Schmutz Presents: Norman Nodge (Ostgut Ton)

Norman Nodge occupies a special place in Berlin techno with a sound that is at once forceful, dubby and hypnotic. These days a lawyer by trade, Nodge spent the 90s as a DJ and promoter before becoming a Berghain resident in 2005.

Born in East German Leipzig, raised in Brandenburg, Norman got bitten by the techno bug after the wall came down. In 1994 he started to promote several events and launched his career as a DJ. At these parties, he got to know Marcel Fengler and Marcel Dettmann and literally became their mentor for all things techno. Marcel Dettmann eventually pitched him to Berghain’s management and he returned to DJing and became a resident instantaneously. Since then, he plays Berghain once a month, specialising in the almost forgotten art of warming up at the beginning of a night. In 2005 he also started to produce his own tracks. His maturity proved to be very beneficial in terms of his artistic vision, as he made up his mind about what he likes and what not a long time ago already. Unsurprisingly, his outings on Dettmann’s MDR label, as well as his track “Native Rhythm Electric” for Ostgut Ton left a deep impression with headstrong techno lovers. With his dusty funk, static hiss and the rich thump of his kick drums, he managed to get himself recognised as one of techno’s more unique auteurs. Norman Nodge cites Detroit techno (Jeff Mills, Rob Hood, 430 West), Chicago House (Relief, Dance Mania) and Techno (Luke Slater, Peacefrog, Mark Broom) as his most essential influences. Hence, it is not surprising that he fuses the old with the new and the soft with the tough when he plays out. “It is my goal as a DJ to make people dance without walking on trodden paths of recent trends. I want to sensitize dancers for unusual sounds, old and new.