ERÈTIKA #12

Lebanese-born producer and DJ RABIH BEAINI (formerly known as Morphosis) specializes in grainy, imaginative analogue techno. In the past year however, his Morphine label has telescoped in on key (often overlooked) voices in avant-garde electronic and outernational music.
As Morphosis, Beaini has been crafting away in the nether-regions of the techno underworld since the 90s. Having cut his teeth as a DJ, a move to Italy in 1996 proved the catalyst to start experimenting in the studio. And he really did experiment – few people craft the sort of emotional, exploratory techno as Beaini has for labels like Sistrum Recordings (Detroit), M>O>S (Amsterdam), and Styrax (Berlin).
His two most recent albums, Albidaya on Lebanese label Annihaya and Dismantle/Music For Vampyr on Honest Jon’s, follow his critically acclaimed 2011 debut LP, What Have We Learned, on Delsin. Beaini’s genuine musical ability and a range of influences—from krautrock to new wave—seep into his inventive, dark, and emotional productions and immersive DJ sets. These influences also find their way into Beani’s productions with the Upperground Orchestra, a multi-headed improvisational ensemble that explores the terrain between electronica, techno, and improvisational jazz.
While his productions join the dots between raw, elementary electronica, and jazz, his Morphine label has put forward an equally forward-thinking selection of techno from the likes of Madteo, Hieroglyphic Being, and Anthony "Shake" Shakir. In 2014, the label entered a new era with a retrospective trilogy of works by US-based improviser and Buchla synth master Charles Cohen. The collection was the most comprehensive ever to be released, and was followed by an album of new material from Cohen in 2015. Beaini served as a producer for this and subsequent LPs from pioneering American composer Pauline Oliveros, French mechanical-orchestra creator Pierre Bastien, and explosive Indonesian duo Senyawa. He has also helped to organize concerts and tours with Cohen and Senyawa throughout Europe and Japan.

KEY CLEF is an Italian DJ and producer based in Berlin, founder of the label Ipnotica Erotica Rec, which also gave birth to the radio program and event series ERÈTIKA. Driven by a deep passion for analog instruments and an intimate connection with sound, she began her electronic music journey as a teenager. After experiencing the final years of Rome’s vibrant rave scene and earning a degree in sound engineering, her creative process evolved in multiple directions — from club music to performance art and electroacoustics. In 2013, she released her first digital EP, followed by records on Love Blast, KKY, MinimalRome, BlackWater, DelirioRec, Mitten, Undersound Rec, and many more. Throughout her twenty-year career, she has performed at some of the world’s most renowned clubs: from Berghain in Berlin to Womb in Tokyo and Fabric in London, to name just a few. In her personal sonic universe, music is a continuous dialogue between styles and hybridization.
Her productions and live performances, built on improvisation with modular synths, drum machines, and analog effects, trace an ethereal trajectory, while her DJ sets reveal the full spectrum of her musical taste and deep understanding of the dance floor. The sound of Key Clef doesn’t stay on the surface; it aims to channel emotion and create a genuine connection between her music and the audience. During the pandemic, she founded ACXS, a community of artists focused on creating sample packs using instruments provided by professional audio brands. The project’s shared revenue supports various social causes, and its roster features artists such as Silent Servant, Neel, Stenny, and many others. Key Clef’s commitment goes beyond bringing her music to the public — her actions are guided by values of sharing, participation, and collaboration.

ACRARTEP, the moniker of musician Eugenio Petrarca, is known for his solo performances and collaborations in the ambient/drone music scene. Acrartep is also the co-founder of the project Ab uno. His research delves into drone and minimalism, where he experiments with modular synthesizers to create hypnotic atmospheres between industrial and drone sounds. His live sets are often characterized by long sustained tones, slow movements, rhythmic shifts, repetitions, and abrasive noise.

PLANATIA is a Berlin based selector and sound artist originally from Rome, dedicated to crafting immersive sonic landscapes where technology and nature converge. He stands among the founding members of the Radiocircolo collective, an open space for encounter, experimentation, and transmission. He is also part of the electroacoustic duo Nuvola, through which he explores the liminal zones of ambient and experimental music. Resident on Cashmere Radio and Radio Alhara, his sound resonates as much on the airwaves as it does on the stages of festivals such as Waking Life and Parallel.
He recently released a delicate and expansive remix for Mattia Onori on Southern Lights Records, alongside Katatonic Silentio. Through his sonic navigations he travels the in-between spaces of electronic and organic worlds, weaving liquid soundscapes for inter-dimensional listening.

ERÈTIKA is an events project countermand system and trade, an opportunity to propagate a vision of matters, an outstanding moment of sharing through a route that has sound as its medium. The concept grew out of the label Ipnotica Erotica Rec, which is based on the expression of music as a means of liberation for both the player and the listener, creating a channel of communication that embodies the hedonistic eroticism of techno music in its act of collective dance, the reconnection of one's body in unison with an oscillating mass in synchrony through sound.The events aim to create a sonic journey that does not focus on a single musical genre, but rather creates a path throughout.With a focus on inclusivity and open-mindedness, attendees are encouraged to approach the event with receptive ears and a willingness to explore.