of Pablo Bozzi and Gael, the eclectic variety of releases touches upon a range of styles along the moodier fringes of electronic music. BITE has proved itself as the imprint to watch. Fresh off the heels of their 5 year anniversary in 2023 culminating in the acclaimed triple LP compilation ‘Shedding Skin,’ BITE moves into more dancefloor territory with their next releases by label head Phase Fatale and remixes by Rrose. The display of the music is also represented in its visual prowess with cutting designs and colorways intended to take the sound into another dimension. From proper techno to synthpunk and to sparse minimalist industrial, BITE never fails to deliver fresh and razor-sharp sounds tying together the narrative of dance music.