The Hacker
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The Hacker (real name: Michel Amato) 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.
The Hacker started making music in 1989 at the age of 17 in Grenoble, (France). At the time, Duran Duran was an early influence, but he later discovered the dark side of Electro through bands 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, 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.
In 2004, he released his second album, Rêves Mécaniques, and in 2007, he rejoined with Miss Kittin to release the double A-side Hometown / Dimanche.
