Ekkehard Ehlers
Encyclopedia
Ekkehard Ehlers is an artist working in the field of electronic music
. In addition to his solo career, he has recorded under the monikers Auch, Betrieb and Ferdinand Fehlers and as a member of the duo Autopoesies and his band März
. A BBC reviewer wrote of Ehlers music: Ehlers' music toys with your perceptions a little, opening up a space to think
Ehlers became interested in aesthetic theory
, particularly the work of Theodor Adorno, as a university student in Frankfurt
. He began working with Sebastian Meissner as Autopoieses in the late 1990s. Autopoieses was in part about the recontextualization of samples, and the duo released their well-received debut record exploring these ideas in 1999 on Mille Plateaux. Ehlers' tested the solo waters with minimal house released as Auch and Betrieb from 2000 to 2005 on Force Inc. and Klang. In 2000 Ehlers released his first solo album under his own name, the dark and abstract Betrieb. Constructed primarily of manipulated samples of Arnold Schönberg and Charles Ives, Betrieb is steeped in theory, as evidenced by the Ehlers-penned liner notes.
In 2001, Ehlers began recording a series of singles to serve as tributes to some of his aesthetic heroes. These singles, which included "Ekkehard Ehlers Plays Cornelius Cardew" and "Ekkehard Ehlers Plays John Cassavetes" were ultimately gathered together on the 2002 album Plays. This release brought Ehlers notoriety outside of experimental electronic music circles. He followed it with the far more abstract Politik Braucht Keinen Feind in 2003, and then with A Life Without Fear, which incorporated blues in a typically oblique way, in 2006.
Since 2000 he started working on ballet scores for the choreographers William Forsythe and later Christoph Winkler and theater music for Ulrich Rasche.
He remixed the Red Hot Chili Peppers
' single Californication
and collaborated with the band on a couple of their live sets. Two live recordings have been made called, Tuesday Night in Berlin and Thursday Night in Berlin. The remixed Californication and the 14 minute improvisation jam Tuesday Night in Berlin can be found on the second version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Fortune Faded
single. The nearly 30 minute Thursday Night In Berlin has not been released officially although a bootleg
has recently leaked onto the Internet.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. In addition to his solo career, he has recorded under the monikers Auch, Betrieb and Ferdinand Fehlers and as a member of the duo Autopoesies and his band März
Marz
Marz may refer to:people* Ron Marz, comic book author* Richard Marz, Canadian politician* Marz , an American rapperother* Marz , the first order administrative division of Armenia...
. A BBC reviewer wrote of Ehlers music: Ehlers' music toys with your perceptions a little, opening up a space to think
Ehlers became interested in aesthetic theory
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
, particularly the work of Theodor Adorno, as a university student in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. He began working with Sebastian Meissner as Autopoieses in the late 1990s. Autopoieses was in part about the recontextualization of samples, and the duo released their well-received debut record exploring these ideas in 1999 on Mille Plateaux. Ehlers' tested the solo waters with minimal house released as Auch and Betrieb from 2000 to 2005 on Force Inc. and Klang. In 2000 Ehlers released his first solo album under his own name, the dark and abstract Betrieb. Constructed primarily of manipulated samples of Arnold Schönberg and Charles Ives, Betrieb is steeped in theory, as evidenced by the Ehlers-penned liner notes.
In 2001, Ehlers began recording a series of singles to serve as tributes to some of his aesthetic heroes. These singles, which included "Ekkehard Ehlers Plays Cornelius Cardew" and "Ekkehard Ehlers Plays John Cassavetes" were ultimately gathered together on the 2002 album Plays. This release brought Ehlers notoriety outside of experimental electronic music circles. He followed it with the far more abstract Politik Braucht Keinen Feind in 2003, and then with A Life Without Fear, which incorporated blues in a typically oblique way, in 2006.
Since 2000 he started working on ballet scores for the choreographers William Forsythe and later Christoph Winkler and theater music for Ulrich Rasche.
He remixed the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
' single Californication
Californication (song)
"Californication" is the Red Hot Chili Peppers' fourth single and sixth track from their seventh studio album, Californication. Released in 2000, the song reached #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA, and #16 on the UK charts, and hit #1 on both US Mainstream Rock Tracks and US Modern Rock Tracks...
and collaborated with the band on a couple of their live sets. Two live recordings have been made called, Tuesday Night in Berlin and Thursday Night in Berlin. The remixed Californication and the 14 minute improvisation jam Tuesday Night in Berlin can be found on the second version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Fortune Faded
Fortune Faded
"Fortune Faded" is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released in 2003 as a single, to coincide with the release of their Greatest Hits album. The song, along with "Save the Population" , was recorded at The Mansion and produced by Rick Rubin...
single. The nearly 30 minute Thursday Night In Berlin has not been released officially although a bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
has recently leaked onto the Internet.
Selected discography
- Betrieb — CD, Mille Plateaux, 2000
- März — CD, 2001 (Ehlers, Kunze) 2002-2004
- Plays — CD, Staubgold, 2002
- Music For William Forsythe — CD, Whatness, 2003 (Ehlers, Sebastian Meissner, Thom Willems)
- Politik Braucht Keinen Feind — CD, Staubgold, 2003
- Childish Music — CD, Staubgold, 2005
- A Life Without Fear — CD, Staubgold, 2006