Techno has always been about imagining the future and experiencing the excitement of change and discovery. If anybody has lived up to this aspiration in recent years, it must be Stefan Goldmann. With every release and project he has brought a new edge to the table, creating some extraordinarily memorable tracks along the way. The uninhibited dirt of ‘The Maze’, the melodic craze of ‘Sleepy Hollow’ or the free-floating choir samples dominating ‘Lunatic Fringe’ have provided genre-shifting blueprints for countless DJs and producers. Macro, the label Stefan Goldmann operates with Finn Johannsen, has delivered cutting edge releases by the likes of Elektro Guzzi, KUF, Patrick Cowley, KiNK and Vladimir Dubyshkin.
From this position he has branched out into a wide array of projects with an approach that remains essentially techno: investigating grid rhythm, sampling, vinyl culture or digitisation down to their cores. Commissioned works and special format performances which incorporate these topics range from intimate solo encounters at iconic venues such as Kyoto’s Honen-in Temple, Los Angeles’s LACMA museum or CCK in Buenos Aires to large-scale compositions for music theatre, film, ensembles or dance. These formats have become a key part of his outreach, alongside DJing at clubs across Asia, the Americas, Australia and Europe, festivals like Mutek, SXSW, Club To Club and Time Warp, or at Macro label nights in Berlin, London, Paris, New York or Tokyo.
A special relationship has formed between Stefan Goldmann and Berlin’s Berghain club since his debut at Panorama Bar in 2006. He conceived the Elektroakustischer Salon nights, opening up the club to experimental formats, writes a regular column for its program flyer and is a co-author of Berghain’s 2015 book, ‘Art In The Club’. His own book ‘Presets’ was published in 2015 and investigates automation and industry aesthetics in digital music. While probing the boundaries of art and science, this techno renaissance man still feels most at home between two decks, communicating with the crowd through the beats he creates and mixes.
www.stefangoldmann.com
Artist
