Morgernstern

I had promised a Christian Morgenstern post ages ago. You've waited for long, so it's gonna be a big one. A large bio can be found in his discogs page, so check there first.

I first encountered him in Kanzleramt (*) compilations and for years mistook him for a typical techno artist; then it came that I listened to Forte and realized there was more, so much more to like. I won't try to describe his style, as it shifts from record to record. The only thing certain is that as time passed, as he gathered experience through his (numerous) releases, his music became more and more personal, more than an amalgam of his various influences - attempting a crossover sound with electro and techno elements and pop sense, keeping his attitude and aesthetics underground and uncompromising.

All albums posted here were found through the net at some time or another. They're generally low bitrate, yet who cares... I consider 'Hawaii Blue' to be his masterpiece, but you knew anyway I'm a sucker for retro electro. Although the tracks I have (and have posted here) sound weirdly like a bad cut-up; don't know if it's bad ripping or the CD is like put together that. His last one 'Carolea' was left unfinished and released post mortem. He had also compiled his Kanzleramt records in two CDs. The only album missing here is 'Re:Death Before Disco' of which I have only half of it, I hope I'll up it at some time later on.

Rest in peace, man. You did more than well.

P.S. Mario was kind enough to send us a link for missing CD 'Re:Death Before Disco'. I added it below. Thanx, man.
Original post 2010-11-15


Christian Morgenstern - 2000
The Future Is On Fire. The Kanzleramt Years
Info here.


Christian Morgenstern - 2001
The Future Is On Fire Pt.2 More Kanzleramt Years
Info here.


Christian Morgenstern - 1999 Death Before Disko
Info here.
.

Christian Morgenstern - 2000 Re.Death Before Disko
Info here.


Christian Morgenstern - 2000 The Lydia EP
Info here.


Christian Morgenstern - 2001 Hawaii Blue
Info here.


Christian Morgenstern - 2003 Carolea
Info here.

Life's A Gas

One of Wolfgang Voigt's peak moments in my opinion, collecting his mature work as Love Inc.,out through Force Inc. From groovy techno to sample based chilled soundscapes, his minimalistic approach and those beloved and characteristic obsessions of his leave us little room to comment on - you'll either love it or just pass it by. As for the final track, I could listen to it anytime, anywhere, on repeat for hours.

Love Inc. - 1995 Life's A Gas
Info here.

I've been playing it a lot these hard days, so I'd thought I'd share it. CD rip by UOU...

Für Dich

You know my love for the Cologne scene. Well, here's the CD that established Kompakt in my mind as a fixation to love and cherish and Tobias Thomas (*) as a DJ to watch (eventually I had the chance to open for him during a beautiful night in Athens, but that's another story).

I had bought it without knowing anything about it or himself. I recognized only a few of the artists involved, I remember it was really expensive and I had no way of listening to it beforehand, but I took my chance - turned out to be a turning point for me, an epiphany and an example to look up to. From post-pop to hard club techno, from abstract synthetic tool tracks to jazzy vocal house, Tobias builds a rollercoaster of emotions, trippy ideas and bold proposals that stands the test of time, beyond hypes and cliches. For you.

Contains rare Gamat3000 original gem 'Feeling Love', Various Artists' Autechre remix (*), some early Kompakt classics ('Puma', 'Nachschub', etc.), subtle paean 'Check Your Buddah' from Ford/Melchior (*), Lali Puna's heavenly 'Superlotado', an uncredited intro, etc. etc. etc. And of course Vladislav Delay's monumental 'Huone', mixed so subtly that it took me a couple of years to understand how he did it.

It won't stay up for long, for the reasons stated here. Makes a good couple with this Mayer mix, yet this one is far more effective. And I hate cliches, but occasionally I have to use them: I cannot recommend it strong enough.

VA - 1999 Tobias Thomas _ Für Dich
Info here.

P.S. Link removed; you had your time. Go to any shop and buy it, it's worth 100%.

Remember Today

Some of the sweetest Cologne techno pop you might ask for. One of Italic's greatest and most understated propositions.

Borneo & Sporenburg are Frank Wössner and Daniel Varga aka Toni Mono in F Comm and Soda in Italic, one third of Playhouse's lovely Rework.

Borneo & Sporenburg - 2002 Remember Today
Info here.

Audio Island

Mostly known for his 'pop ambient' side, Markus Guentner released through Ware this album between his two excellent yet more or less abstract albums for Kompakt (check them here and here) that attracted most of the attention. I first heard his stuff from this 12" and immediately decided that I liked him; on the other hand he seemed to be too much into GAS-like loopy deepness. Then came this one.

Besides being the most clubbish material he's ever published and probably the most understated of his albums, in my opinion this is one of the best releases in the whole Cologne mini-tech thing; crispy techhouse and deep techno, richly textured with his customary post-indie sampling, his tracks balance perfectly between club functionality and emotional power, between minimalism and sensuality. A must for lovers of the sound of Cologne (although he's Bavarian, ha ha).

Contains a sweet cover of Talk Talk's 'Such A Shame' that also made it as a 12", and a powerful Acid Maria contribution.

Markus Guentner - 2003 Audio Island
Info here.

My daughter seems to like this one too. Which is weird, since she usually likes slower and more arpeggio-electro pop stuff (the Italians Do It Better compilation is already a standard). Possibly it's the full frequency spectrum she appreciates...

Nutronix

Freestyle breaks and electro mixed compilation from Cologne and Area Code 221 label. Not exactly in the style that most people associate the Cologne sound with, I'd say, although the acid influences are apparent, especially in the 2nd CD. Includes tracks from the Pharma boys, Nick Holder, Tanith, Alex Krüger, Hans Nieswandt, along a host of other local (or not...) artists from labels like Mehrwert, Stereo Deluxe, or the french Catalogue. Plus a Norman Cook remix of Christopher Just's classic "I'm A Disco Dancer" that you've probably never heard before...

According to the CD's info, Nutronix were a DJ crew associated with Liquid Sky Cologne: Eric Eltron, now chief of Boxer Recordings, Peta (most likely this one) & Wicked, that also participated with a track in the 'Sound Of Cologne Zwei' compilation. There's a De:Bug article in German here.

There was never a Vol.2 for this one.

VA - 1999 Nutronix. The Sound Of Electric Cologne
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

P.S. While I was searching for a Liquid Sky Cologne link, I came upon the Friendsound recent post. Good timing...
P.S.2 Oops, first CD is also posted here.

Abuse Your Illusions

A classic 2CD compilation by Cologne's finest Air Liquide through legendary Harvest. Respect.

Air Liquide - 1995 Abuse Your Illusions
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

In Your Brain

Psychedelic electrodub excursions from a one-off project of Martin Damm (*) aka Biochip C. aka a fleet of pseudonyms. Out through dutch Sun Music. Rather rare, I'd say...

Braindub - 1995 In Your Brain
Info here.

Vulvaland

Mouse On Mars' debut, early Cologne electronics without limits. Timeless. Grab it.

Mouse On Mars - 1994 Vulvaland
Info here.

This is the Rough Trade version.

Wake Up

I've mentioned the Kitbuilders before, in assosiation with Bolz Bolz (*,*); through his World Electric label (now inactive) their debut album provides us with quality electro Cologne style, centered around throbbing basslines and the group's trademark weird female electropop vocals.

If you liked Adult you'll like this one too, trust me. As for the 'Walls' track, I consider it to be in my personal Top of the Pops of all-time.

Kitbuilders - 2001 Wake Up
Info here.

Fearsome Jewel

For fans of Pop Ambient compilations, this is one of the very few Andrew Thomas' records. Little info on him can be found around, most reliable is New Zealand's Involve site (check here).

In the Discogs review it's described as 'one of the best Kompakt releases so far'. I totally agree. A must-hear.

I guess you must have noticed I've never posted a Kompakt record before. I don't think they need the promotion - everybody knows their style - and sincerely I don't like to fuck with 'big' companies. So, this small ambient jewel will stay up only for a few days. The only reason I'm posting this is that I feel it's totally overlooked and it's a real shame.

Andrew Thomas - 2003 Fearsome Jewel
Info here.

P.S. 2010-02-01 Link removed, for the reasons explained above. One week was enough. If you liked it, go and buy it.

Anything That Doesn't Move

Swimmingpool are Michael Scheibenreiter of Phoneheads and Stefan Schwander aka Antonelli Electr. (*). A Combination release, check here for more.

More than enough info on both the project and release can be found here; I'll only say that the result of their collaboration is a cross-breed between dubby and deep house, germanic urban breaks and early '00s chill mentality. Great for dancing, listening and thinking alike.

Swimmingpool - 2003 Anything That Doesn't Move
Info here.

Electronic Cologne

A Cologne compilation back from 1995, presenting many acts already or soon to be famous (Air Liquide, Mouse On Mars, The Bionaut, Rob Acid, Roland Casper, Mathias Schaffhäuser, BolzBolz, Kitbuilders, etc - check the links) plus some local guys less known, yet not at all lesser in quality.

The range covered is more or less every style that built the Cologne sound and made it what it is: acid, techno, early trance, quirky house, deep experimental ambient, it's all there. CD1 mostly covers the club oriented projects, while CD2 delves more into experimental territories. Despite some unfortunate efforts (especially the Trance Opera track), the level is quite high, even production wise. Quite oldschool in sound, still interesting though.

VA - 1995 Electronic Cologne
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

Burger Industries

The chilling night breeze and the make-shift fires. The smell of the wet earth. A solitary strobo-light shaping the dust that rises from the dancers' feet.
Laughs all around me and jitters and screams.
These are a few of my favorite things.

Burger Industries - 1995 CD
Info here.

Structure's CD compilation of 1991-1993 tracks from the master.
You'll find many Structure 12"s and similar stuff in TechTech2009's blog.

Monophace + Clubsessel

Mainly known as Misc. and Niedeflur (for their M_nus releases), they come from Cologne but worked mostly with iconic Berlin label Sender, spreading their rumbling mini-techno to the world. Although a bit repetitive ('minimal') during the last years, they maintained some side-projects from time to time; two of them are presented here. More info in their Hybrid Music Club site.

Clubsessel is a clicks'n'cuts one-off affair, cold and chilling drones mix with scarce beats. Monophase is their drum'n'bass project, although in this album they sound more than a cross-breed between click techno and two-step. (Did somebody said 'dubstep'? You shouldn't, it's only 2002 yet...) They released their debut in Kabuki's label; so there are similarities to his later sound as well as to other projects of the Combination Traffic compilations posted here. Contains spine-chilling 'The Need', which proved to be the project's swan song.

Both albums out through k2O Records (*).


Clubsessel - 2002 Clubsessel
Info here.


Monophace - 2002 Random Factor
Info here.

Music Is Okay

Koze's first compilation of collaborations, remixes, etc. If you liked his recent 'Reincarnations' in Get Physical (and who didn't...), definitely check this one - it might even be better than the new one.

Didn't even know it existed for a long time, then spent as much more trying to track it down. In mp3 form only, so far.

DJ Koze - 2000 Music Is Okay
Info here.

'Koze' means 'vomit', if I'm not mistaken. Reminds me of Hell (who apparently got his name out of a faded Shell t-shirt), or Highfish. I like this kind of ridiculous nicknames, they show that the persons involved retain their punk sense of adolescent humor. That they grew out of a certain scene where a lot of close friends were involved. And that they never went for the big money and fame in the first place, they would have picked much better sounding aliases - see either true or fake names or scientific terminology (Drexciya & Co. escaped that trap only through their humorous, at times satiric approach of their own material and concepts).

So, more Vomit music here and here.

Lifechange

The last Whirlpool Productions album, along with the CD EP out of it (with a Tiefschwarz remix).

For me the more mature and complete deposition of theirs, a post-everything album full of grooving house music, disco references and style wars. Voices dominate while typically surpassing the 'weird' level, making the outcome totally surreal and immediately accessible at the same time. Definitely dancefloor music, yet for extremely friendly drunks or for funky disco aliens I wouldn't know.
I don't know if they could do better than that; no wonder they split up later.

Remotely similar to the International Pony records (see *,*) and other Ladomat 2000 stuff (*,*), with more hopefully to be posted soon. Usually I classify them under the Hamburg label.

...hold your head up high...
...music is all we need to get by...



Whirlpool Productions - 2000 Lifechange
Info here.



Whirlpool Productions - 2001 Lifechange CD EP
Info here.

Fruit Of The Loop

I don't really know anything on him (some info here and here). But this is a fun record. Lots of samples, filters and Chicago-style loops combined with the Cologne pop sound, repetitive beats and house aesthetics, with the extra Ladomat weirdness on top. The fruit of the loop, indeed. Could have been a Whirlpool production, if they were really hooked on (...what's that word... oh, yes) loops - or a less discoid Force Inc.US release.

Arj Snoek - 1997 Fruit Of The Loop
Info here.

Hamburgeins

A Ladomat 2000 (*,*) compilation presenting the early Dial Records sound (*).

VA - 2001 Hamburgeins
Info here.

Sadly in low bitrate, found somewhere around the net. A request, but also a compilation I'd like very much to have in its 3x12'' form.

Lido Hotel

And since we are more or less on the ForceTrack (...cheesy wordplay but I had to get it out...), an early collection of tracks by Ware owner Mathias Schaffhäuser, the first album both for him and the FT label.

Sentimental mini-techno, Cologne style, occasionally with vocals, plus a few downtempo tracks - including the majestic '6 Uhr Morgens', first published on Blaou (*). More varied than Schaffhäuser's minimal and club-focused later releases, it brings in mind early Kompakt records of the time.

Mathias Schaffhäuser - 1999 Lido Hotel
Info here.

P.S. I've always wondered about the 'original' Lido Hotel and how its name became so famous, as I've seen one in every country I've ever been. By googling it I realized there are so much more around the globe, especially in countries with latin-based languages. My first guess was from some old movie or something, then I came across this article.