Born in 1978, Bjoern Hartmann grew up in the Mannheim/Heidelberg area in south-western Germany. Before getting involved in electronic music, the little German was rockin' out as a drummer in a punk/speed metal band and a jazz combo.
After a move to Munich in the mid-90's, B. got involved in the PC-demo scene and ran a BBS system for song-swapping. Working under the alias "G-Sus", B. was a member of various tracking crews like HBE, PP and CN. He also began to collect studio equipment and to buy vinyl. By 1996, B. was DJing regularly at local parties.
In 1997, B. moved to Philadelphia, USA, to attend the University of Pennsylvania. His DJ-career in America was relaunched after hooking up with 611 Records. For the years to follow, he would go on to play everything from small lounges to big raves on the East Coast on a regular basis. Around the turn of the millenium, B. started Tech Support - one of Philly's first techno crews which still thrives today.
By 2000, B. teamed up with Jay Haze and Sean O'Neal and launched the minimal tech-house label Tuning Spork. In addition to releasing underground vinyl, Tuning Spork also organized a series of well-known monthly and one-off events (along with the legendary loft afterparties). B. has hosted and played alongside DJs and producers such as Richie Hawtin, Daniel Bell, Jeff Milligan, Dinky, Kero, Adam Marshall, Tomas Jirku, Shawn Rudiman, and others.
In 2002, B. graduated from U Penn with degrees in Communication, Digital Media Design and Computer Science. Together with Jay Haze, B. relocated to Amsterdam, NL, and founded Contexterrior Media, which now controls the labels Tuning Spork, Contexterrior, and Future Dub. Additionally, B. conceived of and designed the netlabel textone.org, which releases free minimal music by established artists and new faces under a creative commons license. Since the move, B. has played gigs in the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Poland. After an upcoming tour of Japan, B. will not available for DJ bookings anymore, as he is focussing his energies on production and computer science research.
Musically, B.'s early releases reflect a fascination with the rhythmic and melodic structures of Cologne innovators Joerg Burger (the Modernist) and Mike Ink. Newer material plays with quirkier, more idiosyncratic complexity while maintaining accessible elements to entertain the dancefloor. Under the alias "map king" B. is now also charting abstract listening-oriented territory.
TWSTd, Amsterdam
TWSTd, Amsterdam