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While Frankfurt's impressive skyline makes it easily recognizable as Germany's major financial center, the city has also played an important part in the history of German electronic music, a history irrefutably connected with the name of Sven Väth. Väth began DJing during the 80s in Frankfurt's 'Dorian Gray' where he teamed up with Michael Münzig und Lucas Anzilotti to found the group Off. The group's single 'Electrica Salsa' became a major chart hit in 1988 and Münzig and Anzilotti (later to become known as Snap!) invested their returns in the 'Omen', which was to become Frankfurt's main techno club until its closure in 1998. During the 90s heyday of techno the rivalry between Berlin and Frankfurt became the stuff of legend and while Berlin's techno style has always traditionally leaned towards the analogue, rough and soulful Detroit sound, the 'Sound of Frankfurt' has been strongly influenced by EBM and more melodic synth-pop. Frankfurt became Germany's capital of the trance style during the 90s, a sound that was pioneered once again by Sven Väth's labels Eye Q and Harthouse. Another huge influence on the city's electronic music scene has been Ongaku Music, founded in 1992 by DJs Heiko M/S/O and Ata, eventually spawning the successful Klang Elektronik / Playhouse group of labels. Further worthy of historic note is Planet Core Productions, a company operating between 1989 and 1997, which covered the more industrial side of techno with a plethora of sub-labels and acts like The Mover or Mescalinum United. Frankfurt has also been the home to the influential Force Inc. group of labels, which in recent years have operated out of Berlin.
Sven Väth's career began in the early 80s at the Dorian Gray club and at The Vogue in his hometown Frankfurt, playing soul oldies and hi-NRG disco in freaky costumes, already showing a noticeable drive to perform whilst behind the decks. In 1986, while...
As part of Alter Ego and as a solo artist recording under guises like Roman IV, Soylent Green, and Eight Miles High, Roman Flügel is one of Germany's most influential electronic music producers. He is further the co-founder of the widely respected Klang...
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Simple
Motorcitysoul is the deephouse production joint of Matthias Vogt (re:jazz, infracom records) and Christian 'C-Rock' Rindermann. The project is named after the German motor city (Rüsselsheim, near Frankfurt, the Opel/Vauxhaul headquarter).
Who is the man behind Arto Mwambe? We know that he makes beautiful records and that his releases were among our favourites from the last year, but his identity remains uncertain. His tracks he takes us on a journey deep into African rhythms, which makes...
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Deep Vibes
If you talk about the new breed of Frankfurt, Germany based artists it can't be done without mentioning Sascha Dive. With the foundation of his own imprint Deep Vibes Recordings in 2006 and numerous releases of deepest house on labels like Oslo and...
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CLR
Hands-down one of Germany's most popular DJs and a pioneer of the percussive techno style, Chris Liebing started his career back in 1991 in a small club called 'Red Brick' in Giessen, near Frankfurt. At the beginning of 1995 the club had to close down,...
One of Germany's longest serving and most widely respected techno producers, Johannes Heil has had a far-reaching influence on the development of German techno with his productions for labels like Cocoon, Kanzleramt, and Klang Elektronik.
Jörn Elling Wuttke and Roman Flügel were early involved in the development of techno in their home town Frankfurt. In 1993 the two initiated the label empire around Ongaku, Klang Elektronik and Playhouse together with Heiko Schäfer and Ata. During those...
Ata
Ever since the early 1990s Atanasios 'Ata' Christos Macias has been an integral figure of Frankfurt's electronic music scene: As a founder of Delirium (together with Heiko M/S/O and Jörg Henze), the Playhouse and Klang Elektronik labels (with Heiko and...
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Playhouse
Losoul, born in 1971 as Peter Kremeier, is a member of the German Playhouse collective and well known for his productions of gripping groovy house music. The first 12" release under the name Losoul - 'Open Door' - appeared in 1996 and its worldwide...
In the field of electronic music, Gregor Tresher is by no means a debutant. For more than seven years DJ and producer from Rhine Main area gathered merits modernizing the algorithms of electronic music. It has been his 'Still EP' in 2005 that upgraded him...
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Data Punk
Ever since his classic 'Sex With The Machines' album from 1997, Anthony Rother has been a mainstay in the German electronic music scene. Undeterred by stylistic fashions, Rother has built a small musical empire - including the labels Data Punk and...
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Cadenza Records
Ever since debuting as Reboot on Luciano's famous Cadenza imprint in 2007, Frank Heinrich has been setting the house world on fire. With a sure-fire instinct for dance-floor efficiency and a keen interest in diverse musical styles, ranging from jazz to...
The importance of Peter Kuhlmann better known as Pete Namlook for electronic music can not be understated. Inspired by the music of Eberhard Weber, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chopin, Wendy Carlos, Tangerine Dream, Can, Klaus Schulze and Pink Floyd he developed his very own style of music always on the search for new sounds....
Before Roman Flügel und Jörn Elling Wuttke became Alter Ego they were releasing music under pseudonyms like Soylent Green and Acid Jesus. To build a home to their different projects the Ongaku family had started the label Klang Elektronik which after...
Influenced by the music his father used to play to him, Bodo started to get into music at an early age. Driven by early hip-hop beats and the first House and Techno records, that were coming from Chicago, Bodo Elsel made his first production attempts in his living room. In his productions, which appeared on Playhouse aswell as on...
Destillat, are Michael Laven und Alexander Kirpacz, two sound enthusiasts who met through a cosmic coincidence while they were still studying in Frankfurt. Influenced by EBM and by the vibrant Techno scene in Frankfurt, they started producing their own...
With a vast background in music, Sikora a.k.a. Stephan Straka, was producing non-electronic music for many years with his band 'Die Honigritter'. It was only after a decade that he again discovered his love for electronic music, and started mainly to...
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