Piemont

German duo Piemont has proven itself to be an absolute production power-
house over the last decade. The pair actually grew up in ‘90s Hamburg listen-
ing to singer songwriters and various rock bands. Always soaking up the use
of real instruments and proper arrangements throughout their youths, that ge-
nuine musicianship is something that now shines through in Piemont’s own
contemporary electronic productions. In terms of dance music it was French
filter house acts and stadium sized ravers like Daft Punk and Chemical Bro-
thers respectively than first turned them on to the possibilities of house and
techno, whilst the more subtle intricacies of top labels like Playhouse and
Kompakt also continue to inspire and influence this pair. Made up of long-time
friends Frederic and Chris, the pair first decided to hook up and make music
together back in 2007 and, since then, have gone on to establish themselves
as one of the foremost partnerships in techno and have been releasing Music
on acclaimed labels like Monaberry, Lapsus Music, Glasgow Underground,
Exploited, Definition Music and Toolroom.
In 2013, then, Piemont’s sound is best describe as organic techno. Their mu-
sic always comes stuffed with a sly robo-funk and is built in many rich layers.
Their preference for ambient sounds, melodic lushness and abstract electro-
nica makes every track different from the next - for evidence just listen to their
recent Spin Off EP for Monaberry, or earlier classics like Carbonat and Black
Smoker. Each release tells its own story and often Piemont music is as suited
to home listening as it is club dancing. The best proof of this has come in the
form of their two excellent and fully formed long players Strange World Bey-
ond and Sand Hills.
As DJs, too, they have travelled far and wide. On top of playing regularly
across Europe at places like Berlin‘s Watergate, Hive Club in Zurich and Stu-
dio 80 in Amsterdam, this pair has headlined many festivals and has also
played across Russia and Japan, always joining the dots between house and
techno styles, going deep or raising their heads into more peak-time territory.
As such, they are a very real voice in the global techno conversation; have
plenty more to say and keep many people listening intently.