The De Compress programme snakes its way through subaltern territories of dark, exploratory techno.

Ideally suited to the gothic, resonant dimensions of Berghain, De Compress opens with the hazy narcotics of CTM curatorial force Michail Stangl aka Opium Hum and the occultist alchemy of Berlin Current duo OAKE (Downwards). Downwards label boss Regis partners with Russell Haswell to present malignant, visceral techno steeped in noise as Concrete Fence (PAN), an aesthetic simulated in the planar-shifting, analogue experimentation of Philadelphia duo Metasplice (Morphine Records) that tests the bounds of psycho-physiological endurance. Bodies craving rhythmic traction will find a degree of relief in the netherworld techno of Fullpanda label founder Dasha Rush, the geometric and combustible retro acid and 80s wave of Helena Hauff, and the synthesis of acid-laced techno with the bass-heavy UK breakbeats in brothers Truss and Tessela's live improvised TR\\ER collaboration.