Ellen Allien's entry in the DJ-mix series spin-off of Kreuzberg, Germany’s Watergate club is nothing if not restless.
Watergate 05 does not appear to have a makeup that differs from her past several mixes, as 16 tracks mixed in 65 minutes is just about average for Allien.
The productions here, however, are more rhythmically disparate, significantly busier and, in a few cases, abrasive and polarizing.
Smooth contours are not the rule here, as exemplified through Matias Aguayo's “Bo Jack” (where Theremin-like piercing frequencies battle a growling vocal), Aerea Negrot's “All I Wanna Do” (like a messy Hieroglyphic Being or James T.
Cotton track without finesse), and Allien’s own mix of Uffie’s “Pop the Glock” (in which over half-a-dozen ideas are haphazardly splattered).
The friction these tracks create, when mixed together, is not all that pleasant.
Inebriation should help.