AUTOMATIK label boss Henri Bergmann is on fire at the moment.
This year has seen her travelling the world with shows in LA, New York, Ibiza, London, Dubai and Central America and a packed summer festival season.
Her Automatik label has followed suit with an array of amazing, emotive, melodic techno sounds.
New Automatik compilation, Interstellar, is a shining example of this sound, featuring spellbinding work from the likes of Paride Saraceni, Betical, Monophase and Bergmann herself alongside an array of other great talent.
To mark the release, we asked Henri to talk us through a playlist of ten of her favourite tracks from the label.
Henri Bergmann, Wennink, Fat Cosmoe – Higher Dimension
“This is probably my favourite release so far. The pulsating disco bassline combined with Wennink’s Depeche Mode-esque vocal and the synth hook all work so well together. The lyrics ‘Say That You’ll Save Us, Science You’ll Save Us, Cause We Keep Relying On You, Relying On You, Holy Saviour’ are spot on and profound for our times as we inch closer and closer to climate catastrophe. Maceo Plex was playing this in all of his sets last year.”
Henri Bergmann, Wennink – Protection (Dodi Palese Remix)
“Ended up being one of the most played songs in the melodic house and techno scene and a staple in Dixon and Ame’s sets. It’s a crossover track that fits into nearly every DJ set with its uplifting arpeggiated bassline and vocal hook: ‘Listen to your voice, cutting through the noise…’ ”
Henri Bergmann, Wennink – Simulacrum (Betical Remix)
“The Betical brothers did such a good job on this remix, reminiscent of the signature Bicep breakbeat, layered with Wennink’s lush vocals from the original. Perfect for home listening.”
Thodoris Triantafillou – Leave Them Kids at Home
“This is the first track I signed by another artist so it holds a special place for me. It’s a peaktime indie track filled with a ridiculous amount of energy, ideal for festival sets.”
Henri Bergmann, Hardt Antoine – Can’t Escape
“It was really important for me to have Antoine on my first ever Various Artists Compilation. One of my main goals with the VA was to promote local UK talent on my label and Antoine is not only practically my neighbour, but also one of the most unique up-and-coming producers in our scene. He agreed to give me a track if I did a collab with him so obviously we made that happen and we’re both really happy with the result. It’s the perfect combination of both of our styles of music and has been received really well by the community.”
Henri Bergmann – Nexus
“This was one of the first tracks I released as Henri Bergmann and was a breakthrough moment for me in establishing my sound. It’s dark, broody, hypnotic techno. I remember when VAAL played it at Tomorrowland and I was so proud. Eliot even got it mastered for me.”
Nick Jojo – Traces (Monophase Remix)
“This is a dancefloor bomb, my go-to track to play in my sets at the moment as it always connects and energizes the crowd. Monophase is a name to look out for.”
Argia – Rizzo
“Spanish-born Argia is one of my favourite producers, she always stays true to her sound, no compromises, and therefore has a really strong identity and sound. Rizzo sounds raw, it has driving drums and doesn’t take itself too seriously, I was so happy when she agreed to give me this track for my Interstellar VA.”
Pattn – Indecision
“I’d been working with Dan aka Pattn for a while trying to find a track for the VA and then all of a sudden he sent me this and I was like yessss it’s perfect. Again, he’s a local talent I’ve had my eye on, a resident at Fabric, a Geordie through and through, such a character and another one to watch. You can listen to ‘Indecision’ at home but it also translates to the dancefloor.”
Paride Saraceni – Intuition
“I first played this at a sunrise set for Rhinos in Space and it was the perfect setting as the pinky orange light rose from the darkness. It’s a euphoric, happy, uplifting dance track. Paride is going to be performing with me, Cenkk and a special guest at my first ever Automatik party Dec 8th in East London. I’m also going to get my husband Wennink to sing on a few of our songs. I wanted to only book DJs from the UK scene for our first party as i feel like we always import international talent but there’s definitely room to promote our own.”
