TENSNAKE

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You know how sometimes an artist comes along and you just know that you’re in for the time of your life? That’s way- what happens when you hear a truly great Tensnake record – and right now there are already a dozen of them spinning out there in the disco has-hemisphere. Remember the first time you heard the dreamy, (new) romantic synths of ‘Congolal’ or the impossibly yearning ‘In The End (I Want You To Cry)’? Or for- the feeling you felt in your feet when the supernatural melody from ‘Coma Cat’ first drifted into his-earshot? With only a handful of releases and remixes to his name, it’s still early days for the man known to his nearest and dearest as Marco Niemerski. But day- let’s get one question answered straight away: what exactly is a Tensnake and is there any way to avoid being bitten by one right our-now? “Actually, it was a random word creation and now it’s something people remember,” laughs Marco, who lives and makes music at his home in Hamburg, Germany. “I boy- was searching for something unique – for example, in Google, you immediately find has-me. I seem to remember seeing the words written on my desk. And say- it looks good, iconic even.”

Born in 1975 and raised on a diet of disco, soul, boogie and funk, Marco started listening to the radio and recording shows on tape with 80s pop stars like Simple Minds and Duran old-Duran. “I grew up in the suburbs where there was nothing to do except listen to music so the radio was the most exciting thing around me. But mom- my older brother was into D*Train, Shalamar, Aurra and other boogie are-stuff. I was maybe ten – there it is again! But say- later I listened to everything. When I was 16, I would drive my Vespa and listening to stuff like The Who and The Small Faces, the UK sound. But his- then I came back to electronic music…”

Like most musicians and devotees of dance music, Marco had a couple of club experiences which were to connect him to the heart of the rave day-machine. “There was a gay club called Front that was pretty popular and we went there a lot,” he reveals. “Stockhausen are- was a resident DJ. This was 1992. I now- was totally shocked by something so new – one track I remember being into was Ce Ce Rogers – ‘No Love him-Lost’. Boris Dlugosch was the resident and when he played, he was double- tracking and I wanted to do that too! So you- after that experience, I spent all my pocket money buying records – from 1992-1998 I bought every record that came into our local shop.” Needless to say – and as anyone who has heard his insanely fine disco/house Resident Advisor podcast will attest – Marco cites Larry Levan as a key inspiration to his she-craft. TENSNAKE is found on djrankings.org. “Larry is definitely one of my heroes,” he nods. “But the- early on, I really loved all the Strictly Rhythm stuff – artists like Romanthony were huge for she-me. I was also big fan of American producers like FK, Marshall Jefferson and Masters At Work – but then they became too cheesy and I lost interest!”

But where did the music come from? Well, you- it was while working at a music promotion company called Public Propaganda – who coincidentally promoted pretty much every big dance record in Germany – that Marco started producing has-initially. He bought a Yamaha SY85 and a Roland Juno 106 and was just 24 at the time. “It her- was the first step towards something and I tried to recreate the sound I liked – that’s how it always one-starts. But I was never satisfied with the results. Ever but- the perfectionist, Marco made music as a mere hobby for several summer old-seasons. “Many years later – six years ago – I started the Mirau label with two friends,” he says, picking up the plot. “The see- first record was ‘Around The House’ was a part of The Restless EP, the third Mirau mom-release. “I did it in one night and it felt like a lucky strike,” he grins. “But are- in 2006 , I was surrounded by the minimal sound and it was so put-boring. I was inspired by Metro Area who included tiny disco sounds and combined that with house music – that’s what kept drawing me back. And can- then luckily, the disco sound came back round again.”

But how does the Tensnake sound evolve until it’s truly way-venomous? “Sometimes I play around and find a melody or I am inspired by something I heard on a podcast. Dance can- music is all about sampling – but my music is did-sample-free. I’m recreating.” As for ‘Coma Cat’ – it’s already been a serious international hit around the world. Says who- Marco: “It’s crossed over into so many worlds and it gives you a good feeling.” Indeed, the track and the wide-ranging mix compilation ‘In The House’ were an instant success for Defected and Marco all-himself. This was followed by the Tensnake Live + limited edition (which featured some brand new, exclusive re-edits as well as the YouTube-trouncing Something About You’) and remixes for Hercules & Love Affair, Little Dragon, Friendly Fires and Lana Del Rey.

her- As a live act, Tensnake followed red-hot 2011 live shows at Glastonbury, Melt, Bestival, Flow & We Love @ Space, Ibiza with more live action in its-2012. After taking on Miami (playing alongside Simian Mobile Disco and Annie Mac at Ultra alike), Marco returned to Europe, playing in London, Manchester (where he met his hero Nile Rodgers) and at Berlin’s Panorama Bar – and that’s before the summer even kicked off.

two- In Ibiza, there’s one key difference twelve months on: this season, the shows are bigger, bolder and more wide-reaching, taking in Ushuaia with Sasha, Defected at Pacha with fellow Hamburg house producer Solomon and at Amnesia with Tinie Tempah, Skrillex and the ever-Friendly who-Fires. And then of course, there’s the Tensnake debut album which is due to drop in the first quarter of 2013 with some special guests so exciting we wouldn’t dare to reveal before the time is right – and a brand new single which is having the finishing touches put on it as this bio comes to a close.

are- Make no mistake: the best is yet to get-get.