The Hacker
Encyclopedia
Michel Amato, better known by the stage name The Hacker, is a French
electroclash
and techno producer who has worked extensively with Miss Kittin
. His work has been influenced by Electro
artists like Kraftwerk
, New Wave
artists such as The Cure
and Depeche Mode
, as well as the French rave scene of the early 1990s. His artist name comes from Jeff Mills
' track with the same name.
(France). At the time, Duran Duran
was an early influence, but he later discovered the dark side of Electro through Electronic Body Music
groups like Cabaret Voltaire
and D.A.F. In 1993, The Hacker took on the hardcore side of Electro and released a few 12”s with Benoit Bollini (aka The Money Penny Project) under the moniker XMF on the label of the same name.
In 1995, he made his own music in classic Detroit style with Jeff Mills in mind. His first tracks were released on the Ozone and Interface labels. Three years later, The Hacker founded his own label, Goodlife Records (named for a classic track from Inner City) with his friends Oxia
and Alex Reynaud. However, he still releases tracks on other labels such as A Strange Day on UMF and Method Of Force on Sativae. The tones of his debut album Mélodies En Sous-Sol (spring 2000) surmise his musical dreams where one can hear distant echoes of New Order
, Dopplereffekt
, and PCP
.
In the mid 1990s, The Hacker began producing electro-pop with his friend, Caroline Hervé (AKA Miss Kittin
). DJ Hell
loved their first track Gratin Dauphinois on Technics and signed them on his new label Gigolo in 1997. In Germany, their success was immediate owing to the releases of Champagne and Intimités. With the dawn of the electroclash
music movement in 2001 and the release of their First Album
and its single "Frank Sinatra
", they became popular worldwide. The Hacker is also sought-after as a producer, and has done remixes for Marc Almond
, Fischerspooner
, Air, and Nitzer Ebb
.
In 2002 after their U.S. tour, The Hacker and Miss Kittin decided to take a break from their collaborative projects. The Hacker took this opportunity to produce many new tracks released vinyl, such as The Beach on Mental Groove and Dance Industria on Tiga
's label Turbo. He collaborated with Kiko, Alexander Robotnick
, millimetric and David Carretta, touring all over the globe as a DJ
and started work on his next album.
The Hacker released his second album, Rêves Mécaniques
in 2004. It became his first album to chart on the French Albums Chart
, peaking at #130 and spending a total of four weeks on the chart.
In 2007, he rejoined with Miss Kittin to release the double A-side "Hometown" / "Dimanche". To celebrate his tenth anniversary as a recording artist, The Hacker released the CD/DVD set X in 2008. The compilation contains live recordings, singles and some new studio tracks.
Miss Kittin & The Hacker reunited as a duo in 2008, after a short tour of European clubs at the end of 2007, and the "Hometown EP" released in June that year. Further touring followed throughout America and around the world in 2008, before they both started recording new songs, some of which were performed whilst touring. In March 2009, they released their second album Two
, 8 years after their first and only full LP as a duo. The first single "1000 Dreams
" was also released in March, alongside a new club single "PPPO - People Pleasure Objects Power", both taken from the new album. The reformed duo have embarked on a new European tour all summer in 2008, kicking off in France in early April.
, Adult.
, Ersatz Audio
, Dopplereffekt
, Soft Cell
, Depeche Mode
, New Order
, Cybotron
, Bobby Orlando
and Giorgio Moroder
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
electroclash
Electroclash
Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...
and techno producer who has worked extensively with Miss Kittin
Miss Kittin
Miss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...
. His work has been influenced by Electro
Electro (music)
Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 drum machines, Moog keytar synthesizers and funk sampling...
artists like Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
, New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
artists such as The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, as well as the French rave scene of the early 1990s. His artist name comes from Jeff Mills
Jeff Mills
Jeff Mills is an American techno DJ and producer.-Career:Starting in the early 1980s, Mills, using the name "The Wizard", was a recurring guest DJ on "The Electrifying Mojo" radio show on WJLB...
' track with the same name.
Career
The Hacker started making music in 1989 at the age of 17 in GrenobleGrenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
(France). At the time, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
was an early influence, but he later discovered the dark side of Electro through Electronic Body Music
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
groups like Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
and D.A.F. In 1993, The Hacker took on the hardcore side of Electro and released a few 12”s with Benoit Bollini (aka The Money Penny Project) under the moniker XMF on the label of the same name.
In 1995, he made his own music in classic Detroit style with Jeff Mills in mind. His first tracks were released on the Ozone and Interface labels. Three years later, The Hacker founded his own label, Goodlife Records (named for a classic track from Inner City) with his friends Oxia
Oxia
Oxia may refer to:*the acute accent in polytonic Greek*Oxeia, a Greek island...
and Alex Reynaud. However, he still releases tracks on other labels such as A Strange Day on UMF and Method Of Force on Sativae. The tones of his debut album Mélodies En Sous-Sol (spring 2000) surmise his musical dreams where one can hear distant echoes of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, Dopplereffekt
Dopplereffekt
Dopplereffekt is an electronic music act which has been active since at least 1995 . It is named after the German word for the Doppler effect...
, and PCP
PCP
PCP may refer to:In medicine and pharmaceutics:*Phencyclidine, a recreational drug known by a number of street names including PCP, angel dust, embalming fluid, and rocket fuel...
.
In the mid 1990s, The Hacker began producing electro-pop with his friend, Caroline Hervé (AKA Miss Kittin
Miss Kittin
Miss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...
). DJ Hell
DJ Hell
This article is about Helmut Josef Geier. You may also be looking for Darryl Hell.Helmut Josef Geier, professionally known as DJ Hell is a German house-techno DJ...
loved their first track Gratin Dauphinois on Technics and signed them on his new label Gigolo in 1997. In Germany, their success was immediate owing to the releases of Champagne and Intimités. With the dawn of the electroclash
Electroclash
Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...
music movement in 2001 and the release of their First Album
First Album (Miss Kittin & The Hacker album)
-Personnel:*Michel Amato - programming*F. Holzer - photography*Miss Kittin - vocals, vibraphone...
and its single "Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra (Miss Kittin & The Hacker song)
"Frank Sinatra" is a song by French recording duo Miss Kittin & The Hacker. It is the second single from their debut album as a duo First Album . The song was originally included on the duo's 1998 EP Champagne and became an anthem of the electroclash scene...
", they became popular worldwide. The Hacker is also sought-after as a producer, and has done remixes for Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
, Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner is an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York. The name is a portmanteau of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner...
, Air, and Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb
Nitzer Ebb is a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris , Douglas McCarthy , and David Gooday .-Band name:...
.
In 2002 after their U.S. tour, The Hacker and Miss Kittin decided to take a break from their collaborative projects. The Hacker took this opportunity to produce many new tracks released vinyl, such as The Beach on Mental Groove and Dance Industria on Tiga
Tiga (musician)
Tiga is the stage name of Montreal-born DJ/producer Tiga James Sontag . His album Sexor won the 2007 Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year.-Career:He graduated from Selwyn House School, a prestigious school in Westmount...
's label Turbo. He collaborated with Kiko, Alexander Robotnick
Alexander Robotnick
Alexander Robotnick is an Italian electronic musician. He made his debut on the Italian music scene as the founding member of Avida, a dance-cabaret band featuring Daniele Trambusti and Stefano Fuochi....
, millimetric and David Carretta, touring all over the globe as a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and started work on his next album.
The Hacker released his second album, Rêves Mécaniques
Rêves Mécaniques
-Personnel:* Michel Amato - producer* Echo Danon - vocals* Mount Sims - vocals* Pompon - masteringSource: -Charts:...
in 2004. It became his first album to chart on the French Albums Chart
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...
, peaking at #130 and spending a total of four weeks on the chart.
In 2007, he rejoined with Miss Kittin to release the double A-side "Hometown" / "Dimanche". To celebrate his tenth anniversary as a recording artist, The Hacker released the CD/DVD set X in 2008. The compilation contains live recordings, singles and some new studio tracks.
Miss Kittin & The Hacker reunited as a duo in 2008, after a short tour of European clubs at the end of 2007, and the "Hometown EP" released in June that year. Further touring followed throughout America and around the world in 2008, before they both started recording new songs, some of which were performed whilst touring. In March 2009, they released their second album Two
Two (Miss Kittin & The Hacker album)
Two is the second album by the reunited duo Miss Kittin & The Hacker released in 2009 by Miss Kittin's label Nobody's Bizzness.-Background and development:...
, 8 years after their first and only full LP as a duo. The first single "1000 Dreams
1000 Dreams
"1000 Dreams" is a song performed by French recording duo Miss Kittin & The Hacker, taken from their second studio album, Two. It was released in April 2009, as the album's second single by Nobody's Bizzness. "1000 Dreams" became a minor hit in Belgium, where it reached top-twenty on the Flanders...
" was also released in March, alongside a new club single "PPPO - People Pleasure Objects Power", both taken from the new album. The reformed duo have embarked on a new European tour all summer in 2008, kicking off in France in early April.
Influences
Amato has mentioned his respect for Terence Fixmer, David Carretta, DJ HellDJ Hell
This article is about Helmut Josef Geier. You may also be looking for Darryl Hell.Helmut Josef Geier, professionally known as DJ Hell is a German house-techno DJ...
, Adult.
ADULT.
ADULT. is an American band from Detroit, Michigan that integrates vocals with drum machines, analog synths and electronic/punk elements. While popular in their home city of Detroit, they are also very popular in Germany and the United Kingdom.-History:ADULT...
, Ersatz Audio
Ersatz Audio
Ersatz Audio is an independent record label based in Detroit, Michigan, specializing in electro punk.The label was started, and continues to be run by, Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus, who founded the label in part to release records for their own band, Adult. Also on Ersatz Audio are the...
, Dopplereffekt
Dopplereffekt
Dopplereffekt is an electronic music act which has been active since at least 1995 . It is named after the German word for the Doppler effect...
, Soft Cell
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, Cybotron
Cybotron
Cybotron was an early electro group formed in 1980 by Juan Atkins and Richard "3070" Davis in Detroit, Michigan. Guitarist John "Jon 5" Housley joined soon afterward...
, Bobby Orlando
Bobby Orlando
Robert Philip Orlando , also known as Bobby Orlando, is an American record producer, dance music artist, musician and songwriter.- Early life :...
and Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
.
Albums
- ChampagneChampagne (EP)-External links:* at Yahoo! Music...
(with Miss KittinMiss KittinMiss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...
) (1998) - IntimitésIntimitésIntimités is the second EP by Miss Kittin & The Hacker .-Track listing:Source:...
(with Miss KittinMiss KittinMiss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...
) (1999) - First AlbumFirst Album (Miss Kittin & The Hacker album)-Personnel:*Michel Amato - programming*F. Holzer - photography*Miss Kittin - vocals, vibraphone...
(with Miss KittinMiss KittinMiss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...
) (2001) - Rêves MécaniquesRêves Mécaniques-Personnel:* Michel Amato - producer* Echo Danon - vocals* Mount Sims - vocals* Pompon - masteringSource: -Charts:...
(2004) #130 FRA - TwoTwo (Miss Kittin & The Hacker album)Two is the second album by the reunited duo Miss Kittin & The Hacker released in 2009 by Miss Kittin's label Nobody's Bizzness.-Background and development:...
(with Miss KittinMiss KittinMiss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...
) (2009) #102 FRA
External links
- Discogs: The Hacker
- The Hacker's official site
- 2010: Soundtracks by Miss Kittin and The Hacker - interview with Miss Kittin and The Hacker, plus 3-tracks for listening to.