Ian Pooley

Over the course of his more than twenty singles for Force Inc, the prime German label for forward-looking techno, Ian Pooley has been inspired by the minimalist sound of Detroit as well as deep house. Born in Mainz, Germany, Pooley began collecting records and DJing at the age of 12 and had become firmly entrenched in the classic Detroit sound of Derrick May and Juan Atkins while still a teenager. Along with his long-time friend DJ Tonka, Pooley began recording as T'N'I with the Low Mass EP, just the second release on Force Inc. The label was just beginning to gain a reputation as one of the premiere Continental venues for futuristic techno, with releases by Love Inc., Alec Empire and Biochip C. DJ Tonka and Pooley recorded an EP with Alec Empire, plus several additional singles as Space Cube, but then separated. Beginning as a solo act in 1994, Pooley continued to record for Force Inc.; his reputation soon grew with EP releases like Twin Gods and The Celtic Cross as well as the singles "Rollerskate Disco" and "The Chord Memory." He hooked up with John Acquaviva's Definitive label, and also released his debut album The Times for Force Inc. During 1996-97, Pooley provided remixes for Deee-Lite, Yello, the Cardigans, Dave Angel, Green Velvet, Love Inc. and Ken Ishii; his second album Meridian was released on Sony/V2 in 1998. Pooley has also appeared on over a dozen compilations for Force Inc. and Mille Plateaux, including In Memoriam Gilles Deleuze and the first two volumes of the Electric Ladyland series. In 2000, he returned with the full-length Since Then, an album with a more Brazillian flavor than previous Pooley works.~ John Bush