Sound of Frankfurt
The Sound of Frankfurt , SoF for short , describes various musical expressions of electronic dance music that were popular in the Frankfurt am Main area , in the Rhine-Main area and then internationally in the 1980s and 1990s . The name Sound of Frankfurt was established by the compilation "The New Sound of Frankfurt" released in 1987 on the ZYX Records label .
history
1984–1986: The beginning
Initially, the term Sound of Frankfurt referred to a musical trend characterized by Hi-NRG and Italo Disco , which started around 1984 with formations such as Two of China ( Telk Mee ), Axodry ( You ), Moskwa TV ( Tekno Talk ) and MCL ( Communicate ), all projects by Ralf Henrich ( Ra / Hen ) and Andreas Tomalla ( Talla 2XLC ), started in the Frankfurt am Main area . Moskwa TV's "Tekno Talk" was one of the most successful publications in 1985. It subsequently sold around 30,000 times. A remix of the title track entered the US Billboard Dance Charts and paved the way for the “Sound of Frankfurt” for numerous successes on an international level.
The Sound of Frankfurt was promoted, among other things, by the popular hr3 radio program Sounds from the Synthesizer by the journalist and musician Rainer Sauer from Frankfurt am Main , which from 1983 to 1986 became a cult program and a family fixture that was still in its infancy Rhein-Main-Techno-Scene and the Sound of Frankfurt became. The sounds from the synthesizer archive still contain tapes by protagonists such as Couleur Trois, Okay !, Michael Münzing and Talla 2XLC.
1986–1992: International success
1986 followed producers like Rainer Streubel, who led the projects Beat-A-Max ( Liaison II ) and CCCP ( American-Soviets ) to international success on his label Clockwork . Almost at the same time, the producer team Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti started with their label Logic Records and with the group 16 Bit ( Where Are You ), in which Sven Väth was also involved. Münzing, Anzilotti and Väth also managed the OFF project , which celebrated its greatest success with the hit Electrica Salsa . In 1987, ZYX Records bundled some of these artists on the sampler "The New Sound of Frankfurt". A label info in the booklet explains:
“ A new sound is created: The Sound of Frankfurt. In 1986, young DJ's started to produce and arrange a new generation of Synthi Pop products. Names like Talla, Münzing or Staab stand for this group of enthusiastic men, mainly coming from the City of Frankfurt. In 1987, the first top hits in Europe followed by OFF and 16 Bit. But this is not the end. It's just the beginning of a new age of music. Enjoy this album and move your feet. "
This was followed by the early Frankfurt techno sound, which was marketed under the label "Sound of Frankfurt" , around 1988/89 . In particular, the Dorian Gray disco, which opened in 1978, and the Omen have had a lasting impact on this mix of styles of Aggrepo , New Beat and Acid House . Well-known artists of this era were Umo Detic , Pornotanz, Nostromo Dept., Konzept, Negrosex and Master Program (all on the New Zone label ), Time Modem ( Boy Records ) and Robotiko Rejekto ( Techno Drome International ) as well as Pluuto and Force Legato ( ZYX Music ). Klangwerk and LDC received further recognition with their hit maxis "Die Kybernauten" and "Die Schwarze Zone", both produced by Peter Zweier, Alexander Abraham and Torsten Fenslau .
In the USA in particular, many of these artists were highly valued and some were remixed by the San Francisco duo Art Maharg and Joseph Watt , who are responsible for the Razormaid productions :
“ Talla's international connections to American DJs via Techno Drome International show a worldwide response. […] Talla sends 125 of its products to a so-called 'rock pool'. He distributes these to 125 different DJs across the USA to provide the necessary promotion and airplay. […] The regions of Texas, Chicago, San Francisco and Florida in particular are very open and interested in the new 'Frankfurt sound'. "
In addition, there was Marc Trauner and his record label Planet Core Productions (PCP) in Frankfurt during this time, one of the most important international players in the field of hardcore techno . The compilations published by PCP with the name Frankfurt Trax included pieces produced by Trauner himself as well as pieces by local scene greats such as Sven Väth, DJ Dag, Ata and Atom Heart and contributed to the diversity of the Sound of Frankfurt becoming known to a wider audience .
1992–1996: The trance years
Since the aforementioned clubs Dorian Gray and Omen are also considered to be the birthplaces of techno in Germany, the term “Sound of Frankfurt” is often equated with the emergence of the movement around electronic, especially trance- influenced music in the 1990s and the associated attitude towards life . Labels such as Eye Q Records , Harthouse or Frankfurt Beat Productions are considered to be style-defining. The Trigger Frankfurt record company released a five-part compilation series between 1993 and 1995 under the title Sound of Frankfurt . In 1996 and 1997 most of these labels had ceased operations.
In 1994 the name Sound of Frankfurt was transferred to a music festival of the same name .
Major record companies
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Individual evidence
- ↑ Erik Meyer: The Techno Scene. A youth cultural phenomenon from a social science perspective , p. 99, Leske + Budrich, 2000, ISBN 3-81002-587-9 online excerpt
- ↑ a b Ralf Niemczyk: Der Hausklang von Frankfurt , Spex , Edition 9, p. 23, September 1988
- ↑ a b c d Ulrich Hinz: Indie Labels. New Zone & Zoth Ommomg , New Life Soundmagazine , Issue 45, p. 47, November 1989
- ↑ Discogs: Various Artists - The New Sound of Frankfurt
- ↑ a b Ralf Niemczyk: Der Hausklang von Frankfurt , Spex , Edition 9, p. 25, September 1988
- ↑ Discogs: Various Artists - The Very Best of Razormaid! Volume 5
- ^ Ulrich Hinz: Indie Labels. New Zone & Zoth Ommomg , New Life Soundmagazine , Issue 45, p. 48, November 1989
- ^ Mark J. Prendergast: Ambient Century: From Mahler to Trance - The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age , p. 462, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2000, ISBN 978-0747542131 online excerpt
- ↑ Discogs: Trigger Frankfurt - Label Releases
- ↑ The delivery room of the Sound of Frankfurt returns . In: Welt Kompakt , March 19, 2010.