Funkstörung

Funkstörung (German for "radio interference",^[1] sometimes also spelt Funkstorung^[2]) is Christian de Luca (born 11 May 1974) and Michael Fakesch (born 8 March 1975), a duo of IDM musicians (producers) hailing from Rosenheim, Germany. They are known for rhythmically complex but melody driven music, similar to the late 1990s work of Autechre, although their latest work incorporates elements of hip hop as well as pop music. They also do a lot of remix work, their portfolio including top-level artists such as Jean Michel Jarre, Wu-Tang Clan and Björk. Three of the seven Funkstörung albums are collection of remixes for other artists.

One strong point of Funkstörungs' releases has always been their cover art and design, often by The Designers Republic. This attention to graphic design was taken to its logical conclusion when they released Isolated. Triple Media. in 2004, a 160-page artbook and a DVD with graphics and music videos related to Disconnected. Both de Luca and Fakesch have released solo albums, most of them on their own Musik aus Strom label. On March 4, 2015 Funkstörung announce that a new album will be released on Monkeytown Records on July 31, 2015.

Band biography

The duo reportedly first met in 1992, when de Luca DJed on a techno party organised by Fakesch. Their diverse musical backgrounds (hip hop and Heavy Metal) notwithstanding, they initially produced straight minimalist techno under the name Musik Aus Strom (German for music made of electricity) and signed for a six-album deal to Unit Moebius' label Bunker Records/Acid Planet in 1994. Acid Planet was unable to release anything until 1996 due to monetary constraints, however, and de Luca and Fakesch adopted the name Funkstörung and used the moniker Musik Aus Strom for their own label, on which they released a few EPs with a new, more melodic and rhythmically complex IDM/Glitch sound. After more EPs on the Compost and Chocolate Industries labels and a series of high-profile remixes for Björk mit Funkstörung on Fat Cat Records and Wu-Tang Clan, they finally signed to !K7 Records in 1999.

Their first album on !K7, Additional Productions, was a collection of these remixes. Their first full-length album Appetite for Disctruction followed the next year in 2000. On it, their style evolved further, including more collaborations with MCs on the tracks "Grammy Winners" and "Sounds like a Breakrecord" as well as first experiments with guest singers. "Grammy Winners" was released as a single and video. Their next album Vice Versa (2001) was yet another collection of remixes, this time including versions of songs by Jean Michel Jarre, The Notwist and Tocotronic.

On their next album Disconnected, they added some distinctly pop-oriented songs, featuring guest vocalists Louise Rhodes (of Lamb), Sarah Jay (known for her work with Massive Attack) and Enik. Disconnected also served as the launch pad for their project Isolate. A series of photographs was made available on their website, and visitors were encouraged to alter them and send them back. The results, including both still graphics and videos to Disconnected tracks, were published as the book/DVD combination Isolated. Triple Media. in 2004. Their video Chopping Heads directed by Keep Adding and Scott Pagano was selected for the 2005 International Critic's Week at Cannes Film Festival.^[3]

In June 2005, Funkstörung released another album called The Return to the Acid Planet to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first release. Stylistically, it was very reminiscent of their Acid Planet work – indeed, most of the songs were from that time, and were touched up to modern production standards. The biggest change was replacing the standard straight acid house beats with 808-sounding breakbeats. The album was only released in a limited vinyl edition and in the iTunes Music Store.

In the beginning of August 2006, a statement was published on funkstorung.com, stating that the duo had officially broken up due to musical, personal and practical differences. Both Michael Fakesch and Christian de Luca will continue making music with their respective solo projects.

On March 4, 2015 Funkstörung announce that a new album will be released on Monkeytown Records on July 31, 2015.

Discography

References

• laut.de, laut.de | Funkstörung (Biographie), retrieved on 7 March 2005
• Funkstörung, Funkstörung Discography 2004 (.doc format), retrieved on 7 March 2005
• Funkstörung, Funkstörung Biography (.doc format), retrieved on 7 March 2005

External links

• funkstorung.com – official website
• Appendix – Appendix website
• Funkstörung discography at Discogs
• Funkstörung at AllMusic
• Funkstörung discography at MusicBrainz

Notes

1. ↑
2. ↑ Although Funkstoerung would be the correct way of writing Funkstörung in ASCII, the band chooses to use Funkstorung in all contexts where umlauts are not possible, for example domain names. This is primarily for aesthetical reasons.
3. ↑ Related article on semainedelacritique.com
4. ↑ guardian.com: The most beautiful sleeves of 2004
5. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Funkst%C3%B6rung-Funkst%C3%B6rung/master/853337
6. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/artist/funkstorung/id3540882