Roosevelt

Marius Lauber of Germany shaped his Roosevelt project by channeling early indie rock influences into synth-driven electronic productions pulsing with club energy. The Elliot EP marked his first release during the early 2010s, leading to the luminous, dancefloor-focused self-titled album that surfaced in 2016. Remixes for CHVRCHES, Glass Animals, and Charlotte Gainsbourg punctuated this period, after which he stepped back from club sounds on the 2018 album Young Romance and then returned with renewed force on Polydans, which entered the German Top 30 in 2021. Further excursions into funk and 1980s pop followed via the Nile Rodgers collaboration “Passion” and “Ordinary Love,” the latter appearing on his 2023 album Embrace.

Raised in Viersen, Germany, Lauber first performed with several indie garage bands before relocating to Cologne and absorbing its techno milieu, where he shared quarters with Kompakt artists Coma. The experience converted him into a committed dance music follower, earning him a residency at Kompakt’s Total Confusion nights alongside Superpitcher and Michael Mayer within a few years. He launched Roosevelt in 2012 with the single “Sea” on Greco-Roman, the label co-owned by Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard. “Elliot” arrived the next year on Future Classic and anchored his four-track indie-disco EP Elliot, also issued in 2013.

He rejoined Greco-Roman for the 2015 single “Hold On,” later included on the self-titled debut album co-released in 2016 by Greco-Roman and City Slang. The record climbed to just outside the Billboard electronic Top Ten while reaching the Top 40 in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. In 2017 Lauber issued the remix EPs Remixed 1 and Remixed 2, drawing on contributions from Joe Goddard, Justus Kohncke, and others.

Young Romance became his second album in 2018 and featured the Washed Out collaboration “Forgive.” That year also brought his remixes of CHVRCHES’ “Get Out” and Glass Animals’ chart-topping single “Life Itself.” He resumed original work in 2020 by unveiling material from his third club-oriented album. Polydans appeared on Greco-Roman and City Slang in early 2021 and reached number 23 on the German album chart. A subsequent remix EP included versions by Alex Metric, Perel, and additional producers. The funk-leaning “Passion” featuring Nile Rodgers emerged in mid-2022, followed in mid-2023 by the 1980s-tinged “Ordinary Love,” which landed on his fourth album, Embrace.