York is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 electronica music

Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

 duo, founded in 1997 by musicians and brothers Torsten and Jörg Stenzel

Torsten Stenzel

Torsten Stenzel is a German musician, songwriter, composer and producer for more than 22 years. Classically trained from an early age his roots are within the field of Electronic dance music...

. Producing downtempo

Downtempo

Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...

, Chillout, House

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

 and Trance

Trance music

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

, their productions are known for catchy guitar hooks

Hook (music)

A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...

, atmospheric soundscapes

Balearic Beat

Balearic Beat or either Balearic House and Balearic Trance is an eclectic blend of DJed dance music that originally emerged in the mid-1980s. It later became the name of a more specific style of electronic dance music that was popular into the mid-1990s...

 and delicate dance textures

Rhythm

Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...

.

Career

Torsten Stenzel

Torsten Stenzel

Torsten Stenzel is a German musician, songwriter, composer and producer for more than 22 years. Classically trained from an early age his roots are within the field of Electronic dance music...

 began his musical career early in his childhood, learning the piano from the age of five when he began his classical training. In the early 1990s his orientation changed, and he discovered the growing techno/house movement. He built his own recording studio

Recording studio

A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...

. Torsten Stenzel is credited for several gold and platinum awards, an 'Echo' nomination and over three million record sales.

Jörg Stenzel has, since the age of eleven, been interested in stringed instruments, the guitar in particular. The two brothers combined their talents in 1997, and the duo of York was born.

York has released four successful UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

. Their first single, "The Awakening", reached #11 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 in October 1999. Their second single, "On The Beach" (which sampled

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 Chris Rea

Chris Rea

Chris Rea is an English singer-songwriter, recognisable for his distinctive, husky voice and slide guitar playing. The British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s. He was already a major European star by the time he finally...

's song, "On The Beach

On the Beach

On the Beach is a post-apocalyptic, end-of-the-world novel written by British-Australian author Nevil Shute after he emigrated to Australia. It was published in 1957....

") was their biggest hit, the 'CRW

Mauro Picotto

Mauro Picotto is an Italian electronic music musician. Previously a member of the Italian rave outfit, Cappella. He became well-known as a solo artist with techno-trance tracks including "Komodo" , "Pulsar" and most famously for "Lizard"...

 edit' helped the single to reach #4 in the UK chart in June 2000, and it sold over 200,000 copies. The next chart entry "Farewell To The Moon" reached #37 in November 2000. Their final UK hit single to date was "The Fields of Love" which featured ATB

ATB

ATB may refer to:*The US Reorder tone is often referred to as an ATB, for All Trunks Busy*Active Time Battle system is a feature of role-playing games*Mountain bike is an off-road bicycle...

. It reached #16 in January 2001.

York joined the label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

, Offshore Music (based in Switzerland) in 2004, with their club hit singles "Iceflowers" (playlisted by Judge Jules

Judge Jules

Judge Jules is a British dance music DJ and producer, known for his DJ activities and popular radio show which achieved global success.-Education:...

) and "Mercury Rising". The same year their album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, Peace, was released by EMI Music Switzerland.

In November 2010, York left the Offshore Record Label.

As of late 2011 'York' is signed to the major dutch dance record label Armada Music. A new album - 'Islander' - is ready for a winter 2011 release. Among others the new album will feature work in colloboration with British multi-instrumentalist & composer Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield

Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...

.

Singles discography

• "The Awakening" (April 1998) - UK
  UK Singles Chart
  The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
  
   #11
• "Jastamba" (featuring Jamila) (November 1998)
• "On The Beach" (July 1999) - UK #4
• "The Fields of Love" (ATB
  ATB
  ATB may refer to:*The US Reorder tone is often referred to as an ATB, for All Trunks Busy*Active Time Battle system is a feature of role-playing games*Mountain bike is an off-road bicycle...
  
   featuring York) (October 2000) - UK #16
• "Farewell To The Moon" (December 2000) - UK #37
• "Yesterday (Silence)" (featuring Alaska) (2001)
• "Sunset Road" (DJ Shah meets York) (2004)
• "Iceflowers" (featuring Angelina) (2005)
• "Mercury Rising" (featuring Asheni) (2006)
• "Wanna Be Known" (feat. Brandon Jones) (2011)

Albums

• Experience (2001)
• Peace (2006)
• Islander (December 19, 2011)