For episode eleven, Marcel Fengler approaches his OUTOFCHARACTER entry as a personal retrospective. Drawing a direct line back to his formative years playing hip hop at private parties in the 1990s, the mix finds its anchor in the shadowed, textural world of labels such as Ninja Tune and Mo’ Wax, with initial selections from DJ Krush, Vex’d and Bonobo setting a reflective tone, and the implementation of memory as the guiding pace for this hour-long recording.

The Berlin-based artist’s touchstones are re-contextualised through a contemporary lens as the set evolves. Massive Attack and Radiohead sit alongside darker, more abstract club forms from Gesloten Cirkel, Pessimist and pdqb, while moments of melodic warmth surface through Earth Trax before evaporating into Brian Eno’s ambient conclusion. A concise and sentimental tribute to the shades of music that have inspired him throughout his extraordinary career, Marcel offers his memories to the series like a journal finally permitted to be opened.

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Graphic Art by www.instagram.com/bass.from.da.area

Tracklist:

1. Shlømo - Hadal Skin (Telefon Tel Aviv Dub Remix) 
2. Vex’d - Fallen
3. Een - Goed Moment
4. Bonobo - Kiara
5. DJ Krush feat. Esthero - Final Home (Vocal Version)
6. Neotropic feat. Shorti - Memories
7. Massive Attack feat. Mos Def - I Against I
8. Wraz. - In The Gutter
9. Cavüm - Anno1123
10. Shokh - Vanditerion
11. Gesloten Cirkel - Submit-X
12. In Half Light & Ossa Di Mare - Tallnyet (Pessimist Remix)
13. Ryuichi Sakamoto - Anger
14. Radiohead - Idioteque
15. Earth Trax - Your Fading Other
16. pdqb - 10000 Gauß
17. Soft Boi feat. Nastychong - Fais Moi La Guerre
18. Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)

Marcel Fengler (Dubstep, Trip-Hop, Experimental) | OUTOFCHARACTER #011

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Contact: emily@outofcharacterfm.com

Everyone's fate is made of many tales. Although our own destiny might be dwelling in our breast, it also takes strong convictions and the courage to challenge yourself. DJ, producer and label manager Marcel Fengler is the best example that talent isn’t just a matter of luck, but the will to believe in your own passions while constantly developing them. Today, Fengler has not only been quoted as „one of the finest techno DJs“ (Resident Advisor), he has earned international respect for his „well-crafted body of production work“ (FACT) introducing his unique and „multi-faceted personality“ (Electronic Beats). 

While growing up, he was first fascinated by the hip-hop culture, breakdance, and graffiti art, Fengler’s interest shifted towards techno music and the art of DJing after the Berlin wall came down. As a vinyl nerd he began playing records during the early nineties. By witnessing Claude Young mixing with three record players, Fengler followed his path merging both hearts in his chest: turntablism and techno. Carried away by the magic and the togetherness of the first hardcore and trance raves in such clubs like E-Werk or Tresor, he organized his own parties in his hometown Fürstenwalde.

Over the last two decades, Fengler developed a versatile and dynamic style of DJing that made him one of the first resident DJs of Berlin’s infamous Berghain / Panorama Bar in 2005. With his impressive intuition for the very moment, Fengler is capable of changing pace, atmosphere, and energy reacting to the mood on the dance floor: whether industrial-drenched hardness, broken beats, gloomy dubs or melodic and funky grooves – next to his inimitable instinct, Fengler draws from a varied repertoire. The approach of allowing to drift away within the momentum also applies to his first singles as a producer on such labels like Ostgut Ton and Mote Evolver. His debut album „Fokus“ (2013), in particular, was a statement of his ambitious claim, awarding his own tracks with emotional densities as well as unexpected contrasts. 

Bringing together both his melodic groove and beat tracks and his straighter cuts, he founded his own imprint Marcel Fengler Index (IMF) in 2011 – a platform that not only continues evolving his timeless techno approach but represents a creative center introducing new and young talents. A logical step for an artist who’s always interested in looking beyond his own nose represented by his project DIN, the mutual collaboration with Philipp Sollmann (Efdemin), for the contemporary dance project „Masse“ of the Staatsballett Berlin. 

As a DJ and producer, Marcel Fengler stands for imposing surprises and the appeal of variety. For him, techno is both unconditional passion as well as an essential part of his identity. He’s not bound to a linear or one-dimensional sound, instead, he’s constantly seeking for new ways to express his emotional storytelling skills. His willingness to challenge himself and to stay curious, while establishing changes as his secret persistence, is showing his true vision of techno which makes Marcel Fengler to one of the today’s most exciting electronic artists in these days.

IMF equals Index Marcel Fengler. After a string of releases for his up to now permanent address Ostgut Ton with Luke Slater’s Mote-Evolver imprint being an exception to the rule, Marcel Fengler establishes his own label to expand his capacity and give a platform also for talented producers or interesting collabos.

contact: mail@imf-rec.berlin