Knee Deep

Of course, their success started in Hamburg, Germany's undisputable house stronghold. Basti, who started his success as remixer and producer under the name of TBA and, together with DJ Daniel Klein (currently running flamingo discos), already formed another successful project under the name of Kiez Kidz, got to know his partner Toddie in the club life of Hamburg. Already their first production (Aug 1998)- a remix of the D'Influence Track "Rock With You" - was able to gather overwhelming reviews. both realized instantly how much they could learn from eachother and what could reached together. Numerous remixes followed. At first they had work with rather unknown domestic artists but soon the big cats cued in for getting their tracks in the club with that soulful, pumpin kneedeep sound (david morales, bob Sinclair, brandy, jamiroquai, everything but the girl …). Best known remix to date probably still is afro medusa´s “pasilda” which was THE tune of summer 2000 and was copied at least a hundred times. Later that year kneedeep won the german dance award “best remixer” defeating names like timo maas. Soulful and thrusting grooves are their trademark, both in producing and behind the decks. Never too sophisticated or stuffed with loops, but more decent, that's the way the Knee Deep grooves are pleasing. Skillfully, they manage to combine Soul, Funk, and Latin and their beat into a sound that's downright charming and unobtrusive in the way it creates movement on the dance floor. Slowly, without much claptrap or drum rolls they build both their DJ sets and their productions - spontaneously spiking them with little details, bringing them to the climax, thus impressing their individual seal. It's not even single tracks or hits that inspire, but the mixture of record selection and the DJ's interaction with the audience that make a Knee Deep set or production work on the dance floor. their own productions for the label R.O.I. quickly found a major label partner in Universal, which is quite unusual for german house producers and emphasizes the mixture of quality and countrywide acceptance. Unfortunately one of their biggest clubhits never made it into a proper commercial realese – Nassau roules, a funky interpretation of a late 70ies rare groove, never passed the sample clearance. Although it was voted best house record (year 2002 charts DJ MAG) the rights owners didn´t see the commercial possibilities of this track. During their Australian dj tour in December 2001 basti and toddi met simon grey, a talented jazzkeyboarder and songwriter in Melbourne. After getting to know his abilities during a studio session they decided to invite him and his bassplayer gavin pearce for an extended recording session to germany. The following stay in January 2002 was so successful that all three of them decided to turn this into a closer business/musicpartnership which ended in simons relocation to germany in august 2002. among the first projects there were big names like jamiroquai (which liked their mixes that much that he asked them to do 3 (!) in a row), everything but the girl and bootsy Collins. In 2003 basti and toddie successfully founded their own label kneedeep recordings, a new imprint for soulful and inspiring house music. During this time, when almost the whole germany club and producer scene followed that popular electro hype, kneedeep reclaimed their soulful roots. Besides their highly respected houseactivities several rnb, hip hop and even dancehall/reggae projects were started with artists from around the globe. The near future looks bright for basti and Toddie. Knee Deep have already taken the next steps toward an international producer career. This success hasn't been a lucky shot, tho. Within the last two years they worked their way to the top with their productions and remixes under their producer's and DJ's name KNEE DEEP. In addition, Toddie and basti are in great demand behind the decks of the most renowned house clubs, not only in their hometown Hamburg, but also in australia, London, Ibiza and Miami, just to mention a few waypoints.

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Soulful and thrusting grooves are their trademark, both in producing and behind the decks. Never too sophisticated or stuffed with loops, but more decent, that's the way the Knee Deep grooves are pleasing. Skillfully, they manage to combine Soul, Funk, and Latin and their beat into a sound that's downright charming and unobtrusive in the way it creates movement on the dance floor. Slowly, without much claptrap or drum rolls they build both their DJ sets and their productions - spontaneously spiking them with little details, bringing them to the climax, thus impressing their individual seal. It's not even single tracks or hits that inspire, but the mixture of record selection and the DJ's interaction with the audience that make a Knee Deep set or production work on the dance floor.