Moritz von Oswald

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Moritz von Oswald, better known as Maurizio, went on to become one of the most influential producers of techno music in the 1990s. In the 1980s he was percussionist for Palais Schaumburg, but would segue into electronic music by the late 80's and early 90's. First as 3MB (with Thomas Fehlmann), and solo work as TV Victor, he co-founded of Basic Channel Records (with Mark Ernestus), whose various releases came to epitomize minimal techno. As part of the Berlin/Detroit axis, minimal techno was characterized by other artists like Rob Hood, Jeff Mills, Mike Banks, and UR. Living in Berlin, he was also part of a music scene that pivoted around the Tresor Club and record label, as well as Hardwax, a record store. Von Oswald's epic M series of records are characterized by a 4x4 beat with dub-inflected syncopated synth pads, slowly modulated over time. Like the Basic Channel records, each 12" had tracks that took up the entire side of each record. His work was highly influential on that of Richie Hawtin, Thomas Brinkmann, Robert Henke (aka Monolake), Wolfgang Voigt, and later through artists whose records were released on the equally influential Chain Reaction Records. His current work as Rhythm & Sound fuses his interests in dub reggae and techno even further, where Jamaican vocalists sing or speak over stripped down techno beats and bass.