Recently Played: Ellen Allien - “Just A Woman”

There's no shortage of great electronic music coming out of this city, and Köln's thriving scene additionally grants easy access to out-of-town electronic geniuses. But Berlin's beloved daughter, Ellen Allien, is such a big name these days that you're likely to bump into her music without having to resort to any in-depth music-scene-chewing. I first heard her 2005 album, Thrills, which riffed gloriously on my Detroit-calibrated palette for squelchy electro. However, my iTunes stats indicate that I've given by far the most attention to “Just A Woman,” from her 2006 split record with Audion (aka Matthew Dear). Less electro and more techno than anything on Thrills, I dunno that anyone I know is into this kind of record – generally speaking, I'm not – but if you hazard a listen to the first few seconds, the unrelentingly intense beat will shove you forward through each successive iteration of all-but-superfluous effects, until the brutal percussion comes to an indifferent halt and you find yourself at the end of the track. Applause will be in order.

Ellen Allien - Just A Woman