Hello, the US today has seen one of the most abhorrent shootings ever, 20 young children and 6 of their teachers executed by a 20 year old who felt omnipotent with those beloved guns. He started off by killing his mother a beloved principal/teacher at that school before setting out on his disturbed rampage. My thoughts go out to the bereft families.
Well we're here for Beats that today come courtesy of a German duo. Alter Ego are, simply put, legends in the German electronic scene. Despite the fact that the English had been doing it for years, the duo, composed of Roman Flügel and Jörn Elling Wuttke, produced what is arguably the first home listening electronic record in Germany. But that’s not to say that the two hasn’t always kept a firm eye on the dancefloor. N'Joy..
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It all started with one of these Chicago Trax compilations on DM/Streetsounds. As a reaction to his thirsting for more of these crazed beats from overseas and with a view to his tight budget, the greatest hits of these expensive imported 12” singles were soon released in the form of a compendium. This opened Pandora’s box, for very young Roman Flügel, too. The dazzle of the unrefined and feverish dance music, furnished with just a few drum machines and inexpensive synthesizers, turned the whole world upside down for the cultivated music pupil from Darmstadt.
It didn’t take long before the well-trained ear tried out more than just classical melodies. Little by little, he collected a vast array of equipment, bringing forth his first sound experiments and enough courage to give a demo tape to indie fan Jörn Elling Wuttke. The latter was a well-known face in Darmstadt’s music scene and often enthused about new electronic music. In him he had found the right partner and Wuttke could hardly believe his spellbound ears. DJs and Delirium record sellers Ata and Heiko MSO from Frankfurt felt the same. At first they thought someone was making fun of them. It sounded too authentic and unique. The music Flügel and Wuttke had presented to their label Ongaku and Klang Elektronik as Acid Jesus or, rather, Alter Ego, couldn’t possibly come from the little neighbouring town Darmstadt. In Frankfurt, that kind of sound made people think of Detroit. They released several maxi singles and an album under the pseudonym Acid Jesus, later that year they changed their name to Alter Ego. The following year they founded Sensorama, an outlet for their more ambient tracks.
Releasing arguably the first album of "listening techno" in Germany (their 1994 self-titled debut) and building on the style with subsequent releases, Roman Flügel and Jörn Elling-Wuttke are the exception that proves the rule in boom-boom dominated Deutschland. Better known and revered in England, where dance-based electronic music of a home-listening stripe has been the norm for nearly a decade, Alter Ego have also managed to influenced countrymen and labelmates such as Hardfloor and Yokota to move away from Germany's increasingly commercial trance/techno scene and into headier, more experimental climes.
The pair signed to Sven Väth's trance-dominated Harthouse label in 1993, after releasing a self-titled full-length on their own Klang Elektronik (under the name Acid Jesus) which caught Väth's attention. Flügel was a jazz drummer prior to his work with Wuttke, and the pair met in the late '80s as a result of the snowballing German trance scene. They began producing tracks in the studio Wuttke was piecing together, and had an immediate hit as Acid Jesus with their first single, "Move My Body." By the time they'd signed with Harthouse, however, Flügel and Wuttke were no longer interested in pursuing the club side of dance-based electronic music. Turned off by the German trance and techno scenes' steady commercialization, Flügel and Wuttke sought to innovate German techno out of redundancy by diversifying.
Originally slated for release on Harthouse ambient sublabel Recycle or Die, Alter Ego got a main label release instead, and together with the subsequent Decoding the Hacker Myth, succeeded in slowing the pace of German techno and adding a cachet of new influences (U.K. ambient techno outfits such as B12 and the Black Dog, hip-hop and electro, jazz and soul). Decoding the Hacker Myth was reissued in 1996, coupled with a bonus disc of remixes by the likes of Luke Slater, Two Lone Swordsmen, and Matt "Dr. Rockit" Herbert's Wishmountain project. Flügel has also released an EP and full-length as Ro70 on David Moufang's Source label, and both Flügel and Wuttke continue to release tracks and albums under such side-project pseudonyms as Sensorama, Primitive Painter, and Eight Miles High for Ladomat, R&S, and Klang.
Worldwide performances followed at the most prominent festivals & clubs such as Tribal Gathering Festival ( England), SONAR (Spain), VISION Festival (Switzerland), Time Warp/Big Warp (Germany), I Love Techno (Belgium), WIRE Festival ( Japan). In 1997 they released their last single for Harthouse »Absolute«. They then made the decision to concentrate on further productions for their own label Klang Elektronik. 1999 saw the release of Betty Ford, which became one of the most memorable and biggest club hits of that year. In the two following years they were busy doing a co-production with Sven Vaeth for his albums, »Contact« and »Fire«.
They achieved notability in 2004 with their track "Rocker", which became one of the year's defining dance anthems, especially in Europe, and getting played on rotation amongst the most popular electroclash DJs such as Felix Da Housecat and 2 Many DJs. The track peaked at #32 in the UK Singles Chart.In the 2004 Groove Magazine Readers Poll, Alter Ego won three categories, taking out the award for 'Best Single' for "Rocker", 'Best Album' for Transphormer, and also 'Best Live Act'. French group Black Strobe took out 'Best Remix' honours with their remix of "Rocker".
In 2005, Roman Flügel went onto produce the track "Gehts Noch", which was a worldwide hit, and was regularly played by many international DJs. In 2007 they released Why Not ?!, followed a year later by the remix version What's Next?! acompanied by several 12 " releases. It's been rather quiey at the Alter Ego front since, however they did release a Lost Album in 320kbps in May this year. It looks as if Roman Flügel concentrated on a solo career of late he released his solo project as Soylent Green “La Forca Del Destino” in 2007 and Fatty Folders in 2011 as well as many singles.
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Roman Flügel and Jörn Elling-Wuttke 's stunning breaktrough on the music scene
Acid Jesus - Acid Jesus (flac 445mb)
01 MF 1 9:07
02 Move My Body 5:35
03 Faith In Acid 4:50
04 Disappear 5:33
05 H. A. L. 5:57
06 MF 2 9:28
07 On The Couch 4:34
08 Mulunga 4:54
09 Odyssey 7:22
10 Fairchild 5:33
11 Razzblaster 5:54
12 Jesus 6:13
Acid Jesus - Acid Jesus (ogg 168mb)
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This German collective works with what could be best described as "listening techno" -- electronica designed not for dancing, but for laid-back home listening. This means that each track is organized more like a song, with enough movement to keep things from becoming repetitive; on songs like "Brom," they drop out most of the beats in favor of a sort of organized ambiance. The majority of the album is pleasant in a beepy and bubbly sort of way, and very organic-sounding, an immersive slice of pure IDM (intelligent dance music) bliss.
Alter Ego - Decoding The Hacker Myth (flac 357mb)
01 Cyax Pt. 1 7:50
02 Cryonics 6:54
03 Brom 4:58
04 Mescal 7:06
05 Slacker 6:37
06 Alterism 7:00
07 Microshopping 6:34
08 Lycra 6:29
09 Telekinetik 4:56
10 Cyax Pt. 2 6:00
11 Lavender 7:30
Alter Ego - Decoding The Hacker Myth (ogg 156mb )
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With superior ease, they couple the most exciting moments of traditional techno with mega hip, state-of-the-art silicon funk. Deeply rooted in tradition, but always with their data glove on the pulse of time, they concentrate on the essentials. Ten specially selected little pieces of art have managed to make it onto Transphormer, all of which mastered their way round the chic obstacle course brilliantly taking purism and hit alarm in their stride. Straightness and a crazed love for detail are what make the difference on this album. Artistic breaks that entice, not force, the listener into a euphoric state. Sophisticated techno 'Made in Frankfurt' which once goes to show how exciting functionality can be.
Alter Ego - Transphormer (flac 390mb)
01 Rocker 4:48
02 Tubeaction 5:40
03 Beat The Bush 5:47
04 Daktari 8:03
05 Vincent Van Dance 6:52
06 Gate 23 (Lost On Arrival) 2:31
07 Nasty Dollars 3:13
08 Satanic Circus 5:45
09 Raw (Sie Liebt Dich) 6:09
10 Transphormer 7:20
Alter Ego - Transphormer (ogg 155mb)
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