"You realise you're not just playing music. You give people the power to empower themselves." Cofounders CEM and MCMLXXXV discuss the revered party series and its fledgling label.

Berlin queer party Herrensauna—which means "men's sauna" in German—started as a seed of an idea shared between friends Cem Dukkha (AKA CEM) and Nicholas Endlicher (AKA MCMLXXXV). They were teenagers in Vienna at the time, dreaming of becoming DJs in Berlin. When they finally relocated, they started throwing parties in the basement of a Neukölln off-location. This quickly snowballed into a residency at Tresor, and now a globally recognised brand that curates lineups at clubs and festivals around the world and counts Salome, SPFDJ, Héctor Oaks, JASSS and DJ Saliva as residents.

In this RA Exchange, hosted ahead of Herrensauna's curated night at Wire Festival in New York, CEM and MCMLXXXV spoke with senior producer Chloe Lula about the party's origins and how its mission has changed, shifting from focusing on gay men to championing an all-inclusive vision of queerness. They also discussed their artwork and aesthetics—including their provocative re-appropriations of quasi-religious iconography—as well as the role that platforms like theirs have in shifting the cultural zeitgeist and attitudes towards the LGBTQIA+ community. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.660 - Herrensauna

The Berghain resident talks about re-queering the goth scene, exploring a lighter side of his sound and preparing for marathon closing sets.

Hayden Payne, AKA Phase Fatale, grew up fully immersed in the world of music; his dad is a recording engineer and musician, as are many members of his family. After joining post-punk outfits like Dream Affair and consuming a diet of new wave and synth from parties like Wierd in New York, Payne eventually relocated to Berlin, where he saw possibilities emerge around ways of fusing guitar music with sounds for the dance floor. It was only shortly after relocating that he landed a residency at Berghain and began releasing his own productions as a techno artist, becoming known for darker-edged sets and productions that fuse industrial, EBM and techno.

In this episode of the RA Exchange, he talks to senior producer Chloe Lula about all of this and more, like "re-queering" the goth scene; exploring a lighter side of his sound with his Italo duo, Soft Crash; his label, BITE Records; and sustaining strong ties to dance floors in Kyiv and Tbilisi, two cities that he reflects as being refreshingly socially and politically motivated for queer artists living in the margins. His new EP as Soft Crash, NRG, is out now. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.699 Phase Fatale

"They were wild and crazy years." The Spanish techno icon discusses his early years in Madrid, running record labels and staying true to his sound for more than 30 years.

Spanish DJ and producer Oscar Mulero is a legend of underground techno. Since starting to play parties and make music more than 30 years ago, he's earned a reputation as an anti-conformist tastemaker who's adamantly stuck to his guns. While his trajectory began with Madrid's goth and punk clubs in the '90s, he eventually found techno in the early '00s and started two labels, PoleGroup and Warm Up, as homes for the hypnotic, spaced-out sound that's become his signature. 

In this RA Exchange, Mulero reflects on the early days of the Spanish techno scene and how it's evolved, as well as his own roots and influences. Today, the artist is as active as he's ever been, he discusses how he's maintained longevity as an artist in the face of changing trend, as well as his best practices for making music at home and on the road. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.730 Oscar Mulero

soundcloud : @sarah-vergaerde
instagram : www.instagram.com/sookie.sarah/

Sookie @ GIMIC - 19 February 2025

Plank & Ishq 	Nandoori Space
Joss 	Egoli
Longlost + ShaunJWright - Faded Pictures
Svarog 	Addiction's Abyss
Fernie 	Traverse
Clark Davis 	Berlin (G-Man Remix Dance Version)
Jesse Maas & Litmus 	D BEAM
Alan Backdrop 	Converging to Center
Allen 	The Search For Exo Planets
Terence Fixmer 	K2
Binary Algorithms 	Register #04 (.VRIL Remix)
CRYME 	Hold On
Oliver Rosemann 	Stealth Shell Symphony
Otik 	Miracles
Patrick Siech 	Invocation
stndrd 	Cypherwave
Yrsen - Hologram (Diffuse Reality Records)
Louis The 4th 	Conception
Marco Bailey 	D Vice
Salbany 	Crossroads
C-System - Against Control
Daito, emagemuser 	Oesdrums
Jack Fresia 	81z
Justine Perry 	Nova Voyager
Nachtwaker 	Currents
Tapefeed 	Burned Blueprint
Deluka - R.A.W 
Dynamic Forces 	Holding Out
Mossed 	Divider
Neila Edel 	Rampage
Kaan Pirecioglu 	Human Engine
mchvlsm 	Maelstrom
Metapattern 	Street Sweeper
ONYVAA 	AYAH
Volpe & Elias. 	Exploration
Bailey Ibbs 	Frenzy Tool
Concrete Husband 	Breath on Me
Franco Rossi 	Pax Animi
Isaiah 	Come Closer
Paàl 	Move For Something
PS11 	Equilibrium
Pushmann 	The Chinese Hardgroove Track
Ryan James Ford 	Nexus 95
Gunjack 	Mo' Future
Mislaw & KXYXK 	Jade
Muhammad Taha 	Kaninchenkopf
Operator (UK) 	Up, Then Down
SERA J 	Bonds Of Respect
Leon Wolf 	Leave it
Aleeks 	Catch A Glimpse
Boyca 	Yes Sir
LaFontaine 	PWM
Michael Ius 	Transmitter
LaFontaine & Jamesendir 	RH4
Iannis Rezgui 	Et Quand Les Jours Vinrent
Mike Parker 	Spaceship Galliot
Brendon Moeller 	Urban Cosmos
Refracted 	Initation

Majorana's mask

Bain Sonore ~ March 2025

Langhoff - Body Work

Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/track/1KivetvVLTPnuKdDUQ4qwv?si=47d0f8ecf9194123

Langhoff - Body Work

Pumpin

Hey Babe...

OUT NOW🚀

aurora

Recorded by Laertes [@gianlucameloni-laertes], May 2017

01. Laertes - Trickateng [Prologue]
02. Laertes - Penisular Atmosphere [OVQA]
03. Laertes - Gozzer [@Reaktivate]
04. Laertes - And or Noot [@Attic-Music]
05. Laertes - Magma (Special Version) (@Outis-Music - Unreleased)
06. Laertes - Homo Erectus [@ConcreteRecords]
07. Laertes - Liquid [Unreleased]
08. Laertes - Concentricy [Unreleased]
09. Laertes - Anime [Unreleased]
10. Laertes - Universe [Live 'Notfromearth']

Love and light

Page 8: Laertes

soundcloud.com/4cr0nym
https://www.discogs.com/artist/3033686-Acronym

Bain Sonore ~ March 2025

Full Sentimental

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