Three hours of incendiary techno, as two veterans go head-to-head.
When Speedy J described his studio dynamic with Chris Liebing back in 2014, he put it bluntly: "I try to piss him off a little." The result? Dance music that's as functional and precise as Liebing demands, with just enough chaos to keep it interesting. That tension has defined the duo's partnership, Collabs 3000, since their first releases, and it's alive and well on their debut RA Mix.
Both artists are techno heavyweights in their own right. Jochem Paap, AKA Speedy J, helped Europe slow down after the breakneck '90s, proving that techno could chug as well as pummel. Liebing, meanwhile, commanded his popular label CLR and went from transforming schranz into the hard techno sound that recently swept up a younger generation of ravers.
As a pair, Collabs 3000 undeniably has its ear trained on the big room. Paap and Liebing are both former Berghain regulars, and the Berlin club's influence is clear across RA.1006: taut, muscular techno, or "effective and structured" in Liebing's words, with Paap injecting the right amount of unpredictability. Their 2005 full-length, Metalism, remains a landmark: polished, uncompromising and dynamite for any large sound system.
With the album now remastered for its 20th anniversary, Collabs 3000's RA Mix brings that same ferocious energy into sharp focus: smouldering textures, peak-time pressure and three unrelenting hours of classic techno.
@chris-liebing
@jochempaap
Read the interview at ra.co/podcast/1025