Funkstörung

Funkstörung (pronounced "funk-strong"): German for aural interference, also a play on wordsŠ

"funk" = radio "störung" = distortion Distorted funk indeed.

Rosenheim, Germany's production duo Michael Fakesch and Chris De Luca have an unforgettably unique and recognizable sound. First found on a compilation of their remixes entitled Additional Productions (1999), then on their Appetite for Disctruction (April 2000) full-length debut, Funkstörung's unrivaled vocal-splicing, groove-shredding, taste-proliferating style is equally strong on Vice Versa - their second compilation of remixes to date.

Dosing each of their remixes with an injection of electronic noise, digital soul, and cinematic ambience, Funkstörung are purveyors of futuristic form. Boasting original tracks by A Guy Called Gerald, Jean Michel Jarre, Nils Patter Molvaer, and other internationally known producers, Vice Versa is a hip-hop inflected blend of jazz, electro, and drum'n'bass, brought full-circle by Funkstörung's masterful studio wizardry.

Rare production talents make Funkstörung one of dance music's most in-demand remix outfits out there. Having contributed remixes for artists like Björk, Wu-Tang Clan, and the East Flatbush Project, Funkstörung has always defied musical boundaries by crossing and blending genres to create something entirely their own. On Vice Versa, Fakesch and De Luca seduce their listeners into a near-catatonic, alluringly-hypnotic pleasure state - truly a Funkstörung trademark.

Munich's Funkstörung have been described as the German Autechre, a description which probably has less to do with their sound than the interest the group has attracted to their Musik Aus Strom label. Similar to Autechre's Skam label, Musik Aus Strom (German, roughly, for "synthesizer music") became one of the more collectible, obsessed-over underground electronica labels, coveted as much for the Skam-esque enigma about them as the increasing exchange between the two labels' rosters (a connection the two sealed in 1997 with the release of the limited-edition Mask series, a collaboration between the labels and their respective artists).

Composed of Michael Fakesch and Chris de Luca, Funkstörung's recent excursions into dark, muddy, lo-fi electro and instrumental hip-hop were preceded by a number of relatively straight-ahead techno records on Bunker sublabel Acid Planet beginning in 1994. The duo was contacted soon after by none other than Aphex Twin's Rephlex label about releasing some material, but stalled plans and unanswered phone calls led the pair to forego the label-shopping route early on, and most of their most significant early material (with the exception of a few compilation tracks and a single for Compost) appeared through MAS. Although the Bunker singles far outnumbered their later self-released material, MAS 12"s such as "Zeit," "Breakart," and "Artificial Garbage" composed the group's more sophisticated, mature sound.

The hotly pursued Mask series did much for the group's visibility; limited to between 100 and 500 copies per release (in successively increasing quantities), Mask releases included tracks from Funkstörung and Skam's Jega, Bola, and Boards of Canada. In 1999, Studio !K7 released the remix collection Additional Productions, and Funkstörung returned one year later with their full-length debut, Appetite for Disctruction. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide