Former Ostgut Ton label manager, DJ, and producer Nick Höppner will release his debut album Folk via Ostgut Ton this spring. A longtime fixture of Berlin’s electronic music scene, Höppner has been active in production for over a decade, and while his 12″s and EPs have also been released by a handful of outside labels, Ostgut Ton has remained his primary platform. In a statement about the forthcoming album, the longtime Panorama Bar resident acknowledges the integral nature of house and techno to his and many others’ daily lives in Berlin, and gives a nod to the origins of both styles.

“I decided to call my album Folk because I feel that we all work with a sonic vocabulary that was developed by a relatively small set of pioneers 20 or 30 years ago, that took their cues from disco which was influenced by R&B, funk, soul, etc., down to the most primal ritualism of tribal drums,” he explains. “This sort of traditionalism appears to have been passed on from generation to generation, with everyone adding their own perspective to it, thus making it more difficult to trace it all back to a source. One can argue that a lot of it is passed through records but I feel the most important ways of experiencing, enjoying and learning about the music happens inside a club. I also call this Folk as the blueprint of this music was laid out on what were originally cheap instruments from a dusty thrift store—in 1985, the TB-303 was the equivalent of a worn out acoustic guitar. Today this is reflected by the immense and accessible power of creation found in a $500 laptop running a crack of Reason or Ableton.”

Folk sees an official release in digital, CD, and double-LP formats on March 30, and launch parties are scheduled to take place in Berlin on March 22 at Panorama Bar, in London on April 11 at Corsica Studios, and in Lyon on April 19 at Le Sucre. Until then, the album’s artwork and complete tracklist can be found below.

1. Paws
2. Mirror Images
3. Out Of
4. Rising Overheads
6. Come Closer
7. Airway Management
8. Relate
9. No Stealing