Hatje Cantz Inside The Studio

When you think of techno and electronic dance music, the first things that come to mind are clubs and festivals, dancers and DJs in collective ecstasy. But in which spaces and working environments is this music actually created? Artists' studios and writers' and composers' offices have long been the focus of public attention and research. The studios of DJs and producers of electronic music, on the other hand, have largely remained hidden. They can be found in dark basements, abandoned factory floors, garages and backyards, in magnificently converted lofts, former squats, shared apartments, or teenage bedrooms. Some exude the aura of monastic cells, while in others, production and partying seem to merge directly into one another; still others look like rubbish-strewn depots for electronic waste. Inside the Studio presents an inventory of this rich creative landscape for Berlin and Cairo. By interweaving photographic documentation and interview contributions, the volume provides intimate insights into the hidden worlds of music production and becomes a surprising and touching portrait of one of the most exciting music scenes of our time. The project is based on a research project by the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) and was created in collaboration with Ricardo Villalobos, Cinthie, Frank Wiedemann, Modeselektor, Marcel Dettmann, Gudrun Gut, Westbam, Dr. Motte, Sarah Farina, Perera Elsewhere, Robert Henke, Roman Flügel, 3Phaz, Postdrone, Alva Noto/Carsten Nicolai, and many others.

Gero Cacciatore (born in Turin in 1974) studied photography in Milan and was assistant to Giovanni Gastel. Today he lives in Moneglia (Genoa) as a freelance photographer, specializing in corporate photography for fashion brands, still life, travel reportage, and photography of urban spaces. 

Matthias Pasdzierny (born in Göttingen in 1976) teaches and conducts research as a musicologist in Berlin (Berlin University of the Arts and Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences). His areas of expertise are music and migration, critical editions of (tape) music after 1945, and the history of techno and electronic dance music.