Starting from your stage name, through your style and music, all the way to the names of your tracks and the covers of your EPs and albums, everything seems to lead us to the figure of an alien, an UFO. What fascinates you so much about them? In which way do you identify with them?

My artist name EllenAllien is a gift from my colleague Aki – thanks again! We were sitting together at fishlabor. One of the big promoters from e Werk dubmission enters the bar and asked me to play for their event.- I was shocked and said to him with big eyes “oh, no thanks” because I had just started playing at fishlabor and I didn’t fell like going to play at eWerk such for a big audience. (e Werk first biggest club in berlin after tresor .. our techno church where everything started … ) He said oh yes u gonna play for us – didn’t take no for an answer – what is your DJ name Ellen, and Aki says “Ellen Allien”. I kept the name and I played that show – and really I couldn’t easily put the needle on the record. Aki says he named me Ellen Allien because in my DJ sets, the music I was mixing together reminded him of the alien movie. UFO Inc is another label I run, and the We Are Not Alone raves that go for 20-40 hours. And all these words cut my fear – things connected to space, aliens, the universe, the unknown. When I am watching the sky it makes me crazy or dreamy – in this way I connect with the unknown and build my own fantasy world with my music and DJing.

From founding your own label, BPitch Control, to being a prominent figure in the Berlin techno scene, what have the most significant challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?

Bpitch is called a music platform now :) I guess learning by doing was the biggest challenge, but also the only way. Working with artists, people looking for a community and making things happen together. Communication, intelligence, creativity to live a lifestyle which is uplifting and healthy.

Your music is often described as experimental and genre-blending. An example of this is the recent collaborations with the Italian band Ash Code on the track “Everything Collapses”. Here, your techno music merges with their dark wave direction. How do you approach the creative process when producing a new track, and what inspires you to explore different sonic territories?

Techno and Cold wave is what i love mixing up in my sets, mixing them together is my signature.. Ash Code asked me to do a project together and it was really enjoyable. I just finished a remix for Sad Madona that will be out in May. Good synth lines, dreamy dark melodies with distorted beats and strong basslines, fast beats, it’s all fun to produce! I find while sitting in the studio creating these sounds for the techno community – these are the places we are feeling free. The inspiration are the beautiful synth’s on earth. Something new happened on my last vacation I found a place with my all my favourite synths like arp 2600 in ibiza. I did 3 tracks there and it felt really very good there to make music there while on my vacation, surrounded by dogs, cats and nature.. and synthesisers. My mind is very connected to warehouses and places where things happens that I love – places to play techno and the meeting points of music lovers .. this inspires me .. the rooms the people bodies feeling the sounds and beats. All these places in my mind eyes crossing each other this conversations in clubs with people I just met – Techno is the soundtrack of my life it tells me the story of who I am. Living and the future.

Collaboration has been a key aspect of your career, working with various artists and producers. How do you approach these collaborative projects? And what do you think makes a fruitful and harmonious creative partnership, as in the emblematic case of the album “Orchestra of Bubbles” with Apparat?

Oh being in the studio working together on my visions and doing experiments with sounds is the moment of learning creating a sound circle of my soul . Exchanging music at bpitch / UFO Inc or when I am sharing stages with other DJs or at a We Are Not Alone rave – I just get so much music pleasure, working with so many big talents, sharing moments ideas is what brings the music forward – it’s our movement. Orchestra of bubbles was an absolute milestone.

Being an artist and running a successful record label must be demanding. How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance, and do you have any rituals or practices that help you stay grounded?

Running this platform with the team is very demanding – yes. We have a good structure and in our team there are 💯 music lovers, that’s why we are working together. All I am doing I build up step-by-step and it’s my life, my passion, my hobby became my job. It’s like mixing my favourite tunes together, it is all playful and satisfies my curiosity .. my curiosity of people – music – synths and political social evolution. Rituals are before I am playing – being in bed like in a meditative moment between time and body. This helps me to be focused on stage – finding faster ideas for the next 5 tracks in what way I want build the DJ journey .. smoking joints became my ritual during Corona :-) it’s beautiful vibe to fall like a bird in the storm of sounds.