Moritz von Oswald

Innovator is a term cast around somewhat gratuitously when it comes to describing the creators of electronic music. Perhaps this results from its fans’ propensity to describe the subtleties that differentiate the good from the bad in hyperboles.

Exaggeration of Moritz von Oswald’s status however, would be difficult. His influence on electronic music, in particular since the inception of his and collaborator Mark Ernestus’ Basic Channel imprint (or rather, ideology) in 1993 is unparalleled. The man’s constant musical development, and involvement at every single stage from conception to consumption is almost unheard of.

It would be very easy to slip into the realms of the philosophical when it comes to the music of Moritz von Oswald. The majority of his releases, in particular, the nine Basic Channel records released during the de facto operation of the label, eschew traditional song structure in favour of the abstract development of echo, delay and hiss over a single extended groove. Rather than the coldness and austerity one would expect, the music is fluid, compelling and brimming with soul.

A brief retrospective glance is undoubtedly in order, although only an abridged selection of his innumerable projects is possible. His music career before Basic Channel was preceded by what he refers to as “the normal musical education”. He cites his brother as a major influence as he “brought music into the house”. The transition from a desire to quit piano lessons (the point at which the similarities between the musical careers of both myself and Moritz start and end) to the realisation that music was going to be something special for him came when a relative introduced him to blues. Becoming a multi-instrumentalist and the beginning of his career as a drummer was a major turning point for Von Oswald. He claims that “Drums took me to a completely different level.” During the 80’s, he was involved in the Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave) joining the influential avant gardists Palais Schaumburg set up by Holger Hiller and Thomas Fehlman. Von Oswald’s work as a percussionist throughout the 80’s took him through many experimental phases after the split of Palais Schaumburg. Collaborations with Detroit techno stalwarts Blake Baxter, Juan Atkins and Eddie Fowlkes in Von Oswald’s Love Park Studio in the early 90’s forged the relationship between the Berlin and Detroit techno scenes that was instrumental in the development of the genre. These projects, in partnership with Thomas Fehlman, known as 2MB and 3MB were part of the experiences “which were important to decide to do Basic Channel as it appeared at the time”.

One of the most fateful meetings in electronic music occurred at Hardwax Records in Berlin. Mark Ernestus and Moritz Von Oswald met and realised that they had “ a musical understanding” and played reggae, house and techno from the vast array of difficult to find records available in Hardwax to each other. When asked was it the music from Detroit and Chicago that comprised their common ground von Oswald’s response of “not really, not only” made much sense, as the German brand of hypnotic, sweeping techno made by the duo obviously had its roots in other places. When questioned about the relationship between reggae and the Basic Channel sound he becomes more decisive. “I liked to listen to [reggae] early on. The stuff that Mark and myself first listened to were empty instrumentals. This was always in the back of the mind. To wonder how it was made”.

The gleeful giggle that comes from the phone assures me that this wonder still gives Moritz a thrill. He continues on to describe how his fascination with reggae delves into the technical. “I always liked the idea of using the studio as an instrument. The whole story about dub. You don’t just use the studio to record, you use it as another facility”.

Continuing with the reggae theme, I asked Moritz about how the winding up of Basic Channel as a label, after the release of the nine most influential records in electronic music, and the decision to emphasise the reggae element more conspicuously. In particular I asked him about his relationship with Paul St. Hilaire, aka Tikiman, and how his involvement in what became yet another label, Rhythm and Sound, influenced the direction of the Basic Channel movement. To get to that point, we must traverse another tangent, another label, and another musical direction.

After the release of the last Basic Channel record in 1994, Von Oswald and Ernestus decided to have a crack at producing what he describes as “ for our years, quite straightforward house which was very well received in New York”. In order to release this very different musical project, Main Street Records was born, releasing both I’m Your Brother and New Day featuring vocalist Any Caine, as Round One and Round Two Respectively. I’m Your Brother is a special one. Its upbeat Chicago House sound may be the victim of a raised eyebrow or two when thrown into the middle of a set, but its eponymous refrain could only fail to melt the heart and shake the arse of the most cynical music (s)knob. However, in typical itchy footed style, despite the success of the first two Main Street records, “[they] wanted to get away from that song structure and thought about working with someone from [the Caribbean]. [They] heard about two or three people from tapes, and Tiki was one of them. He immediately got the idea and had the right lyrics, melody and presence.” I had the good fortune to witness this pairing in action in Berghain in Berlin during the summer and it was clear from the contented grin on his face that afternoon that Moritz von Oswald’s musical allegiance still lies with reggae. “Yeah it was fun,” he laughs again when I mention this to him.

The first Rhythm and Sound record with Tikiman was the “Showcase” series released on the Burial Mix label. Each track was released on 10” vinyl with the vocal on one side and the instrumental “version” on the other. This was the original format favoured by Jamaican reggae producers.

Over the years, the identities, opinions and ideas of the two revered figures behind the Basic Channel movement have been subject to much speculation and adoration. The idea was that there was no need to say anything as the music explained more than any interview ever could. When I questioned Moritz about his current project, the Moritz von Oswald Trio featuring Sasu Ripatti (Vladislav Delay) and Max Louderbauer, I found that the reason for this rare interview might lie in his candidness in describing what the Whelan’s audience is to expect on October 26th.

“The project I’m coming with in October is a bit different. It is like an experiment which is quite different from stuff that happened on Basic Channel. I really wanted to get people playing live….Not with laptops anymore. Also the idea of having a small group of people who are interacting and improvising on a highly abstract level. This is what we try to do with this trio.
It’s free and open with long tracks which are often very calm. On the other hand, I try to keep the rhythms not too far away from the club idea. I wanted to have a non tonal, dissonant vibe with a kind of dark impression.”

Excitingly, the Moritz Von Oswald Trio plan to release a record at the end of next February with the live experience being replicated in studio. Moritz is also releasing Recomposed Vol. 3 with Carl Craig this month. This is a recomposition of an original 1987 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra recording of Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero”.
Ravel’s “Rapsodie Espagnola” and Modest Mussorgsky’s “Bilder einer Ausstellung”.

The work of Moritz Von Oswald intersects in my mind with another great artist who had a fondness for the abstract. I’m no art expert, but the paintings of Mark Rothko are the perfect visual representation of Moritz’s music. A quick sideways glance will give you a flash of colour or darkness, but it is with further inspection and introspection that the layers and textures become apparent. The same is true of Moritz’s art. A basic idea developed and built upon forwards and backwards until it forms a cycle that absorbs and envelops you despite its intangible nature.

There’s a reason why anyone who hasn’t yet, should begin the exploration of Mortiz Von Oswald’s backcatalogue. It isn’t to get a historical reference point on today’s relatively stagnant electronic music scene, nor is it to gain access to the hoards of Von Oswald imitators, but because he is one of the true inimitable innovators.

An ideal place to start if the music of Moritz Von Oswald and the Basic Channel crew has managed to slip past you is the Arrange and Process Basic Channel Tracks by Scion. It is a cut-up mix of basic channel tracks done with Ableton Live and gives a good overview of their sound. The ideal would be to go to Hardwax and buy the entire back catalogue on vinyl .

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