Modeselektor is a German

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo consisting of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary.

History

The group members met in 1992 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with group member Szary performing live

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

music at illegal underground parties, under the moniker Fundamental Knowledge. The group says, "After

the Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

came down, everywhere in Germany and especially East Germany there was a lot of chaos, anarchy." Both soon joined forces and began creating music as Modeselektor, a name taken from a function on the

Roland Space Echo The Roland RE-201 Space Echo is an audio effects unit that produces delay and reverb effects. It was produced by Roland Corporation from 1974 to 1990. Roland produced several smaller versions in later years. Background A tape echo device reco ...

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

delay Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can * ''The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and acto ...

effects unit An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...

. In 1999 Modeselektor signed its first remix contract and began working with Pfadfinderei, a Berlin-based VJ and design collective. In 2000 Modeselektor met

Ellen Allien Ellen Fraatz, known professionally as Ellen Allien, is a German electronic musician, music producer, and the founder of BPitch Control music label. Her album ''Stadtkind'' was dedicated to the city of Berlin, and she cites the culture of reunif ...

, making

BPitch Control Ellen Fraatz, known professionally as Ellen Allien, is a German electronic musician, music producer, and the founder of BPitch Control music label. Her album ''Stadtkind'' was dedicated to the city of Berlin, and she cites the culture of reunif ...

their home label. Modeselektor has also been involved in collaborative efforts;

Moderat Moderat is a German electronic music supergroup originating in Berlin between Sascha Ring, also known as Apparat, and Modeselektor members Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. The band have released four studio albums to date, their most recent ...

- a musical collaboration between Modeselektor and Apparat, Pfadselektor - a music/visual collaboration between Modeselektor and Pfadfinderei, and with

Rhythm & Sound Basic Channel is a German music duo and record label, composed of Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, that originated in Berlin in 1993. The duo have also worked under other names, including Rhythm & Sound and Maurizio, and have founded offshoot ...

's Paul St. Hillaire. They have produced sound installations at the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and lectured at the Merz Akademie in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. Modeselektor is a favourite group of

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

(frontman of

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

), who has recommended their albums in interviews and included the song "Silikon" (from their 2005 LP ''Hello Mom!'' and featuring vocalist Sasha Perera) in a publicly available

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sever ...

(the collaboration between Modeselektor and Apparat) has also supported Radiohead on the band's concerts in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, in August 2009. The follow-up to ''

Hello Mom! ''Hello Mom!'' is the debut studio album by German electronic music duo Modeselektor. It was released on BPitch Control on 11 October 2005. Critical reception Nitsuh Abebe of ''Pitchfork'' gave the album an 8.3 out of 10, saying, "There's hardly ...

'' was ''

Happy Birthday! ''Happy Birthday!'' is the second studio album by German electronic music duo Modeselektor. It was released on BPitch Control on 10 September 2007. Critical reception Mark Pytlik of ''Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural ...

'', which was released in 2007 with Paul St. Hilaire, TTC,

Puppetmastaz Puppetmastaz is a German hip hop group founded in Berlin with members from Germany, United States and Canada, like Max Turner, Chilly Gonzales, Paul PM (aka Mister Maloke), Mocky and Alex Tiller, who left the band in 2003. Formed in 1996, the ...

and

Maxïmo Park Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band consists of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), and Tom English (drums). The band have released seven studio albums: '' A Certain Trigge ...

as guest vocalists. Other collaborators included

Otto von Schirach Otto von Schirach (born March 10, 1978 in Miami, Florida) is an American IDM and breakcore musician. Of Cuban and German heritage, he grew up in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami and heavily incorporates elements of Miami bass Miami b ...

Siriusmo Moritz Friedrich, better known by his stage name Siriusmo, is a Berlin-based German record producer. Initially influenced by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin, his tracks can be broadly defined as electronic, and are fo ...

, and Apparat. In an interview that same year, the group said regarding their sound: "Happy metal, hard rap, country-ambient, Russian crunk. We don’t like it if people tag us as being a certain style or school or scene or whatever. We don’t really care about all that." In March 2009, they released an album with Apparat under the name

. They have collaborated previously on an EP named ' which was released as a limited 12" on

in 2002. Modeselektor also appeared as the main characters in Amy Grill's 2009 electronic music documentary, ''

Speaking in Code ''Speaking in Code'' is a character-based documentary directed by Amy Grill about people's obsessions with the techno electronic music lifestyle and the effects on their lives. It follows Modeselektor, the Wighnomy Brothers, Philip Sherburne, Mono ...

''. Modeselektor are said to be good friends with

, and regularly remix and promote his material. In September 2011 Modeselektor released their third LP, Monkeytown, in which various artists including

collaborated on. In August 2013, Modeselektor released their second album in collaboration with Apparat under the name

, entitled '' II.'' In March 2016, Modeselektor released their third album in collaboration with Apparat under the name

, entitled III. In April 2021, Modeselektor released their fourth LP, Extended. In February 2022, a book on Modeselektor's album ''Happy Birthday!'' was published by Sean Nye for the ''33 1/3 Europe series.'' In May 2022, Modeselektor released their fourth album in collaboration with Apparat under the name

, entitled ''

More D4ta ''More D4ta'' (anagram of "Moderat 4") is the fourth studio album by electronic trio Moderat, and their first after a six-year hiatus. Released on May 13, 2022, it was preceded by the release of the singles "Fast Land", "Easy Prey" and "More Love" ...

''.

Monkeytown Records

Monkeytown Records is a

-based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, owned by Sebastian Szary and Gernot Bronsert of Modeselektor. The label has released music by

, Modeselektor, WK7,

Mouse on Mars Mouse on Mars is a German electronic music duo formed in 1993 by Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma. Their music is a blend of electronic genres including IDM, dub, krautrock, breakbeat and ambient, featuring heavy use of organic analog synth and ...

, and

Funkstörung Funkstörung (sometimes stylized as Funkstorung) are an electronic music duo from Rosenheim, Germany, consisting of Michael Fakesch and Chris de Luca. History Chris de Luca and Michael Fakesch first met in 1992 at a techno party organised by F ...

, among others.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (

, 2005) * ''

'' (BPitch Control, 2007) * '' Monkeytown'' (

Monkeytown Records Modeselektor is a German electronic music duo consisting of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. History The group members met in 1992 in Berlin with group member Szary performing live acid house music at illegal underground parties, under th ...

, 2011) * ''Who Else'' (Monkeytown Records, 2019) * ''Extended'' (Monkeytown Records, 2021) * ''Mean Friend'' (Monkeytown Records, 2021)

Compilations

* ''Modeselektion Vol. 01'' (2010) * ''Modeselektion Vol. 02'' (2012) * ''Modeselektion Vol. 03'' (2014) * ''Modeselektion Vol. 04'' (2018)

DJ mixes

* ''Boogybytes Vol. 3 - Mixed by Modeselektor'' (BPitch Control, 2007) * ''Body Language Vol. 8'' (

Get Physical Get Physical Music is a Berlin-based electronic music record label founded in 2002 by M.A.N.D.Y. (Patrick Bodmer & Philipp Jung), DJ T (Thomas Koch) and Booka Shade (Walter Merziger, Arno Kammermeier & Peter Hayo). They were DJ Magazine's "Label o ...

, 2009)

Multimedia

* ''Labland'' (Dalbin, 2005) with Pfadfinderei, DVD * ''Mdslktr'' (

, 2005), DVD + CD Box Set

Extended plays

* ''Death Medley'' (BPitch Control, 2002) * ''In Loving Memory'' (BPitch Control, 2002) * ''Ganes De Frau Vol. 1'' (BPitch Control, 2003) * ''Turn Deaf!'' (BPitch Control, 2004) * ''Hello Mom!'' The Remixes (BPitch Control, 2006) * ''Happy Birthday!'' Remixes #1 (BPitch Control, 2008) * ''Happy Birthday!'' Remixes #2 (BPitch Control, 2008) * ''Happy Birthday!'' Remixes #3 (BPitch Control, 2009)

Singles

* "Weed wid da Macka" (Shockout, 2006) * "The Dark Side of the Sun" (BPitch Control, 2007) with Puppetmastaz * "Evil Twin" featuring Otto von Schirach (Monkeytown Records, 2012) * "Silikon" featuring Sasha Perrera (FIFA 08 soundtrack) * "Kalif Storch" (2018) * "Wealth" featuring

Flohio Funmi Ohiosumah, known professionally as Flohio (stylised as FLOHIO), is a Nigerian-born British rapper based in South London. Her music is characterised by unusual beats, expansive themes, genre fluidity, and periodic double-time flows. Though s ...

(Monkeytown Records, 2018) * "I Am Your God" / "Bronko" (Monkeytown Records, 2019) * "Who" featuring

Tommy Cash Tommy Cash (born April 5, 1940) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. His elder brother was Johnny Cash. Biography Cash was born in Dyess, Arkansas, United States, the youngest of four sons and three daughters of Ray and Carrie (R ...

(Monkeytown Records, 2019)

Remixes

Miss Kittin Caroline Hervé (born 1973), known professionally as Miss Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles " 1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked ...

- " Professional Distortion (Modeselektor's Big Muff Mix)" *

- Skip Divided (Modeselektor Remix) *

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

- Dull Flame Of Desire (Modeselektor's Rmx for Girls) *

- Dull Flame Of Desire (Modeselektor's Rmx for Boys) *

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he estab ...

- Jeffer (Modeselektor Remix) * Bonaparte - Computer in Love (Modeselektor Remix) *

Roots Manuva Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succes ...

- Witness (Modeselektor's Troublemaker Remix) * Headhunter - Prototype (Modeselektor Remix) EMP046*

- Good Evening Mrs Magpie Rmx *

Trentemøller Anders Trentemøller (; born 16 October 1972) is a Danish indie/electronic music composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. History Trentemøller started music in the late 1990s with different indie rock projects. ...

- Tide (Modeselektor's Last Remix Ever)

Production

* TTC - Une bande de mecs sympas (''3615 TTC'', 2007) *

Fettes Brot Fettes Brot () is a German hip hop group that formed in 1992. History Band name Fettes Brot means ''fat bread'' in German. "Fett" is a German slang term for "excellent" and brot is slang for "hash". The band took the name from a fan who ca ...

- Bettina, zieh dir bitte etwas an! (''Strom und Drang'', 2008) * Bonaparte - Orangutang (''

My Horse Likes You ''My Horse Likes You'' is the second studio album by Berlin-based indie punk band Bonaparte. It was released by Staatsakt label in 2010, two years after the release of their first album, '' Too Much''. The whole album was recorded by Tobias Jun ...

'', 2010)

With
Moderat Moderat is a German electronic music supergroup originating in Berlin between Sascha Ring, also known as Apparat, and Modeselektor members Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. The band have released four studio albums to date, their most recent ...

* ''Auf Kosten der Gesundheit'' (EP, BPitch Control, 2003) * ''

'' (BPitch Control, 2009) * '' II'' (Monkeytown Records, 2013) * '' III'' (Monkeytown Records, 2016) * ''

'' (Monkeytown Records. 2022)

References

External links

* *
Pfadfinderei Vj Collaborators

The Fake Interview (French)

In the Mix Review/Interview

Modeselektor Portrait on Tracks/arte (French-German TV)
* Book: 33 1/3 Europ
''Modeselektor's Happy Birthday!,'' by Sean Nye (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022).

Feature interview

stuartbuchanan.com interview

Electronic Beats interview

Modeselektor RBMA video lecture session
{{Authority control German electronic music groups BPitch Control artists Musical groups from Berlin German musical duos Electronic music duos Male musical duos