efdemin

Phillip Sollmann’s productions as Efdemin are clear, uncluttered techno tracks which are nevertheless highly detailed, forming a dreamy, entrancing narrative. Informed by minimalism and dub as well as deep house and Detroit techno, his music is equally geared for club play and home listening. Active since the late ’90s, he made a splash in the underground techno scene with Efdemin, his 2007 debut full-length. Further albums, singles, and mix CDs (such as 2008′s Carry On - Pretend We Are Not in the Room) followed, as Sollmann regularly spun at prestigious Berlin techno club Berghain and released low-key white label 12″s on his Naïf label. His fourth Efdemin full-length, 2019′s New Atlantis, veered further away from the dancefloor than his other albums, incorporating more of the experimentation of the avant-garde work Sollmann occasionally releases under his own name. Originally from Kassel, Germany, Sollmann played in an alternative rock band called Derrick during the mid-’90s before he began releasing techno at the end of the decade. He formed the duo Tobin with Alexander Polzin; they released one 12″ in 1999, and their track “Reis 1” was included on Kompakt’s Total 1 compilation that year. Sollmann began releasing tracks as Efdemin on the Dial label soon afterwards, and his debut EP, Kleine Wirrniss, appeared in 2004. He moved to Berlin in 2005 and soon became a regular presence at Berghain, Weekend, Watergate, and other clubs. He also began releasing minimal techno records as part of the duo Pigon, with Oliver Kargl. While he released a drone album under his own name in 2006, Sollmann’s self-titled debut album as Efdemin appeared in 2007 and was met with much acclaim. Mix CD Carry On - Pretend We Are Not in the Room was released in 2008 on Curle Recordings, which also released numerous Efdemin 12”s. Second album Chicago appeared on Dial in 2010, followed by Decay in 2014. Sollmann also collaborated with Marcel Fengler under the name DIN, releasing an album as part of Ostgut Ton’s Masse Box in 2014. In 2018, Efdemin released EPs on Curle (Move Your Head) and Stroboscopic Artefacts (Wrong Movements), as well as his second mix CD, Naïf, named after his label but issued by Curle. New Atlantis, Efdemin’s first full-length for Ostgut Ton, appeared in 2019, incorporating instruments such as wooden percussion and hurdy-gurdy, as well as techniques such as just intonation. ~ Paul Simpson