Kante

In Berlin during 1995, guitarist Peter Thiessen—already active on bass with Blumfeld—joined forces with drummer Sebastian Vogel to launch the German post-rock group Kante. Guitarist Felix Müller, bassist Andreas Krane, and keyboardist Michael Mühlhaus later rounded out the roster. The band secured a deal with Kitty-Yo, which delivered the 1997 debut single “Heiligengeistfeld.” Their entirely instrumental album Zwischen den Orten appeared soon after, while Stewardess released the 1998 remix collection Redirections featuring contributions from To Rococo Rot’s Robert Lippok and FSK’s Thomas Meinecke. Kante broadened its palette on the next album, Zweilicht, by enlisting a 14-member symphony orchestra and drawing from sources that stretched from the blues to transcendental jazz. Thiessen also foregrounded vocals for the first time, bringing the music to a considerably larger audience. Signing with major label EMI, the group entered the German Top 40 with 2004’s Zombi; the album simultaneously introduced keyboardist Thomas Leboeg, who replaced Mühlhaus after the latter committed fully to Blumfeld. Die Tiere Sind Unruhig followed in 2006.