Mark Ernestus

Based in Berlin since the 1980s, since the early 1990s Mark Ernestus has developed a central body of work in electronic music between minimal techno, dub techno, house and rhythmic experiments. With Moritz von Oswald, Mark Ernestus launched several notable projects and labels, including Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Main Street and Rhythm & Sound, which helped define an aesthetic based on repetition, deep textures, echo and a very pared-down sense of groove. In parallel with his work as a producer, Mark Ernestus co-founded in Berlin the record shop Hard Wax, a place durably associated with the history of the local and international techno scene. From the late 1990s his work with Rhythm & Sound emphasizes the link between techno structures and production methods rooted in dub and reggae, with regular collaborations with Paul St. Hilaire and other Jamaican vocalists. At the beginning of the 2010s, Mark Ernestus began a new cycle around Senegalese mbalax, first with Mark Ernestus presents Jeri-Jeri on 800% Ndagga and Ndagga Versions, both released in 2013, then with Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force, notably on Yermande in 2016. In this collective project, Mark Ernestus articulates sabar percussion, circular basses and a repetitive pulsation in a language that connects Berlin, Kingston and Dakar without confusing them.