Moderat

Moderat = Modeselektor + Apparat. The project first emerged in 2002 when Sascha Ring (Apparat) and Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary (Modeselektor) recorded an EP for Bpitch Control. The recording of this record proved too exhausting for all three, and at the last moment it was even renamed "auf kosten der gesundheit" (translated as "at the cost of health"). They didn't even get to recording an album, and Moderat disbanded.

After a while, both Modeselektor and Apparat started working on their solo albums - Modeselektor's debut "Hello, Mom!" and Apparat's collaboration with Ellen Allien and "Orchestra of Bubbles." Both turned out to be successful, followed by two more significant albums for both projects. Moreover, since the release of their debuts, both projects have performed over 1000 concerts around the world. Modeselektor's second album "Happy Birthday!", released in 2007, became a cornerstone in the history of German electronic music featuring musicians like Maximo Park, Puppetmastaz, and Thom Yorke, followed by remixes for Thom Yorke and Bjork, and Modeselektor toured Japan with Radiohead. Apparat, in turn, moved towards a more live sound with his 2007 album "Walls" and spent several years touring with his live band.

Thanks to a twist of fate, the reunion of Modeselektor and Apparat took place in the spring of 2008. Szary and Bronsert, both proud fathers, while taking their kids to the city pool for regular swimming on a Monday, stumbled upon the pious bachelor Ring in the company of several doubtful women. After a brief verbal clash, the three gentlemen came to terms and decided to return to creating a joint album. Thus, Moderat reunited.

For the recording of the self-titled album, the Moderat trio rented the legendary Hansa Studio in Berlin (where David Bowie recorded his legendary album "Heroes") specifically to use unique vintage equipment and an old EMI mixing console from 1972, restored for them. American programmer Joshua Kit Clayton was hired to program a special reverb algorithm for the album recording. Due to this specific sound design feature, promo copies can only be listened to in mono. Also, specifically for the album recording, the guys from Modeselektor purchased a rare EMT 140 board on an online auction and flew to Los Angeles for it. There they met California rapper Busdriver, and the foundation for the track "Beatswaysick" was laid. Further work on the track with Busdriver continued from different continents. However, due to copyright issues, the track did not make it onto the album and will be released later as a digital download. Returning to the studio, Berlin vocalist Delle (also known as Eased) from the leading German band Seeed got involved in the album recording process when he accidentally dropped by searching for a corkscrew. Thanks to this coincidence, the gentlemen from Moderat finally bid farewell to the idea of an almost instrumental album and recorded the song "Sick With It." Around the same time, the guys from Modeselektor stumbled upon old recordings of vocals by Paul St Hillaire which they made on an analog reel-to-reel tape recorder for one of their first albums - this led to the creation of the track "Slow Match."

All these instances inspired Szary and Bronsert to press Ring and convince him that it was time for him to sing something for the album - the results can be heard on "Rusty Nails" and "Out Of Sight." "Rusty Nails" will also be the first single from the album with remixes by Shackleton and Booka Shade. Additionally, a limited edition DVD version of the self-titled album by Moderat, produced by Berlin video artists Pfadfinderei with videos and other exclusive content, will also be released. Pfadfinderei will also provide visual support for all live performances of Moderat.