COLOGNE TAPE

Cologne Tape is a German-based collective of an impressive stable of artists active in electronic and experimental music. After bonding over similar influences and a loyalty to the Cologne scene, the group convened in 2010 to record Render, their debut for Kompakt sublabel Magazine. The album's five tracks cover much of Germany's storied musical history, ranging from meditative kosmische-indebted pieces to propulsive motorik workouts. In true "supergroup" fashion the lineup reads like a dream come true for aficionados of forward-thinking music. Magazine co-founders Daniel Ansorge (Barnt), Jens-Uwe Beyer (Popnoname), and John Harten (Crato) are joined by (among others): Jörg Burger (The Modernist, Bionaut, countless Wolfgang Voigt collaborations), Michaela Dippel (Ada), Jan Philipp Janzen (Von Spar, Urlaub In Polen), John Stanier (Battles, Tomahawk, Helmet), and Axel Willner (The Field, Loops of Your Heart). While the group allegedly had plans for a full-length album, Render remains the only release to date. Ansorge's comments from a Resident Advisor article: "The whole thing happened almost by itself. There were these people with different musical backgrounds hanging together, realizing that they were listening to the same music, which resulted in making music together. We think it has something to do with the place (Cologne) and time (2010). Quite a few people have left Cologne for Berlin in the last decade, which resulted in the scenes getting smaller and smaller. So it happened that we of Cologne Tape – who had always stayed, had moved here or were visiting for more than just a day – realized we had the same love for the musical tradition of the city. Or should one say we got stuck together due to this same feeling?" Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.