When Arnd Reichow (Drumcomplex) met Misstress Barabra in Australia at the beginning of 2016, the seeds of a musical collaboration were sown between the two techno heavyweights. While Arnd was finalizing tracks for his Perfection Is In Imperfection full-length out October 7 on Complexed Records — the album is inspired by the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, meaning an appreciation and acceptance of our imperfect world — he sent Barbara a track that eventually became “If You Can’t Be Mine” and asked if she’d like to lend her voice to it. “There was no special inspiration when I started working on that track,” says Arnd, who has released tracks on Intec, Bush Records, MB Electronics and KMS. “I was playing with the synth and created that hookline. I added only a few elements and reduced it to a more minimal set up at that time.” Barbara picks up the story: “I immediately thought it was something that needed to be simple and mostly worked with effects and chops of vocals. I wrote simple lyrics that still have a strong meaning, If you can’t be mine, why would I be yours? and played around with both sentences in the track. I had a lot of fun! We are both happy with the result and I enjoy playing this track a lot when I tour.”
We’re extremely pleased to world premiere the music video for the bristling take-no-prisoners cut starring Arnd and Barbara. It boasts eye-catching digital effects and geometric shapes that’ll make those of a certain age recall the classic video game Asteroids. “Barbara and me are really happy with the result and looking forward to the release,” beams Arnd. Catch Drumcomplex, along with Misstress Barbara, Kevin De Vries and Tiger Stripes, on October 8 at the record release party in Berlin at Magdalena Club.