Chris Liebing

Chris Liebing, a German techno producer, DJ, and label owner, has maintained a strong presence within Frankfurt’s dance music community from the early 1990s onward. During the late 1990s he helped shape a hard minimal techno aesthetic through his Audio imprint, later establishing the influential CLR label and issuing the raucous, eerie 2003 album Evolution, co-produced by longtime associate André Walter, followed by the 2005 release Collabs 3000: Metalism, a collaboration with Speedy J. Over time his productions shifted toward more open and atmospheric textures, leading to two wide-ranging, guest-filled albums for Mute—2018’s Burn Slow and 2021’s Another Day, both realized with co-producer Ralf Hildenbeutel—alongside the 2022 remix collection Another Night.

Liebing secured his initial DJ residency at Giessen’s Red Brick club in 1991. He founded Spinclub in 1994 and subsequently joined Eye-Q Records in Frankfurt, where he met André Walter; the two soon constructed a studio for their own recordings. In 1997 he started the Audio label, releasing Dandu Groove that year and Drumcook the next, while also appearing on Primate and Molecular Recordings. After Michael Burkat acquired Audio in 1999 and rebranded it Fine Audio Recordings, Liebing created CLR, which quickly earned recognition as one of techno’s leading purist imprints. Evolution appeared in 2003, carrying philosophical themes and featuring Walter’s production input; Liebing supported the album with occasional European DJ dates while continuing to record. That same year he received the Best National DJ award at the German Dance Awards. Two years afterward he partnered with Speedy J on Collabs 3000: Metalism, issued via Novamute.

Thereafter Liebing concentrated on international DJ work and CLR operations, releasing occasional singles and joint tracks with Ben Sims and Tommy Four Seven. In 2009 he introduced the CLR podcast, hosting his own mixes alongside contributions from Drumcell, Marcel Dettmann, and Martin Gore of Depeche Mode. While maintaining the podcast and a global touring schedule, he joined Loco Dice for the 2015 single “Keep It Low,” then debuted on Mute with Burn Slow in 2018. Co-produced by German techno and trance veteran Ralf Hildenbeutel, the album included appearances by Cold Cave, Polly Scattergood, Miles Cooper Seaton, and Gary Numan. Liebing and Charlotte de Witte issued the 2019 single “Liquid Slow.” Another Hildenbeutel-produced Mute album, Another Day, arrived in 2021 and featured Maria Uzor, Ladan (formerly Cold Specks), and Tom Adams; the following year Another Night presented remixes by Plaid, Radio Slave, Anfisa Letyago, and additional artists.