Best of Berlin - Poker Flat & Get Physical Records

Get Physical Records

Get Physical Records are at the centre of the ongoing German re-invigoration of house music, based in the capital of both the country and the scene, Berlin. At the core of the label is a collective of five rather talented individuals, firstly production duo de jour Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, otherwise known as Booka Shade, who impressed with debut album Memento in 2004, followed by one of last years best LP's, Movements, featuring the massive singles In White Rooms, Mandarine Girl, and current hit Darko. They are joined by another successful pairing, Patrick Bodmer and Philipp Jung, more commonly known as M.A.N.D.Y, who combined with Booka Shade for the label's biggest release to date, Body Language, as well as mixing the labels first compilation CD (also called Body Language), and compiling the superb second mix in the At The Controls Series. And finally there is DJ T, or Thomas Koch to his friends, a prolific producer for several other labels, he also founded and published Germany's longest running electronic music magazine, Groove, before helping set up Get Physical. Incredibly the label has only been up and running for four years, and in that time has made a significant impression across the industry, winning several awards in the process, including DJ Mag's label of the year 2005, and numerous prizes for individual artists. In the beginning they operated a vinyl only policy but the success of artist albums and mixes lead to rapid expansion, and 2007 sees seven artist albums and five compilations scheduled, including new releases from Fuckpony and DJ T, who will also be playing the Arches on the 6 May.

Poker Flat Records

Also hailing from Berlin, but with a more minimal edge to their sound is PokerFlat Records. Started by renowned minimal maestro Steve Bug from the ashes of his previous project Raw Elements back in 1998, the label has been at the forefront of European electronic music ever since. Not surprisingly the roster reads like a who's who of the scene: Patrick Chardronnet, Guido Schneider, Martin Landsky, Steve Bug, Martin Buttrich, and Midas touch producer Trentemoller. Previously overshadowed by larger German labels like Kompakt and International Deejay Gigolos, 2006 was Poker Flat's year with releases like Martin Landsky's 1000 Miles, the second in Steve Bug's Bugnology compilation series, and most importantly Trentemoller's excellent debut album The Last Resort, not to mention his string of huge remixes for Moby, The Knife, and Djuma Soundsystem. He also shone the spotlight on the label with the most popular Essential Mix of last year, along with best album awards in the German dance music awards and two prestigious gongs in his native Denmark.