The duo of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary met in Berlin in the early 90s when the country's underground warehouse techno scene was just taking off. First recording under the name Fundamental Knowledge, they renamed themselves Modeselektor after a function on the Roland RE-201 Space Echo analog delay effects unit.
The group subsequently got to know many of the luminaries in the Berlin techno scene, including Bpitch control label boss Ellen Allien. Allien signed the group and released many of their records, including their first release, "Death Medley."
Boomkat called it "beast of of a twelve, trampolining itself from a crunchy hip hop selection to rebuilt intricacies formulated to a spec originally known as IDM but so much more advanced." Humorously, the title track took the infamous "It takes two" pop music sample (first used by Rob Bass) and twisted it into new, more demented techno forms. Overall, the EP announced techno's newfound interest in non 4-to-the-floor beat structures, foreshadowing the forthcoming wave of creativity that would emerge from the UK's underground bass music scene.
Over the course of several EPs, Modeselektor continued to explore twisted beats, techno bent into hip hop structures.
Over the course of several EPs, Modeselektor continued to explore twisted beats, techno bent into hip hop structures and sometimes borrowing from a Euro rave sensibility. Ever the pranksters, track titles ranged from "Raveanthem" to "Kill Gates (The Use This Patch Immediately Version)."
In the meantime, the group was starting to develop a cult following, counting Radiohead singer Thom Yorke as one of their fans. Their debut album, "Happy Birthday," including a collaboration with Yorke, as well as with French hip hop stars TTC. Modeselektor also cultivated a longstanding working relationship with Berlin-based graphic design and motion graphics collective Pfadfinderei, who they would collaborate with on a DVD project called "Labland."
