Hello Steemians

As you already know, our last post related with #technofriday was just a short note about Fred Poncet aka Umwelt. Living legend from Lyon with 5 Long Plays, 40+ Singles & EPs and more than a 20 years of active promoting a rave/techno/electro scene in French deserves for more than a short note. Definitely !

first live act, Lyon 1997

BEGINNINGS

Starting up in early 90's as a DJ and radio promoter he had the opportunity to participate in the creating of the electronic music scene in French almost from the first days. Listening to the finest electronique, acid and techno provided by the Radio Maxximum and 120BPM TV, first French label Rave Age Records and attending at the rave parties with names like Adam X shaped his musical orientation in that time. Umwelt quickly started to collect records and in 1993, under the alias Freddy'J, he became a resident of a big club in Lyon called L'Hypnotik and host in a local radiostation Radio Espace in his radio show - Teknoland. Ecstasy Explosion, aggressive sounds and illegal raves brought and raised a police attention and as a result, after crazy half year, Teknoland was shutted down under the pressure of the authorities. Not for long, because quickly after that, in Radio Brume we could enjoy similar sounds in a new show called Techline. Asked about the nickname ("umwelt" in german means "environment") answered:

When I chose this name, I had never been to Germany. My girlfriend had made a t-shirt “Umwelt freundlich,” which I found nice, and this simple word, “Umwelt,” which deals with Earth and Nature, opens up other aspects of the nature…the human one. It also deals with the sensory environment; we all live in the same environment, but we get things differently. It is the same thing with music or dance. Party after party, I noticed that the public has very different natures from one party and one place or one city to another. All these parameters make the place homogeneous and diverse at the same time. Human environments can be very “animal,” with an “organic” public, or “hard,” which seems to come from the bowels of Earth, from the wood, the bitumen… or more “cerebral,” which constitutes an aerial and lightweight crowd.
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Umwelt - Gravitational Lens [KILLEKILL 025]

LABELS

In 1997 Fred started his home-studio label named Fundata with intention to release his first LP under the alias Umwelt. Since that time he is promoting his sounds through variety of his labels. Fundata was the first one, strictly focused on heavy sounds of Techno and Rave. Around 1999-2000 he felt that he completely lost any interest in techno and as an answer for it, a label Shelter was founded in 1999. It represented Umwelt's musical evolution into the electro. Between those milestones, there was also an unique experimental noisy press called STYX via Trankill records in 1998. At the moment three labels are closed with no intentions to relaunch them. Instead of it, we have a strictly electro New Flesh label established in 2010 by Umwelt together with Chris Nexus 6 and Anita focused on the futuristic and dark sounds. With the year 2012 Fred decided to return to the basics with launching Rave Or Die label with an idea of promoting acid and techno sounds. Recently for the #technofriday and #ravingfoxes we also spread the word about Rave or Die here and here. Both labels are connected with the same goal : convey the Rave spirit to the new generation through the released sounds.

My labels correspond to steps of my creative life. It’s like my music, it’s all about the feeling, I don’t really care about fashions. That’s nice because now there is a focus on my sound and my labels but for 20 years, they were rather reserved for initiated. What I love is to live “around the vinyl,” the music and the meetings. In fact, it is my mission to find original artists even if, from time to time, they find me.
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Umwelt - Delinkant [SAT028]

UPCOMING GIGS

Only in this year Umwelt already played in France, Georgia, Russia, Netherlands, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, China, South Korea and Belgium. If you missed gigs in the mentioned countries but you are looking forward to watch and listen this legendary analogue and vinyl freak, make sure to check the list below and fit yourself into one of these dates:

Paradigm Festival 2018 10.08.2018 - 13.08.2018 @ Groningen, Netherlands

Festival Forte 2018 30.08.2018 - 3.09.2018 @ Coimbra, Portugal

Tresor.Klubnacht 31.08.2018-01.09.2018 @ Berlin, Germany

Shotgun Festival 2018 7.09.2018 -09.09.2018 @ Hrádek nad Nisou, Czech Republic ‎

Dave Clarke Presents: Whip It (ADE 2018) 20.10.2018 @ Amsterdam, Netherlands

Positive Education Festival #3 8.11.2018 - 11.11.2018 @ Saint-Etienne, France

Umwelt - Non Conformity [BOIDAE001]

You can follow Umwelt at the official channels
FACEBOOK / MYSPACE
SOUNDCLOUD / BANDCAMP

PEACE LOVE UNITY RESPECT