The Moritz von Oswald Trio brings together acclaimed artists Moritz von Oswald (Basic Channel), Max Loderbauer (Sun Electric, NSI), and Vladislav Delay (aka Luomo, Uusitalo) in a unique live performance project. The three, each pioneers in Berlin’s early 90’s electronic music scene, meld their varied approaches and shared history into a reinvention of Dub-Electronica: the new project is an exploration of the possibilities inherent in live, collaborative improvisation, with Von Oswald playing electro-acoustics, Loderbauer on analogue synthesizers, and Vladislav Delay again taking up drums, his original instrument, to play metal percussion.
In a fascinating extension of previous work, the trio exploits slow tempos to establish an “endless groove”; a funk-like de-emphasis on melody and harmony that puts the rhythmic pulse of percussion in the foreground. They develop grooves into a series of extended vamps layered with electronics and suspended synth tones to weave gliding, deconstructed Techno from their live performances. MvOT keeps their base rhythms in constant flux, leaning towards hybrid fusions of afrobeat and electronica. They play with a tribal egalitarianism; the kind of musical democracy celebrated by Can “an equality that creates space for multi-directional freedom” that gives the trio’s music a hypnotic, rarefied quality.
 
Moritz von Oswald has long been a lynchpin in electronic music. Collaborating with Thomas Fehlmann and later with Mark Ernestus as co-founder of Basic Channel, he was instrumental in establishing the Berlin-Detroit Techno connection. Von Oswald also co-initiated the sub-labels Chain Reaction, Main Street, Burial Mix, Basic Replay and Rhythm & Sound and is ever present behind the scenes, mixing and mastering the likes of Tony Allen among countless others on both major labels and independent imprints such as Carl Craig’s Planet E. Long time friend and collaborator, Max Loderbauer, also has a long, behind the scenes production history going back to the early Tresor scene in Berlin. He is best known as one half of Sun Electric and more recently as one half of NSI with Tobias Freund, creating experimental dance music and avant piano/electronic pieces.
 
Vladislav Delay’s earliest releases appeared on Chain Reaction in the mid 90’s. After starting out as a Jazz drummer, Delay developed no less three distinct production identities and went on to disrupt accepted notions of live electronic music performance in House music and Techno while plumbing deeply personal territory. Delay is also involved with performance projects The Dolls, with Craig Armstrong or AGF and his own, recently debuted, Vladislav Delay Quartet with Mika Vainio (Pan Sonic) and Jazz musicians Derek Shirley and Lucio Capece.
 
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