Tube & Berger

Tube & Berger infuse tech-house with emotional depth and a rock & roll edge. The German pair began with propulsive, electro-tinged productions such as their 2003 collaboration “Straight Ahead” featuring Pretenders vocalist Chrissie Hynde, then shifted toward richer, more melodic house that favors expressive vocals and live instrumentation. In 2005 they established Kittball Records alongside Juliet Sikora. Their first album, Introlution, arrived in 2012, followed by We Are All Stars five years later.

Arndt Rörig and Marko Vidovic, childhood friends from Solingen, first bonded over punk rock during their teenage years. Exposure to Daft Punk and the Chemical Brothers steered them toward dance music, which they explored on an aging PC equipped with Rebirth software. Once they could afford sessions in Düsseldorf, the pair still faced a steep learning curve in production techniques. Their initial release, the brisk electro cut “Geradeaus,” surfaced in 2002; an English-language adaptation retitled “Straight Ahead” and featuring Hynde appeared the next year and reached the summit of Billboard’s Hot Dance Airplay chart in 2004—Hynde’s first chart-topping single on any Billboard tally. Sudden acclaim brought immediate complications: a full year was consumed by label disputes, management upheaval, and studio upgrades before further material emerged.

The duo launched Kittball with Sikora; the imprint’s debut offering was “My Love,” issued under the short-lived Babylon Robots alias. Tube & Berger quickly became prolific, placing tracks on Alphabet City (“No Control” and “Buttonpusher,” both 2006) and Opaque Music (“Rock N Roll Queen,” 2007). They co-curated Loveparade events in Essen (2007) and Dortmund (2008) while expanding their live schedule internationally.

Introlution, their 2012 debut album, included a guest appearance by Chicago house veteran Robert Owens. Standalone singles “Lovebreak” (with Milan Euringer) and “Come On Now (Set It Off)” (with Sikora) both registered on European charts. In 2013 Tiësto offered the pair a monthly Sirius XM program, “Tube & Berger in the Mix.” Extensive dates followed across Brazil, South Africa, and Australia, with North American routing added in subsequent years. Embassy One issued the second album, We Are All Stars, in 2017, and the Junior Jack collaboration “E Samba 2018” appeared on Kittball the following year.