The Flanger is a German music project, founded in 1997 by

Uwe Schmidt Uwe H. Schmidt (born 27 August 1968), also known as Atom™, Atom Heart, or Señor Coconut, is a German composer, musician and producer of electronic music. He was active in the development of electrolatino, electrogospel, and aciton music. ...

(

Atom Heart Uwe H. Schmidt (born 27 August 1968), also known as Atom™, Atom Heart, or Señor Coconut, is a German composer, musician and producer of electronic music. He was active in the development of electrolatino, electrogospel, and aciton music. ...

) and Bernd Friedmann (a.k.a.

Burnt Friedman Bernd Friedmann (also Burnt Friedman) (born 1965 in Coburg, Germany) is a German musician and producer who works under a variety of project names in the fields of electronic music, dub and jazz. Friedmann was raised in Kassel, where he studied ...

), who have both been active in the music business since the early 1990s. The two musicians met up to program their first album ''Templates'' at ''Mira Musica'',

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

in 1997. Their musical goal was to generate their own vision of non-repetitive, organic and extremely complex music that is far removed from the well-trodden paths of techno and other established styles of so-called

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

. ''Templates'' was released the following year (1999) on Ntone, together with separate 12-inch pressings of several tracks. Clearly electronic, it moved beyond dance or electronic formulas, tapping into the spirit of exploration that characterised

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

during the '60s. The success of this debut album convinced Flanger to do a second LP, which was recorded in Santiago de Chile, in March 1999. Entitled ''Midnight Sound'', this was released on Ntone November 2000. Also referred to as ''Midnight Sounds''. ''Midnight Sounds'' was the original title (and project name) for this album, but its originally intended label, KIFF SM, shut down before it could be released. The release of ''Midnight Sound'' prompted Uwe Schmidt and Bernd Friedmann, who are renowned for their very special shows, to consider the idea of live Flanger presentations. Since then, they have released four albums, the first two created side by side in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, though for ''Inner/Outer Space'' the guide tracks were outlined separately yet finalised together and for 2005’s ''Spirituals'', the biggest change of pace thus far, they did the opposite outlining the tunes together and producing them separately. On ''Spirituals'', their fourth full-length album, they have collaborated with Sydney born Richard Pike a.k.a. Riff Jackson III of

Pivot Pivot may refer to: *Pivot, the point of rotation in a lever system *More generally, the center point of any rotational system *Pivot joint, a kind of joint between bones in the body *Pivot turn, a dance move Companies *Incitec Pivot, an Austra ...

fame (and standin for

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...

in Star Wars) and his brother, drummer extraordinaire Laurence Pike a.k.a. MF Shakespeare of Triosk. In 2007, the Nonplace label release "two in one" reissue of Flanger's first two albums together, called ''Nuclear Jazz''. The only Flanger remix to date - produced in 1999 for the Italian artist Gak Sato - completes this "blistering set of instrumentals that snare both, the intellect and the hips".

Discography

* ''Flanger EP'' (February 1999, Ntone, Cat. no: NTONE32, 12") * ''Flanger EP2'' (August 1999, Ntone, Cat. no: NTONE33, 12") * ''Templates'' (15 June 1999, Ntone, Cat. no: NTONECD33, CD) * ''Midnight Sound'' (2000, Ntone, Cat. no: NTONECD40, CD) * ''Inner Spacesuit'' (8 October 2001,

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...

, Cat. no: ZEN12105, 12") * ''Outer Space / Inner Space'' (2001,

, Cat. no: ZEN61/ZENCD61, 2xLP/CD) * ''Spirituals'' (2005, Nonplace, Cat. no: NON18, CD) * ''Nuclear Jazz'' (Templates/Midnight Sound) (March 2007, Nonplace, Cat. no: NON21, CD) * ''Lollopy Dripper'' (October 2015, Nonplace, Cat. no: NON41, CD)

References

External links

Flanger at Ninja Tune website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flanger German jazz ensembles Ninja Tune artists German electronic music duos German experimental musical groups German male musical duos Musical groups established in 1997