‘When you’re young, you’re discovering the music and don’t quite have the knowledge. Every new record can be the next influence. I would say that from ’96, I found my own real style and taste.”
Berlin-based DJ and producer Sascha Funke is mapping the musical paths he’s travelled since getting into dance music while a teenager in the early ’90s. He’s loved, danced to and played breakbeats, house and even trance, but his heart belongs to techno.

He explains that “80 per cent of the first records I bought at the Hardwax store in Berlin were from Detroit or Chicago,” and that these influences have stayed with him to this day as he mixes techno and house both old and new. Funke describes both his DJ and production styles as “a reduced groovy sound, but I wouldn’t call it minimal.”

The distinction is fair. Funke may make music that is sparse, but he has a flair for layering sounds and crafting emotional flourishes, one that has become increasingly evident over almost a decade’s worth of releases on the Kompakt and BPitch Control labels.

“It’s never a specific sound I have in my head as I start a new track, it’s more of a feeling,” says Funke. “Usually when I begin, the first sound I’m searching for relates to the feeling that is in my room then. That’s the foundation and from there I know which direction it goes.

“When I start, I don’t know if it’s a dance track or a non-dance track, it’s the feeling of the sound and then I can continue. It’s like you want to record the feeling you have, and then you can press it and copy it,” he laughs somewhat self-consciously.

More than many of his ilk, Funke is a techno producer who surprises at every turn. Most of his singles have been noticeably different from each other. He seems to be far more concerned with melodies, details and grooves than he is with making people dance or creating a specific public image through sound.

Nowhere is this diversity more apparent and mature than with the music of Mango, Funke’s recent sophomore album. The release makes it clear that Funke has the mind of a musician and cares to create a related body of work rather than turn out a bunch of dancefloor bangers.

“It’s boring for me to think in a way like, ‘Ah, this single was successful so I want to continue down that road.’ That’s not my vision,” he says.

 “After all of the singles, Mango was something that was very different. I started from less than zero. Inside of Mango, I had this long period when I was working all the time and then I could go deeper and deeper. I feel like I’ve found my way of doing music.”

Part of his being able to achieve this depth was the fact that Funke and long-time close friend and fellow BPitch artist Paul Kalkbrenner spent six months living in Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France. Not only did they escape the gray and cold of a Berlin winter, the friends were removed from their city’s notorious nightlife and were able to focus on gathering and recording ideas.

“When you see the daytime and you’re sitting in the studio, the only thing you have to think about is that you have to eat something for dinner and the rest of the time you can concentrate on the music,” Funke summarizes.

From the first note of the album’s title track, you can hear the results. Mango has more confidence, more live instrumentation and stronger pop elements than anything Funke has produced in his past. It also reflects his closeness to the BPitch camp, with label-affiliated artists including guitarist TimTim, vocalist Fritz Zander and vocalist Fritz Kalkbrenner all contributing.

Though he does not directly work for BPitch Control (“It’s more family feelings than professional things”), Funke does have his studio in the BPitch building, is close friends with label boss Ellen Allien — with whom he is currently touring North America — and appreciates the team’s sensibility.

“I talk often with Ellen and Paul (Kalkbrenner) about music and Modeselektor are my neighbours in the same building with BPitch,” he explains. “It’s very important for me to talk about music and share some new productions or ideas. That is part of how I will continue to grow.” 

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