Biography
Traumprinz produces ambient techno in Hannover, Germany, where his output has cultivated an intensely devoted audience. Although his legal name remains unknown, the same individual has issued material under aliases including DJ Metatron and Prince of Denmark. Until 2017 nearly every release appeared on the German techno label Giegling or its sublabels Traumprinz and Forum. The producer’s extended, subtly euphoric compositions frequently incorporate emotionally charged, heavily reverberated soul or gospel samples in a style comparable to certain Moby recordings. Tracks issued as Prince of Denmark lean more heavily toward dub-techno, whereas the 2020 four-LP set Loops of Infinity (A Rave Loveletter) credited to DJ Metatron explores trance territory. The music’s simultaneous suitability for club play and emotional resonance has earned admiration from both dancers and critics.
The project’s first appearance came in 2010 with Prince of Denmark’s Soulfood EP. In 2011 Traumprinz launched his own imprint by issuing the Freedom EP. Four additional EPs arrived the following year: Into the Sun, Say or Do, Paradise with a Lobotomy on Kann Records, and Prince of Denmark’s To the Fifty Engineers. Giegling released the debut album Mothercave in 2013; that record, the most stylistically wide-ranging entry in the catalog up to that point, incorporated hip-hop, downtempo, and drum’n’bass passages. Forum simultaneously put out the triple LP The Body under the Prince of Denmark name. Two further Traumprinz EPs, Intrinity and All the Things, surfaced in 2014, while DJ Metatron’s first release, the trance-oriented U'll Be the King of the Stars, closed the year.
Activity remained minimal in 2015 aside from a contribution to Giegling’s digital mix series, yet 2016 proved far more visible. The EP 2 the Sky, featuring tracks under both the DJ Metatron and Traumprinz names, appeared on Giegling and received widespread praise; “2 Bad [Metatron’s What If Madness Is Our Only Relief Mix]” was later ranked by Resident Advisor as its top track of the year. October brought Diva, Traumprinz’s most overtly dance-floor-oriented record to date, and the year ended with Prince of Denmark’s eight-LP box set titled 8. Despite its high price and the absence of preview audio, the limited edition sold out its initial pressing within hours.
In 2017 the artist declared an end to his association with Giegling and retired the Prince of Denmark alias without clarifying the future of Traumprinz or DJ Metatron. On Easter Sunday 2018 two triple albums appeared under new pseudonyms: Nothing 2 Loose by DJ Healer and Mudshadow Propaganda by Prime Minister of Doom. The Golden Baby alias yielded the EPs Forgotten World 1 and Forgotten World 2 in 2019. DJ Metatron resurfaced in 2020 with the four-LP collection Loops of Infinity (A Rave Loveletter), which revisited ’90s trance and breakbeat styles. That same year the producer introduced yet another alias, the Phantasy, with the double EPs Ibiza and Ibiza Pt. II.
The project’s first appearance came in 2010 with Prince of Denmark’s Soulfood EP. In 2011 Traumprinz launched his own imprint by issuing the Freedom EP. Four additional EPs arrived the following year: Into the Sun, Say or Do, Paradise with a Lobotomy on Kann Records, and Prince of Denmark’s To the Fifty Engineers. Giegling released the debut album Mothercave in 2013; that record, the most stylistically wide-ranging entry in the catalog up to that point, incorporated hip-hop, downtempo, and drum’n’bass passages. Forum simultaneously put out the triple LP The Body under the Prince of Denmark name. Two further Traumprinz EPs, Intrinity and All the Things, surfaced in 2014, while DJ Metatron’s first release, the trance-oriented U'll Be the King of the Stars, closed the year.
Activity remained minimal in 2015 aside from a contribution to Giegling’s digital mix series, yet 2016 proved far more visible. The EP 2 the Sky, featuring tracks under both the DJ Metatron and Traumprinz names, appeared on Giegling and received widespread praise; “2 Bad [Metatron’s What If Madness Is Our Only Relief Mix]” was later ranked by Resident Advisor as its top track of the year. October brought Diva, Traumprinz’s most overtly dance-floor-oriented record to date, and the year ended with Prince of Denmark’s eight-LP box set titled 8. Despite its high price and the absence of preview audio, the limited edition sold out its initial pressing within hours.
In 2017 the artist declared an end to his association with Giegling and retired the Prince of Denmark alias without clarifying the future of Traumprinz or DJ Metatron. On Easter Sunday 2018 two triple albums appeared under new pseudonyms: Nothing 2 Loose by DJ Healer and Mudshadow Propaganda by Prime Minister of Doom. The Golden Baby alias yielded the EPs Forgotten World 1 and Forgotten World 2 in 2019. DJ Metatron resurfaced in 2020 with the four-LP collection Loops of Infinity (A Rave Loveletter), which revisited ’90s trance and breakbeat styles. That same year the producer introduced yet another alias, the Phantasy, with the double EPs Ibiza and Ibiza Pt. II.