Patrick Gräser was essentially a complete unknown when he released his Subway Into EP in 2011 under the Answer Code Request moniker. Having grown up in a small town in Brandenburg, the producer had been drawn to Berlin a decade earlier in the hopes that the German capital would help launch his career in electronic music. But it wasn’t until Subway Into, a four track exploration of ambient techno sounds on the Hard Wax label, that his talents really came to the fore.
Yet even as the track spread across the internet, there was considerable confusion over its origins, with a number of commentators speculating over the identity of the person behind the Answer Code Request cover. The names of influential German techno producers such as Marcel Dettman were linked with the record before it was revealed as the work of Gräser.
Since then, Answer Code Request has become a familiar name to anyone with even a passing interest in the German techno scene, thanks to a string of acclaimed releases and Gräser’s residency at legendary Berlin club Berghain, a position he took up just one year after his debut EP. Last year, he landed a spot on Resident Advisor’s Top 100 DJs poll.
This month, he arrives in Shanghai courtesy of the latest instalment in locally based promotion outfit Intransik Beat’s Bassment nights, as they look to bring in more international and ‘high-calibre’ bookings for 2016. He’ll be joined by Bassment organiser James Lealand, plus Another Pawn and Donn with Chromaphase working the visuals for what looks set to be much more than just another Thursday night.
Date: 18 Feb 2016 Thu 22:00 – late
Venue: The Shelter
Price: 50RMB