The history of U96 is that of a highly successful career, starting in 1990 with the band’s foundation by Hayo Lewerentz and Ingo Hauss, their former production partner Helmut Hoinkis and DJ Alex Christensen. Only one year later, U96 landed a major hit with their version of the title track of the box office success ‘The Boat’ (13 weeks at no. 1 in Germany), followed by the same-named debut album which immediately went gold and topped the German album charts. Its successor Replugged with its slightly more experimental style, inspired by electro pop as well as ambient and disco sound, corroborated its predecessor’s success a mere twelve months later, clocking up two more top 10 hits, namely the dance tracks ‘Love Sees No Colour’ and ‘Night In Motion’, as well as producing forerunners of the impending trip-hop wave with the more laid-back ‘The Russian’ and ‘Without You’. U96 went on to expand their stylistic range on albums such as Club Bizarre (1995) and Heaven (1996) and presented, along with their established techno base, also cross references to pop, trance, rave and Eurodance. In addition, the group had a top 4 hit with their single ‘Heaven’, a quotation of the Cindy Lauper classic ‘Time After Time’. Things were a little more quiet for the band from Germany’s north in the early 2000s. A number of personnel changes and the split with Alex Christensen in 2014 followed. The two original members Lewerentz and Hauss subsequently expanded U96’s previous recipe for success by live concerts and DJ Sets featuring a variety of guests. Special visuals in the style of acts such as The Chemical Brothers were developed for each song, so expectations of their tour in 2021 are high.

Along with the band’s classics, the most important songs from their latest albums Reboot and Transhuman will be at the centre of those concerts.

The collaboration between U96 and Wolfgang Flür (ex-Kraftwerk) on ‘Zukunftsmusik’ and ‘Hildebrandslied’ were just as trend-setting – an artistically highly exciting liaison between three musicians who, despite the fact that they are from different generations, are obviously on the same wavelength, adding a kind of post-modern Kraftwerk dimension to the typical U96 soundscape. Without giving away too much: This cooperation will continue in the wake of Reboot, a full U96 album with Wolfgang Flür entitled “Transhuman” having been scheduled for autumn 2020.

Ahead of that, on July 3rd 2020, the band releases a new track entitled „Let yourself go“ with club remixes by the likes of Schneider & Groeneveld, U96 and upcoming russian Trance Producer/DJ Beatsole (Armada Music)

So there’s every sign of a storm brewing in the U96 camp (to stick with the band’s maritime moniker). And the best thing about it: the wind could hardly be fresher and more invigorating than on Transhuman!

   DISCOGRAPHY DAS BOOT (1992) + Singles REPLUGGED (1993) + Singles CLUB BIZARRE (1995) + Singles HEAVEN (1996) + Singles DAS BOOT 2 (Double Album) OUT OF WILHELMSBURG (2007) ANGELS (Single) REBOOT (Album) Das BOOT 2018 (Remix Album) ZUKUNFTSMUSIK (Single) w/Wolfgang Flür (ex. Kraftwerk) QUO VADIS (Single) w/Joachim Witt NIGHT ON EARTH (Single) ft. Amy Fasola NIGHT In MOTION (REMIXES -Single) LOVE RELIGION 2020 (Remixes) NIGHTRIDE LET YOURSELF GO (Single and Remixes) TRANSHUMAN (Album) w/ Wolfgang Flür (ex. Kraftwerk)