Substance

Peter Küshnerat, known to all techno enthusiasts as Substance, is a truly legendary figure. He was instrumental in establishing Berlin as the world's techno capital in the late 1990s. In the early nineties, together with the future founders of Chain Reaction and Basic Channel, Peter co-established the iconic Berlin record store Hardwax, where electronics enthusiasts from across Europe would gather and meet the founders in person. After laying this foundation, he began recording his own tracks. His debut vinyl, Scion - Emerge (recorded with René Lowe, aka Vanqueur), became the inaugural release of the cult label Chain Reaction, which dominated German techno throughout the second half of the nineties. Küshnerat took Berlin techno-dub as his foundation but elevated it to new heights—creating viscous, experimental soundscapes often entirely without drums, built from deep tangible bass, minor chords drowning in echo, and mysterious atmospheric textures. His solo album Substance - Session Elements became a classic of experimental techno, followed by legendary sets at the Tresor club. Until recently, Peter performed exclusively as a DJ; only a year ago did he first perform live, adapting his dub-rooted aesthetic to a more rhythmic club framework. In parallel, he reunited with longtime collaborator René Lowe to launch Scion Versions, effectively Chain Reaction's successor. In just over a year, Substance & Vanqueur have released several new records and reissued the now-classic Emerge vinyl.