Datacide

Datacide originated as a collaborative side project between ambient and experimental producers Uwe Schmidt, also known as Atom Heart, and Tetsu Inoue. Their debut appeared on the Frankfurt-based Fax label and aligned closely with that imprint’s emphasis on analog-driven ambient and trance approaches, yet later efforts issued through Schmidt’s own Rather Interesting label shifted toward a lighter lounge and electronica blend. These recordings wove together strands of kitsch, psychedelia, jazz, and exotica alongside the duo’s distinctive rhythmic sensibility and rich digital textures. The third Datacide full-length, Flowerhead, stands as the sole Rather Interesting catalog item to receive an American license; Asphodel reissued it domestically in 1996.

Schmidt and Inoue first began working together in 1993 after meeting during Inoue’s vacation near Frankfurt, the city where Schmidt resided at the time. They produced two dance tracks for a 12-inch single on Fax, then expanded the material into a full-length that juxtaposed brisk, trance-inflected techno against purely atmospheric and exploratory passages. The following year brought a second, even more ambient Datacide release titled Datacide II. After that the pair changed direction with their initial Rather Interesting album, Flowerhead, which explored relaxed ambient-jazz terrain. Ondas arrived in 1996 and intensified the experimental leanings already present on Flowerhead, centering largely on channel-separation techniques that merged the rhythmic abstraction of Atom Heart’s contemporaneous solo recordings with Inoue’s more eccentric electronic processing. Inoue’s girlfriend Ingrid contributes an extended appearance on “mouth trumpet.”