Myths abound in the North when it comes to techno ground zero, and they refuse to go away. Oliver Huntemann is one of a handful of children of the North who, for what seems like an eternity, add an element of credence to the mythology. He does not, of course, live in a snowy forest or at the edge of the polar oceans. The sun does, on occasion, shine down on Hamburg. Nevertheless, there is a tendency towards hypothermic reduction in the rigourous efficiency of the Huntemann oeuvre. Images of cold storage warehouses, desolate heavy plant sites and blueish flesh are not entirely misplaced. Shards of German Engineering glimmer in his music, laced with persuasive logic, gruesome Darwinism. What remains: what works. In “Brighter than the sun“, the English music theorist Kodwo Eshun depicts the birthplace of Kraftwerk, Dusseldorf, as the “Mississippi Delta of Techno“. Huntemann’s tracks may well have dragged themselves out of the same primeval soup, but it was the far north which fired them with the necessary steel for clubland. The resulting creations are linear, free of fancy, charmingly direct. One particular London arbiter of taste sought to label the nature of his skeletal sound as “bare and stripped back to the metallic core“ – whereby Huntemann’s reduction does not end in thin minimalism, it draws attention to the core itself. Less is more to the max. The only luxury is a little dirt.
Whilst hordes of German producers and DJs set their satnavs for Berlin, Oliver Huntemann chose to head back home. His epicentre is, and will remain, the North. Hamburg, to be exact. This is where he produces his music and it is from here that he sets out into the world, thrilling the populus with his DJ sets. His mix CD series „PLAY!" is ample proof of clubber euphoria. After D-Edge in Sao Paulo (2006) and the legendary Rex Club in Paris (2008), the 2010 issue "PLAY! 03 live" has been recorded in New York City's no. 1 nightspot Cielo. The live mix is indicative of the fact that the tonality or all round aesthetic of his set ultimately earns the response it deserves.
Since 2008 Huntemann has been running the Ideal Audio label. A new chapter after more than fifteen years Confused Recordings plus a host of sub and sister labels. After numerous inches and almost as many remixes (for Underworld, Chemical Brothers and Depeche Mode, to name just a few), he released his third album, “H-3“ in 2009 to critical acclaim on Ideal Audio. What followed is a successful collaboration with Dubfire which is still bearing its fruits. The two electronica masters initiated in 2010 a four-tracker series dedicated to the four Earth elements. Fuego was the first release from the series followed by Terra which came out in June 2011.
Even though Oliver Huntemann is busy touring the world from one end to the other, he found time and inspiration to prepare his fourth studio album, which is unlike anything you have heard from him before. With the “Paranoia” album, he has yet again demonstrated why he is one of the most revered producers in the scene who is unrivalled in his ability to construct deceptively intricate yet powerful songs. Once again he has delivered a compelling and memorable album, which keeps drawing the listener back into its darkest depths again and again.
With so much fame on his plate, he has done remarkably well to stay out of the spotlight. That’s how it is in the north, actions count, not appearances.
