Sun Electric

• Genre: Ambient Techno

About

Berlin's Sun Electric were among the earliest groups to adapt ambient music to a rave context, and while they never achieved the acclaim of some of their peers, they did as much as anyone to move the music beyond chill-out cliches, crafting intricately detailed, jewel-toned music that folds machine rhythms into kaleidoscopic patterns. The duo of Max Loderbauer and Tom Thiel released their first EP, O'Locco, in 1990 on Belgium's R&S; oddly, their next releases were on Trevor Horn and Paul Morley's ZTT. But it was their successive releases on R&S and its sublabel Apollo that cemented their reputation as restless ambient explorers; they even managed what few electronic acts ever have: a compelling live album (recorded in mono, no less, due to a technical glitch on stage). Long out of print, their music began to trickle back into circulation with Lost & Found (1998-2000), a 2007 collection of unreleased material, and the revival of R&S, which reissued 1996's masterful, jazz-flecked Present. Loderbauer also plays in Chica and the Folder as well as NSI, while Thiel pursued a solo career as Bus, but they reunited for a handful of live shows in 2008.

- Philip Sherburne