And One

synthpop

German synthpop outfit And One formed in Berlin in 1989. DJs/producers Steve Naghavi (Born in Iran on May 26th, 1970) and Chris Ruiz first met the previous year in a local dance club, bonding over their mutual affection for early ebm acts like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb and borrowing their subsequent dual synthesizer and beatbox aesthetic from Depeche Mode. Upon signing to the fledgling Machinery label, And One issued their 1990 debut single, Metal Hammer, a significant club hit that set the stage for their first full-length effort, Anguish, completed with contributions from newly added third member Alex Two. And One closed out 1991 with the techno-inspired charity single Aus der Traum, originally titled Saddam Hussein and produced to benefit Greenpeace. The angry, cynical Flop! followed months later and heralded the exit of Ruiz, who resigned to pursue a solo career. With new drummer Joke Jay, And One cut the EP Monotonie, which invoked the electronic body music influences of their earliest work. Conversely, the 1993 full-length Spot proved their most commercial and accessible effort to date, generating the mainstream pop hit Life Isn't Easy in Germany. Alex Two left the trio soon after, and with replacement keyboardist Rick Schah, And One recorded 1994's I.S.T., generally considered their most ambitious and challenging project. A year later, Ruiz guested on the single Deutschemaschine, which marked the end of their long stint with Machinery. A bidding war quickly resulted, an...