Rhythm & Sound
Biography
Rhythm & Sound is a duo consisting of Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, formed in 1996 in Berlin, Germany after beginning Basic Channel's indefinite hiatus. The project, which is also on an indefinite hiatus itself, released a series of 10" records on Burial Mix and 12" records on Rhythm & Sound, both labels part of the Basic Channel group. Von Oswald and Ernestus' Rhythm & Sound recordings are much more explicitly dub-influenced than the duo's previous, and more legendary, dub techno recordings as Basic Channel and Maurizio. Where those earlier recordings synthesized a Detroit-influenced style of minimal techno with dub reggae basslines and an atmospheric, abstract texture-oriented musical aesthetic, Rhythm & Sound's productions emphasized the "skanking" rhythms and tones of reggae rather than the more underground club-oriented techno sound of their previous work.
The Rhythm & Sound records, which in their first phase often featured the reggae singer and dub poet Tikiman (Paul St. Hilaire), were more geared towards Jamaican soundsystems and the leftfield sides of "chillout rooms", alienating much of their Berlin audience. Nonetheless, von Oswald and Ernestus' work as Rhythm & Sound continued into the early 2000s, being compiled on two listener-friendly CDs, such as Rhythm & Sound.
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They began working more formally with singers and MCs in a studio setting, and released two compilations, W/ The Artists and its instrumental equivalent, The Versions. They also released a bundle of seven 7'' records using the same riddim, "See Mi Yah", with slight variations, and vocals from various singers and MCs. These tracks have been compiled on See Mi Yah and remixed on See Mi Yah Remixes.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.