Talking Sense: Shed In Conversation

5 Minute Read

Music

Written by Alasdair King

Few have made as much impact on Techno as Rene Pawlowitz – an artist who has operated beneath a myriad of names and faces. He holds no punches in a frank conversation on the state of dance music and the culture.

Shed, Head High, Zigg Gonzales and EQD are just a few of the names beneath which Rene Pawlowitz has released music and speaking honestly, there’s probably more of his records in my collection than there are anybody else’s.

His versatility and approach to House and Techno remains unrivalled and his releases remain testament to the love and commitment he has towards the sound.

However, the appreciation and love for the culture is very much changing. Whilst some cling to the past, others look forward. Yet things are definitely not the same and frankly it’s time to get honest about that.

There’s a new Shed album being released on Dekmantel, titled ‘Rave Echoes’, the record has a sentimentality which is hard to place. Yet as described by Rene himself “it’s not nostalgic, it’s about that feeling that remains for a day, a week or even years after celebrating a rave.”

We took the opportunity to ask some questions to a producer who has helped define Techno in the present. Some are blunt, some are not. A chance to get real about the state of things.

You’ve released music under several aliases over the years — Shed, Head High, WK7, EQD, Wax, and others. What does an alias allow you to express that a single artistic identity cannot?

“I simply can release more records! It’s all about profit maximisation. It’s just fun or pure „underground“ behaviour. Haha…..”

Was there a particular record or rave experience that completely shifted your understanding of electronic music?

“4hero featuring Carol Crosby: Universal Love (Original)”

Your releases on labels like Ostgut Ton became landmarks for many listeners. Did those records feel significant at the time, or only in retrospect?

“It was always special to me releasing something with Ostgut! Back in the days the club and the whole environment have had a big impact on me. I still look back with a good feeling.”

Do you still think albums matter in dance music culture?

“Not at all. It never made any sense. It was all about promotion. A long player try to tell a story. Dance music is made for the club, for djs. They try to tell their own story in a set. But there is music that scratches on the surface of dance music. Then it could makes sense. Today, long-players are for the heads.”

‘A Dj is not a Dj anymore. It’s a clown today. A content clown. The value of music itself is lost.’

What do you think your younger self would misunderstand about the life you have now?

“I always talk to my older me. So no secrets, no regrets, no misunderstandings!”

When people look back on your catalog decades from now, what do you hope they hear in it besides “techno”?

“Love for the music as a whole.”

There’s a growing nostalgia for “the old Berlin.” Do you think that era is romanticised, or was something genuinely lost?

“Is there? I don’t think much of that.

Romanticising and nostalgia seems to be a zeitgeist of today.

Nightlife as I know it is gone. The club scene is lost. If you need to put stickers on the phones’ camera to keep the secret of the club alive… Shame.

A Dj is not a Dj anymore. It’s a clown today. A content clown. The value of music itself is lost.”

Your drums have a very recognisable pressure and movement. What do you listen for when shaping rhythm?

“It’s all about timing plus compression and eq-ing. And discipline to hold the lows down.”

What has been the hardest period creatively in your career?

“Creativity is coming and going. There’s been no creative crisis at any certain point. Sometimes I simply stop making music for a few months.”

What do you feel needs to be said about this latest album? Tell us about it?

“Go to Raves! Leave your phone at home. Let yourself go and keep the secret.”

Check the new album HERE.