The insight that producing intelligent dance music does not necessarily rule out a self-depreciating sense of humour and an insatiable taste for partying might be Modeselektor's prime achievement and the single most important ingredient of their successful formula. Starting out with a string of rather experimental 12"s for Berlin's
BPitch Control label, Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary quickly became a favourite of critics and club-goers alike for their energetic and humorous live-shows that posed a fresh alternative to the usual mouse-clicking fair. Their 2004 release '
Turn Deaf!' already highlighted all the strong points of the Modeselektor production style: syncopated bass-lines, novel arrangements and a complexity that never got in the way of the songs' pop appeal. It was the group's 2005 album '
Hello Mom!' however that turned Modeselektor into one of electronic music biggest names: Its genre-bending mix of moody electronica, cut-up ragga breaks and pumping all-out rave tracks hit the nerve spot-on and made '
Hello Mom!' one of the year's best selling electronic music albums. Between a 365 day tour schedule and impending fatherhood for both Gernot and Sebastian, some concerns were raised about them ever finding the time to complete a second album, but the two managed to pull it off in spectacular style: '
Happy Birthday!' (the exclamation mark now seemingly an integral part of their release titles) appeared on the shelves in September 2007, meeting universal acclaim. Again the album's songs transgressed all boundaries of electronic music, featuring hauntingly beautiful pop songs like '
Let Your Love Grow' - a collaboration with
Apparat and
Paul St. Hilaire - or '
The White Flash' with Radiohead's
Thom Yorke, tongue-in-cheek cover versions like Scooter's '
Hyper Hyper' and once again prime-time disco bombs like '
Sucker Pin'.