Good for Nothing

Philip Bader discovered his love for electronic music in 1998 – and it only took a year until he made his debut DJ appearance at the legendary Tresor club in Berlin. It didn’t take long before the natural born Berliner earned a reputation as one of the city’s most creative minds behind the tuntables, and the next step to production was only a logical progression. And it’s hardly surprising that Bader has regularly proven his originality and diversity, when he counts Led Zeppelin and De La Soul among his many musical influences. The enjoyment of genre bending can be clearly heard on his newest Highgrade outing. This, his second solo EP for the Berlin record label, flatters the aural canals from the outset with an almost mystical sound, before suddenly popping out of the speakers, squeaking and peeping with urgent sound clips leading towards another musical realm. What might sound like an overwhelming potpourri, in fact fits perfectly to a custom designed original track with a steady thumping bassline. This is not just an indiscriminate use of effects, but a playful and experimental component. Also in the next track, Bader extends the conventional genre pigeon holes and crosses boundaries with audible pleasure. For whoever needs more on this theme: These two tracks are excerpts from a whole album, which will appear next March on Highgrade Records.