Various Artists - Berlin Gets Physical (2LP) [Get Physical]

Format: 2x12".
CAT: GPMCD264V

Three years after Reno Wurzbacher’s entry into the series, Cook Strummer now presents his own Berlin Gets Physical, a collection of entirely new and exclusive tracks.

Based in Berlin and of Belgian origin, Strummer has been a contributor to Get Physical for several years. He has released various singles, including the standout “Rising,” which was also part of the Words Don’t Come Easy series, and always builds the perfect blend of rhythm and melody, with clear references to the characteristic cold wave sound of his home country. He often uses his own voice, drum machines, synthesizers, and guitars in his music, and since his debut album in 2018 on LOK Recordings, he has received support from figures like Laurent Garnier, Adam Port, and Âme. This summer he released “Atmosphere” on Obsolet Records, another well-received work, and now Berlin Gets Physical finds him delving into the freshest and most essential house sounds of the iconic city, across 15 carefully sequenced tracks.

His new piece “For Berlin” opens the compilation with a dark, sharp vibe, gothic vocals, and tense drums. Glitch beats and bubbling synths enhance the raw atmosphere and draw you in immediately, while Los Cabra & Manuel Sahagun’s “Italian Groove” takes off on waves of jagged dark disco synths. Freudenthal feat. Nowhere People continues that muscular disco vibe with the gritty groove and cosmic rays of “Cipher.”

Marvin Jam & Le Mythe's shimmering “Bad Karma” allows for breathing space with a slower, spacier dub disco sound, and Daniel Jaeger & Valenti's "Quarantine Cowboys" puncturing bass riffs and exotic effects rebuild the atmosphere with innovative house blues. The middle section brings brain-melting synths on "Out Of The Blue," bubbling dub house and disco courtesy of dramasquad's expansive “ziggy,” as well as the percussive looseness of deep house from "Abayomi."

After KEENE’s elastic and rolling afro sounds, more doses of cosmic house arrive from Dan Buri and Max Joni & MUKKIMIAU, the tech drive of Red Pig Flower & Lulla, and the dense atmospheres of Mike Book. There's a hard-hitting house rawness in FreedomB's "State of Shock," and the closing comes with Electronic Elephant's tense, contained, minimal drum funk on "Ask Yourself."

This precise and well-tuned collection is an authentic snapshot of Berlin’s contemporary underground sound.