Basic Channel is a German
music duo
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumen ...
and
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
, composed of
Moritz von Oswald
Moritz von Oswald (born 1962) is a German record producer and percussionist from Hamburg and based in Berlin. He is a co-founder of the production duo and record label Basic Channel. He has collaborated with Juan Atkins, Carl Craig, and Nils Pett ...
and Mark Ernestus, that originated in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in 1993.
The duo have also worked under other names, including Rhythm & Sound and Maurizio, and have founded offshoot label imprints such as
Chain Reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.
Chain reactions are one way that sys ...
and Main Street. Their releases in the 1990s are regarded as pioneering examples of the
minimal and
dub techno
Dub techno is a subgenre of electronic music that originated in the early 1990s, blending the repetitive, minimal structures of techno with the echo-laden, spacey production techniques of dub music. It is notable for its deep, atmospheric soundsc ...
subgenres.
History
Basic Channel was founded by
Moritz von Oswald
Moritz von Oswald (born 1962) is a German record producer and percussionist from Hamburg and based in Berlin. He is a co-founder of the production duo and record label Basic Channel. He has collaborated with Juan Atkins, Carl Craig, and Nils Pett ...
and Mark Ernestus in 1993 in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Germany.
At the time, von Oswald was working as an in-house producer for the Berlin label
Tresor
TRESOR (recursive acronym for "TRESOR Runs Encryption Securely Outside RAM", and also the German word for a safe) is a Linux kernel patch which provides encryption using only the CPU to defend against cold boot attacks on computer systems by perf ...
.
The project grew around
Hard Wax, the
record store
A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of the 20th century, record shops sol ...
opened by Ernestus in 1989.
In order to achieve preferred
mastering quality, the duo founded their own mastering house Dubplates & Mastering.
Between 1993 and 1994, the record label released the duo's nine 12-inch vinyl singles,
which featured minimal information and cryptic lettering, leaving the nature of the project obscure.
Their
minimalist
In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
sound and incorporation of
delay
Delay or DeLay may refer to:
People
* B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and movie stunt pilot
* Dorothy DeLay (1917–2002), American violin instructor
* Florence Delay (born 1941), French academician and actor
* Jan Delay, stage name ...
effects inspired by
dub reggae
Dub is a musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p.&nb ...
helped to define the nascent
dub techno
Dub techno is a subgenre of electronic music that originated in the early 1990s, blending the repetitive, minimal structures of techno with the echo-laden, spacey production techniques of dub music. It is notable for its deep, atmospheric soundsc ...
scene.
[Baines, Josh (October 15, 2015)]
"A Bullshitter's Guide to Dub Techno"
THUMP. Vice Media
Vice Media Group LLC is a Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company. Vice Media encompasses four main business areas: Vice Studios Group (film and TV production); Vice TV (a joint venture with A&E Networks, also known as Vicelan ...
. Retrieved 21 October 2016. ''
The Quietus
''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics.
Content
''The Quietu ...
'' credited these releases with "spawning a legion of imitators and earning the duo legend status among those in the know."
Basic Channel has since released two compilation CDs which collect edits of their 12-inch releases: ''BCD'' (1995) and ''BCD-2'' (2008).
Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus have founded numerous record labels such as
Chain Reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.
Chain reactions are one way that sys ...
, Main Street Records, and Rhythm & Sound.
The duo's collaborative works have also been released under the monikers Maurizio
and Rhythm & Sound.
As Rhythm & Sound, the duo have recorded more faithful takes on Jamaican dub in collaboration with vocalists such as Paul St. Hilaire,
Cornell Campbell
Cornel Campbell aka Don Cornel or Don Gorgon (born 23 November 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee in ...
and the Love Joys.
Discography
Basic Channel
Albums
* Basic Channel – ''BCD'' (1995, BCD, CD)
* Basic Channel – ''BCD-2'' (2008, BCD-2, CD)
Singles
* Cyrus – "Enforcement" (1993, BC-01, 12")
* Basic Channel – "Phylyps Trak" (1993, BC-02, 12")
* Vainqueur – "Lyot RMX" (1993, BC-03, 12")
* Quadrant – "Q1.1" (1993, BC-04, 12")
* Cyrus – "Inversion" (1994, BC-05, 12")
* Basic Channel – "Quadrant Dub" (1994, BC-06, 12")
* Basic Channel – "Octagon" (1994, BC-07, 12")
* Basic Channel – "Radiance" (1994, BC-08, 12")
* Basic Channel – "Phylyps Trak II" (1994, BC-09, 12")
* Basic Channel – "Remake (Basic Reshape)" (2004, BC-BR, 12")
* Quadrant – "Infinition" (2004, BC-QD, 12")
* Basic Channel – "Q-Loop" (2014, BC-CD, 12")
Burial Mix
Albums
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire – ''Showcase'' (1998, BMD-1, CD)
* Rhythm & Sound w/ the Artists – ''Rhythm & Sound w/ the Artists'' (2003, BMD-2, CD)
* Rhythm & Sound – ''The Versions'' (2003, BMD-3, CD)
* Rhythm & Sound w/ the Artists – ''Rhythm & Sound w/ the Artists'' (2004, BMLP-2, LP)
* Rhythm & Sound – ''The Versions'' (2004, BMLP-3, LP)
* Rhythm & Sound – ''See Mi Ya'' (2005, BMD-4, CD)
* Rhythm & Sound – ''See Mi Ya'' (2005, BMLP-4, LP)
* Rhythm & Sound – ''See Mi Ya'' (2005, BM-14-20, 7" box set)
* Rhythm & Sound – ''See Mi Ya Remixes'' (2006, BMXD-1, CD)
Singles
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "Never Tell You" (1996, BM-01, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "Spend Some Time" (1996, BM-02, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "Ruff Way" (1997, BM-03, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "What a Mistry" (1997, BM-04, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "Why" (1997, BM-05, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/
Cornel Campbell – "King in My Empire" (2001, BM-06, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "Jah Rule" (2001, BM-07, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Shalom – "We Been Troddin" (2001, BM-08, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ the Chosen Brothers – "Making History" (2002, BM-09, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Love Joy – "Best Friend" (2002, BM-10, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Jennifer Lara – "Queen in My Empire" (2003, BM-11, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ the Chosen Brothers – "Mash Down Babylon" (2003, BM-12, 10")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Jah Batta – "Music Hit You" (2003, BM-13, 10")
Rhythm & Sound
Albums
* Rhythm & Sound – ''Rhythm & Sound'' (2001, RSD-1, CD)
Singles
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman – "Music A Fe Rule" (1997, RS-01, 12")
* Chosen Brothers / Rhythm & Sound – "Mango Walk" / "Mango Drive" (1998, RS-02, 12")
* Rhythm & Sound – "Roll Off" (1998, RS-03, 12")
* Rhythm & Sound w/ Savage – "Smile" (1999, RS-04, 12")
* Rhythm & Sound – "Carrier" (1999, RS-05, 12")
* Rhythm & Sound – "Trace" / "Imprint" (2001, RS-06, 12")
* Rhythm & Sound – "Aground" / "Aerial" (2002, RS-07, 12")
M-Series
Albums
* Maurizio – ''M-Series'' (1997, MCD, CD)
Singles
* Maurizio – "Ploy" (1992, M-1, 12")
* Vainquer – "Lyot" (1992, M-2, 12")
* Maurizio – "Domina" (1993, M-3, 12")
* Maurizio – "M-4" (1995, M-4, 12")
* Maurizio – "M-4.5" (1995, M-4.5, 12")
* Maurizio – "M-5" (1995, M-5, 12")
* Maurizio – "M-6" (1996, M-6, 12")
* Maurizio – "M-7" (1997, M-7, 12")
Main Street
Albums
* Round One to Round Five – ''1993-99'' (1999, MSD-01, CD)
Singles
* Round One – "I'm Your Brother" (1994, MSR-02, 12")
* Round Two – "New Day (1995, MSR-04, 12")
* Round Three w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "Acting Crazy" (1995, MSR-06, 12")
* Round Four w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "Find a Way" (1998, MSR-08, 12")
* Round Five w/ Paul St. Hilaire – "Na Fe Throw It" (1999, MSR-10, 12")
Related releases
Albums
* Scion – ''Arrange and Process Basic Channel Tracks'' (2002, Tresor, Tresor 200, CD)
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basic Channel
German electronic music groups
German musical duos
Record production duos
German record labels
Electronic music record labels