Thomas Schumacher

Originating from East Berlin, Thomas Schumacher established himself as a prominent techno producer and DJ whose career behind the decks started near 1987 with sets built around EBM selections from Nitzer Ebb, Front 242, and Skinny Puppy. A 1989 visit to Frankfurt’s Dorian Gray club sparked his embrace of the city’s techno sound, prompting him to acquire releases by Der Böse Mann and Konzept. He subsequently introduced that Frankfurt influence to Bremen through his Two Tribes Parties at the Crash while incorporating material from Detroit’s foundational techno artists. In 1993 Schumacher and his associate Ilker Yilmaz formed the NIP Collective and issued the Advanced Structure EP on Pedo Beat Records; after five additional singles the partnership dissolved. Schumacher resurfaced in 1995 on Bremen’s Proximate imprint under the alias Silverstar, then moved to Confused Recordings where he recorded as Elektrochemie LK until signing with Bush Records—home of Dave Clarke—in 1996 and delivering the breakthrough single “Ficken?” under his own name. The track’s success generated DJ bookings throughout Europe and led to a collaboration with stage director Andras Friscay, who commissioned Schumacher and DJ Jens Mahlstedt to compose music for a Bonn production of Hamlet. Another major techno release, 1998’s “When I Rock,” supplied the resources for Schumacher to launch his own imprint, Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten. That same year the label issued his aggressive debut album Electric Ballroom. In 1999 the Japanese company SMEJ gathered several of his 12-inch tracks and remixes—including contributions for Afrika Bambaataa and Denki Groove—on the anthology Save As: Thomas. Also in 1999 his mix series Perlen began with Perlen, Vol. 1 on Spiel-Zeug Schallplatten, which itself put out the compilation Best Of in 2000. Although a follow-up album had been slated for 2001, only further 12-inch releases and mix CDs materialized until the sophomore album Home appeared in 2006. Co-produced by Stephan Bodzin, the record coincided with Schumacher’s work alongside Bodzin and vocalist Caitlin Devlin in the project Elektrochemie—without the “LK” suffix—on Berlin’s Get Physical Music label.