Wildly diverse, infused with exuberance and inspired by a slap of the absurd, Modeselektor's inarguable grooves seem to emanate from every conceivable musical genre, creating a controlled chaos whose sonic expression elevates the eyebrows and heartbeats of critics and dance floors around the world.
Boundary breaking' is a phrase that today almost every artist wants to claim, however Modeselektor's description as such does not come as an afterthought or marketing ploy. The idea of breaking boundaries permeates their music because this dissolution of cultural borders is ingrained in their very identities.
The electronic production team of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary came of age in Berlin shortly after the fall of the infamous Wall in 1989.
Modeselektor emerged out of the tangle of post-wall Berlin, monkey men with beats clenched between their teeth and ideas that would soon force music journalists to make up new words: bastard dancehall, euro crunk, acid rap, big bass techno, labstyle, happy metal, psychedelic electro. Like a jungle, their music is dense, textured and rich with sounds never experienced before, drawn from a production ethos of "create, distort, recycle." Modeselektor's appreciation for the absurd engenders an attitude of levity towards their music, refreshing in a world where "serious techno" has become a funny cliché.
No longer teenage rabble-rousers but young fathers, Modeselektor was named "Best Dubstep and Grime Artist" in the 2008 Beatport Awards, and hit the road with Radiohead and then Ellen Allien. Obviously the two play well with others; their list of collaborators and guest vocalists had grown into a "Who's Who" list of the continental underground: Paul St. Hilaire, Team Shadetek, Sasha Perera, Puppetmastaz, Maxïmo Park, Otto von Schirach and Siriusmo.
