Schwarz is a veteran of the German
house scene, and has taken a lead in the recent milieu of
‘deep’. In his early DJ-days he played all major clubs in, southern Germany. He began producing music in the mid-90s and things started to take-off in the house (and wider) world in late 2005 with M.A.N.D.Y. and the Innervisions crew championing his sound. Schwarz owned 2006 with his contribution to
Where We At and his cracking DJ Kicks mix. In 2008, Schwarz teamed up with the Amampondo tribe for
I Exist Because Of You Versions (Innervisions).
Hailing from Bodensee, southern Germany, Schwarz made his reputation as a house DJ throughout Southern Germany in the early 90s. A graphic designer by trade, he slowed down his musical activities toward the end of the decade but never lost touch completely. In the mid-nineties he’d slowly started producing his own material, exploring the possibilities of digital improvisation and playing live jams with his friends around the Bodensee area. The option to use laptops instead of records took Schwarz one-step further and he began creating live laptop sessions.
Schwarz formed a duo with long-time friend Pete Pardeike; they played a handful of live gigs as Rik&Pete at Robert Johnson and Club Sensor. He’s also accompanied Panorama Bar resident Sasse aka Freestyle Man on several occasions. Henrik Schwarz’ first 12”s were the
Supravison EP (2002) and
Chicago EP (2003) on Sasse’s label Moodmusic which garnered support from names like Jazzanova and Sonar Kollectiv. Schwarz soon set up his own Sunday-Music label together with Sasse and a 12” and a limited edition CD
Henrik Schwarz Live (2005).
The upward swing began in earnest when Schwarz’s remix of Wei Chi’s
Faces and Places popped up on M.A.N.D.Y.’s huge 2005 mix
Body Language, and later his Coldcut remix
Walk A Mile In My Shoes was featured on their
At the Controls mix. Next came the track of 2006 with Âme & Dixon
Where We At, the vocals are taken from Derrick L. Carter's 2002 track
Where U At?.
In 2006, German giant !K7 selected Schwarz to contribute a mix to the
'DJ-Kicks' series, which made big waves both in dance thanks to his eclectic yet danceable inclusion of non-dance artists such as Moondog, Cymande, D’Angelo and Arthur Russell. At the end of 2006 Studio !K7 released a definitive overview of Schwarz's laptop sets:
Live, a disc made up largely of Schwarz productions and remixes recorded live at events and cobbled together in the studio.
In 2007 Schwarz, Âme and Dixon reconfigured as the Innervisions Orchestra to remix Underworld’s
Crocodile. 2008 saw Schwarz extend his collaborations globally, teaming up with Japanese label Mule Musiq for a collaboration with Kuniyuki featuring Yoshihiro Tsukahara called
The Session. He also worked with the South African Amampondo tribe – a colourful percussion outfit that started back in the late 70’s in Cape Town – for the latest Innervisions release,
I Exist Because Of You Versions.
> www.myspace.com/henrikschwarz
> www.sunday-music.com
> www.moodmusicrecords.com
Appearances:
> CTM.09 > AUDICTIVE
> CTM.06 > CROWN ELECTRIC
