Ellen Allien, the esteemed techno veteran, has allied with the Italian synth wave band, Ash Code, to forge an imperious collaborative project – “Dance and Kill EP.” The full album is available on June 30th. The new production, comprised of three fervid tracks, was unified by a common admiration for each other. Revealing the congruity of their present sonic productions, the two entities have built a bridge between cold wave and techno, Napoli meets Berlin in this disconcerting yet unique liaison.
With their shared instruments – synths, basslines, mood, melody, and vocals – they show how much these places and sounds interweave. Ellen Allien’s dynamic edits intertwined with various influences from Ash Code and her vocal-based arrangements offer electric grooves. Her creative prowess leads to a dark and enigmatic sound, which conveys passion and radical contemplations.
Ash Code was born in Italy in 2014 and amalgamates post-punk, synthpop, and EBM. An iconic figure of the techno scene and a visionary of Berlin’s electronic community, Ellen Allien is no stranger to cold wave circles. Her last year’s remix of Lebanon Hanover and her recent performance with both bands at the Grauzone Festival made her an ideal choice for Ash Code to collaborate with.
The trio of tracks in the new EP symbolizes the marriage of two fierce and dissimilar auditory realms, harmonizing to establish a synergistic resonance like never before. The opening track, ‘Dance and Kill,’ typifies the merger of techno and cold wave aspects. ‘Shining On You,’ with Ellen’s vocals and thunderous drum programming, imparts a melancholy yet irresistibly danceable quality. The final offering, ‘Everything Collapses,’ brings forth vigorous percussion and snarling low frequency, buoyed by supernatural voices in chorus.
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