Ame - Dance Department Podcast 81 - Mar 2007

Biography of Ame

Meet Frank Wiedemann and Kristian Beyer, two amiable switch-doctors from a tiny West German town who, they say, modestly join the dots between Detroit techno, Parisian/NYC deep house and London broken beat. It doesn't take a Mensa graduate to work out that, having worked with the likes of Dixon, Truby Trio and Jazzanova, and having appropriated the French word for 'soul' as a production moniker, Ame's sound is a fathoms-deep affair.

Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann of Detroit-influenced house duo Ame grew up in the German town of Karlsruhe, located right on the border with France. Beyer, after living for a time in Heidelberg, moved back to Karlsruhe to study civil engineering. Before completing his studies, Kristian's love of music and strong connection to the house scene inspired him to open up a record shop. As record shops tend to do, Beyer's business became a hangout spot, which is how Frank and Krisitian came to know one another. Spinning some parties jointly gave way to studio sessions. Frank was not the only house music insider to come through the shop. Beyer slipped a recent production of theirs to the prominent DJs of Jazzanova, who shortly after hearing it wanted to release the track. Under the name Ame, Beyer and Wiedemann negotiated a sublabel with Jazzanova called Sonar Kollectiv, releasing their self-titled debut in 2004. Though appreciated in underground circles, Ame's name was not widely known before their breakthrough hit 'Rej.' Released in 2006, the track introduced the duo to house music fans worldwide, becoming one of the year's club favorites. 'Rej' has since appeared on close to 50 collections and mix CDs. Since their acceptance into house music's mainstream, Ame has put together compilations for labels like NRK and BBE. Some remixes to their credit for the powerful British Defected label have opened doors that led from house underground to dance music's center stage.