Bronsert and Szary members met in 1992 in Berlin, when Szary was performing live acid house music at illegal underground parties under the moniker Fundamental Knowledge. The group says, "After the Wall came down, everywhere in Germany and especially East Germany there was a lot of chaos, anarchy." They soon began creating music as Modeselektor, a name taken from a function on the Roland Space Echo effects unit.
In 1999, Modeselektor signed their first remix contract and began working with Pfadfinderei, a Berlin-based VJ and design collective. In 2000, Modeselektor met Ellen Allien, making BPitch Control their home label. In 2002, Modeselektor and Apparat formed the supergroup Moderat; in 2003, they released their first EP, followed by four full-length albums between 2009 and 2022. Modeselektor also has collaborations with Pfadfinderei as Pfadselektor, and with Rhythm & Sound's Paul St. Hillaire. They have produced sound installations at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and lectured at the Merz Akademie in Stuttgart. Modeselektor is a favourite group of Radiohead's singer, Thom Yorke.
Modeselektor in 2009
Their first album, Hello Mom! (2005), was followed by Happy Birthday! (2007), with Yorke, Paul St. Hilaire, TTC, Puppetmastaz and Maxïmo Park as guest vocalists. Other collaborators included Otto von Schirach, Siriusmo, 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."
Modeselektor also appeared as the main characters in Amy Grill's 2009 electronic music documentary, Speaking in Code. Modeselektor are said to be good friends with Siriusmo, and regularly remix and promote his material. In September 2011, Modeselektor released their third LP, Monkeytown, featuring contributions from artists including Yorke.
In 2013, Modeselektor's label Monkeytown Records and Telekom Electronic Beats produced the documentary "We Are Modeselektor". 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.
↑Nasrallah, Dimitri (20 August 2007). "Modeselektor Celebrate". Exclaim! Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
↑"Modeselektor Interview". Northernights. Archived from the original on 29 April 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
↑McAllister, Lulu (3 June 2009). "Q & A: Speaking in Code". XLR8R Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
↑"Sean Nye publishes new book". USC Thornton School of Music. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022. The book explores the histories of Berlin techno, European rave culture and electronic music through the lens of Modeselektor's 2007 album Happy Birthday!
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