[Used Goods] Ellen Allien : Stadtkind

I won't be able to sleep until I write this. Since the purchase of Ellen Allien's debut LP, Stadtkind, on Sunday I have been completely consumed by her music in a way that Thrills and a friend's mix album have never done before. Named after the Berlin term for "child of the city," this double vinyl release is one of the most enveloping albums I've ever heard. Here I am now, long after the album's release - long after Ellen has built a musical landmark with her Berlin-based label, Bpitch Control - becoming a devoted fan of her work. But it's never too late...



The best music always comes to you like a good idea in the middle of the night. I've known of this record for quite some time, and though I've had plenty of chances to seek it out, I waited. To be leafing through the records on a Sunday and, within the many new vinyls, to find a used, discounted, and well-conditioned copy of Stadtkind in search of a new home, I knew it was fate. Sweating and sticking from the Boston humidity, I laid on my bed with my head at the foot. In the one room that lacks an air conditioner, I swam into the music with the biggest headphones that I could find. Eyes closed, it was perfect.

Her later records are faster, louder, and more danceable, often similar to the locomotion of all methods of transportation. Stadtkind however, is the silent traveller in the window. The speed of the brainflow as the person in motion observes everything going on around him or her. Living in a city, again, after nearly two years of being away from that sort of setting, it's a record that finally brought me into full saturation with the surrounding environment.

With only six months worth of effort, Ellen has creeped her way into my favorite all-time artists, and Stadtkind may very well overwhelm my top ten albums of all time, securing a permanent spot for itself.

Bpitch Control