Biography

Shakedown are a Swiss musical project, known internationally for their 2002 hit single, "At Night". By the time they started the group in 1999, Stephan and Sebastien Kohler were two brothers who blended their knowledge of Swiss and Swedish trance music to form their genre, a modified balearic beat crossed with acid house.

History

The 1980s

Stephan 'Mandrax' Kohler, a fan of new wave and punk, made his 1984 DJ debut in a rock club. He discovered house music two years later and felt the need to explore the sub-genre of acid house.

Early 1990s

Stephan moved to New York in 1992, starting the labels, Liquid Groove and Boombastic and with the American DJ, Mike Delgado.

Late 1990s

In late 1999, Stephan returned to Switzerland to set up a new home and recording studio. After a stint studying and working as a sound engineer in London, from 1993 to 1996, Sebastien also returned to Switzerland and started the Bel-Air Project and the label Cornflex, which lasted from 1997 to 2000. In 1998, he released a series of CDs including the single "Dark Jazzor", one of the earliest recorded songs to include a crossover of drum and bass incorporated with house.

Recognising they had developed a complementary set of skills, the two brothers created their musical project, Shakedown. They started working together by producing tracks for other artists, before beginning to record a few demo songs with artists such as Pookie and the vocalist Terra Deva.

Early 2000s

After a year of recording sessions in New York City and Lausanne, their album, You Think You Know was released at the end of 2001 on Sony BMG. It included the track "At Night".

"At Night"

"At Night" became a 2002 dance anthem, crossing over to national charts and peaking in the UK Singles Chart at No. 6. They made an appearance on the BBC Television programme, Top of the Pops, the first time any Swiss musicians had been on the show. In June 2003, a follow-up track, "Drowsy with Hope", peaked at No. 46 in the UK chart.

Other work

The brothers also produced remixes for the following acts:

• Mirwais ("I Can't Wait")
• Mousse T ("Fire" and "Cos I'm Cool")
• Röyksopp ("Eple")
• Les Rhythmes Digitales ("Jacques Your Body").

They also garnered success with a track produced for, and co-written with, Bootsy Collins for his 2005 release "Funky and You Know It".

Shakedown's tracks were used in the film The Transporter 2.

References

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More from Shakedown

Image from Discogs