Ian Pooley

Ian Pooley’s catalog surpasses twenty singles issued on Force Inc., Germany’s foremost imprint for forward-thinking techno, drawing from Detroit’s minimalist aesthetic as well as deep house. Born in Mainz, Germany, Pooley started amassing records and working as a DJ at age twelve, becoming deeply immersed in the classic Detroit approach of Derrick May and Juan Atkins before reaching adulthood. Alongside his longtime associate DJ Tonka, he launched the T'N'I project with the Low Mass EP, Force Inc.’s second release at a moment when the label was establishing itself among the leading European outlets for futuristic techno through material by Love Inc., Alec Empire, and Biochip C. Pooley and DJ Tonka also cut an EP together with Alec Empire and issued several further tracks under the Space Cube name before parting ways.

Launching his solo career in 1994, Pooley kept releasing on Force Inc., where his profile rose through EPs such as Twin Gods and The Celtic Cross along with the singles “Rollerskate Disco” and “The Chord Memory.” He connected with John Acquaviva’s Definitive label and delivered his debut album The Times on Force Inc. Between 1996 and 1997 he supplied remixes for Deee-Lite, Yello, the Cardigans, Dave Angel, Green Velvet, Love Inc., and Ken Ishii; his follow-up album Meridian appeared on Sony/V2 in 1998. Pooley has also featured on more than a dozen compilations for Force Inc. and Mille Plateaux, among them In Memoriam Gilles Deleuze and the opening two installments of the Electric Ladyland series. In 2000 he issued the full-length Since Then, a work that carried a stronger Brazilian accent than his earlier output.