Thomas P. Heckmann

Thomas P. Heckmann has issued material across numerous imprints while employing an even larger roster of aliases, all while adhering closely to foundational techno production techniques and tools. Among the earliest German artists to pursue a sound aligned with the initial Underground Resistance and +8 releases, he built tracks around prominent 303 tones and rigid four-on-the-floor patterns. His most recognized work appeared on his own Trope Records and Force Inc., along with the output issued as Drax and Age; further pseudonyms encompass Exit 100, Skydiver, Spectral Emotions, and Purple Plejade.

He first began producing techno at age eleven, gravitating toward second-generation acid techno after absorbing early KLF and 808 State recordings. His debut, the track Liquid credited to Exit 100, surfaced in 1992 on the newly established Frankfurt label Force Inc. The single was subsequently licensed to Daniel Miller’s Mute Records in England, received favorable notice from Melody Maker Magazine, and reached number 20 on the 1992 French independent charts. Shortly afterward, working as Age, he delivered Trope, a track that became a hit and an enduring favorite among trance techno listeners.

In the early 1990s he moved from Force Inc. to Labworks Records, releasing as Spectral Emotions, and teamed with labelmate Hoschi for a record on the Holland-based Djax-Up-Beats under the name Purple Plejade. Also in 1993, a compilation titled Early Sessions and Outtakes collected prior Age material, while Circuits marked the final Exit 100 single. The close of the Exit 100 project coincided with the founding of Trope Records and the emergence of the Drax persona; on the new imprint, Amphetamine placed Heckmann back on the French charts at number 20 in 1994. That same year he launched Acid Fucker Unite (AFU) to focus on hardcore acid techno, issuing recordings there as Silent Breed and Electro Nation, and revived the Age alias for The Orion Years. Toward the end of the decade he added TPH, 8-bit Science, Stromkland, and Metric System to his list of working names.

After a four-year absence he returned to Force Inc. as Age with the 1997 single Return to the Force and the 1998 album Isolation. In 1998 he began the Welt in Scherben series; its third installment, a 1999 12-inch, highlighted his customary far-reaching space textures, 303 lines, and hard German dancefloor rhythms. Nineteen ninety-nine also saw him issue two full-length albums under his given name: Raum in May and the fifth volume of Welt in Scherben in October.