The word Ame is, it transpires, French for ‘soul’. It’s also the nom-de-studio of German duo Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann – an entirely apt one considering the music the pair make together.
Ame produce what we’ll loosely describe as a hybrid of house and techno, with references to soul and jazz. It’s a cross-pollination of genres that’s attempted often but rarely mastered.
In recent years, the likes of Metro Area and Isolee have cracked the formula. Over their last four singles, Ame have risen to the challenge too.
However, Beyer is reluctant to be compared with either of their rivals: “ I love Metro Area but they are on a different tip. They are still bigger than Ame!”
He has a point. Ame have yet to truly cross over from the ‘house’ camp and have not popped up on the radar of deep techno fans. This probably has something to do with their choice of label – the pair are signed to Sonar Kollektiv, run by Jazzanova mover Dixon.
As the name implies, Jazzanova is a jazz-influenced stable residing outside of the techno mainstream.
“Sonar Kollektiv is based in Berlin,” says Beyer. “It was started by Jazzanova. They decided to invest their money into a label to release music they like.”
Ame met in a record shop run by Beyer called Plattentasche (which means record bag in German, fact fans). From the outset, they favoured different-but-similar types of music.
“When we started, I was more the techno/house guy and Frank the jazz guy, but over the years we’ve developed the same tastes,” Beyer reflects.
It’s this different/same combination that gives Ame their edge. Their releases are of astounding warmth and depth, but with an unexpected dancefloor bite.
The pair make music that is long without being boring, expansive without being ‘progrezzzzive’ – as you can see, hotpress is something of a fan.
There is a clear Detroit influence in their music, which they readily admit to.
“The music from Detroit is timeless, from early soul/disco production to the first wave of techno tracks,” enthuses Meyer. “Frank recognised the jazz in this music and the soul. That’s when I infected him with house and techno!”
But, he stresses, they are no mere Detroit wannabes.
“We are making house music with a certain Detroit feeling. Chez Damier [the legendary house producer] used to say that he likes techno and house, so the music he did must be techno/house. I think it’s the same with ours.”
The duo have found success not in Germany but in France and Britain, where their good vibrations have chimed with prevailing tastes.
“The music we like is more popular outside Germany,” states Meyer. “There, it’s more techno, electro and harder stuff. The soulful is more popular in England and France. That’s where we get most our gigs.”
Meyer admits to being ambivalent about Germany’s ‘minimal’ explosion: “There is so much shitty minimal music out there that shouldn’t be called minimal.”