Basic Channel is a dubtechno production team and record label, composed of Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, that originated in Berlin, Germany in 1993. The duo released a number of vinyl-only tracks under various aliases, each of which employed their signature brand of dissonant dub techno. The nine original releases were each primarily identified as Basic Channel productions by their catalogue numbers, as the Basic Channel logo on the label became more distorted and unreadable with each subsequent release. The duo set up a studio in Berlin on Paul-Lincke-Ufer, in a building which was eventually to house Mark Ernestus’ distributing company and shop Hard Wax, and the label's mastering studio Dubplates & Mastering, set up to ensure a desired dynamic quality for the vinyl. The Basic Channel imprint ceased business in 1995 (apart from two releases almost a decade later that were originally issued on Carl Craig's Planet E label), but were followed by a string of similar labels. Among the most important were Chain Reaction, which released non-Von Oswald/Ernestus productions and helped launch the careers of dub-influenced minimal techno producers such as Monolake and Porter Ricks; Basic Replay, which specialises in reggae and dancehall re-issues; Main Street, for house-related releases; and Burial Mix and Rhythm & Sound, which saw the duo's sound move away from the Detroit blueprint and closer to vocal-lead dub and reggae. Their With The Artists album, released as Rhythm & Sound and featuring celebrated reggae and dancehall vocalists such as Sugar Minott, featured in the top 50 records of the year for 2003 in The Wire magazine.
@ 'Wiki'
Discography
Hypnotic Breaks
(Sounds)
Do also check out the Moritz Von Oswald Trio 'Vertical Ascent' album recently released on Honest Jon's which also features Sasu Ripatti (Vladislav Delay/Luomo) andMax Loderbauer (Sun Electric) .
(Moritz Von Oswald Trio)More reviews/interviews here & here.
On the (highly recommended) album 'Recomposed' (Deutsche Grammophon)recorded with Carl Craig:
"Moritz von Oswald meanwhile embarks on yet another ground-breaking journey, bound to connect the long divided continents of electronic and classical music. The autumn of 2008 sees in short succession the release of 'Auricle / Bio / On', a collaboration with Luxembourg-born piano wizard Franceso Tristano with von Oswald responsible for mastering and sound design, and what is possibly his highest-profile work to date: Reworkings of music by Maurice Ravel and Modest Mussorgsky, 'ReComposed' by von Oswald and Detroit techno legend Carl Craig, based on original master tapes recorded between 1985 and 1987 by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert von Karajan.
Von Oswald's fascination with classical music might come as a surprise to the casual observer, but can be seen as a musical career come full circle, once Moritz von Oswald explains his personal connection to classical music in general and legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan in particular. A classically trained drummer, von Oswald was not only a member of influential German new wave band Palais Schaumburg (together with Thomas Fehlmann among others), but also used to sit in as a drummer for recording sessions and performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, precisely the orchestra which Herbert von Karajan led to worldwide acclaim for well over three decades. While he regrets that he never had the chance to personally work with Karajan as a conductor, he had been highly impressed by seeing the aged maestro perform at the famous Salzburg Festival, just around the time the source material for 'ReComposed' was recorded.
'ReComposed' meticulously dissects the original single track recordings and reduces the composition to their core elements (dubbed 'Movements'), creating tension through repetition and subtle variation rather than drastic shifts. Released on Germany's most famous classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, the project becomes a widely noted success: Instead of imposing their point of view on the source material, von Oswald and Craig develop a musical language that works within the framework of both classical and electronic music - a musical lingua franca as a counter-thesis to many such projects' cultural imperialism."
Von Oswald's fascination with classical music might come as a surprise to the casual observer, but can be seen as a musical career come full circle, once Moritz von Oswald explains his personal connection to classical music in general and legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan in particular. A classically trained drummer, von Oswald was not only a member of influential German new wave band Palais Schaumburg (together with Thomas Fehlmann among others), but also used to sit in as a drummer for recording sessions and performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, precisely the orchestra which Herbert von Karajan led to worldwide acclaim for well over three decades. While he regrets that he never had the chance to personally work with Karajan as a conductor, he had been highly impressed by seeing the aged maestro perform at the famous Salzburg Festival, just around the time the source material for 'ReComposed' was recorded.
'ReComposed' meticulously dissects the original single track recordings and reduces the composition to their core elements (dubbed 'Movements'), creating tension through repetition and subtle variation rather than drastic shifts. Released on Germany's most famous classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, the project becomes a widely noted success: Instead of imposing their point of view on the source material, von Oswald and Craig develop a musical language that works within the framework of both classical and electronic music - a musical lingua franca as a counter-thesis to many such projects' cultural imperialism."
Do check out the 'Hypnotic Breaks' link as you can get nearly all of the label's discography there.
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