PF: I think the thing about Wierd-or Part-Time Punks-is that there’s an aesthetic approach to it. And I would DJ at Part-Time Punks a bunch, too, so it was the same thing happening on both coasts. Pretty much all of the stuff that he did and the bands that he brought out would come play with us in LA. A lot of those same bands would play in LA.

The thing with Wierd, though, is that the guy running it, Pieter Schoolwerth, also had a record label for the whole thing, so there was a very stable music community that revolved around it. I would literally just go and sit in the corner and listen to music. Silent Servant: I worked in advertising for a long time, so even when I was living in LA I would go to New York for work, and I’d also end up at the Wierd parties. It was the coldwave and minimal synth party in the States that was bringing this sound over from Europe that had already been going on for years-since the ‘80s. Phase Fatale: A lot of the music that influenced me the most came from the Wierd parties in New York-they happened weekly at Home Sweet Home. For our latest Mentors column, we sat down with them to discuss their shared musical pasts, the influence they’ve exerted on each other’s productions and their recent collaborative 12″ of edits accompanying Phase Fatale’s debut LP, Redeemer, which came out on Vatican Shadow’s Hospital Productions on October 13. The two producers have collaborated more frequently over the last few years and have performed together at shows like Berlin Atonal. His penchant for the style has earned him releases on Silent Servant’s own Jealous God label and the Ostgut Ton sub-imprint, Unterton-not to mention regular bookings at Berghain.

One such artist is Phase Fatale, a Philadelphia-born, Berlin-based producer who has garnered attention for a DJing and production technique that weds early ‘80s electronic sensibilities with contemporary techno. His signature brand of minimal wave-indebted techno has exerted a profound influence on the tastes of producers and fans since his initial experiments with Sandwell District 10 years ago, and many rising stars have followed in his musical footsteps. Silent Servant has long been a flagbearer for the contemporary dance floor avant-garde who blends the sounds of warehouse techno, industrial noise and post-punk.

Phase Fatale âŽ Issue NÂ° Ten 2016