Stylistic variety does not necessarily equal arbitrariness. In the case of Jakob Stoller aka Ramax quite the contrary. His eclectic DJ sets are a class ot its own and have been nourishing the Bernese dancefloors for years - in locations such as the “Dampfzentraleâ€, the “Wasserwerk†or the “Dachstock†at the Reitschule.
As a little boy, Jakob quickly made his way into music. Initial instruments were the clarinet and the saxophone, twiddling in the circle of his family band. Although almost exclusively Swiss folklore was played back home, Jakob soon became acquainted with popular music due to the assistance of national radio DRS3. As Hip hop, funk and electro were the styles to go for, turntables had to be organised. Henceforth folklore gave way to intensive scratching and mixing.
First deejay bookings were the consequence. After his apprenticeship as an electric engineer, he also worked as culture-creative. Be it as a band member (Dr. Heribert and 3M), as editor of the weekly radio show „Zur Lage des Planeten“ on radio RaBe or as co-organiser of parties such as “Electro_Shoxâ€, “Future sound of jazz†and “Random Acousticsâ€. On radio RaBe he also worked for a second cultural window, which was called “BM Radio†and later renamed „WellenSitten“. This show is still broadcasted up to the present day and is by far the most progressive show on Bernese airwaves.
Over the years, Jakob extended his DJ repertoire with almost every variety of modern dance music: Records ranging from House, Techno, Breakbeats or Drum & Bass found their way into his crate. Ramax played with global players such as A Guy Called Gerald, Bauchklang, Lee Scratch Perry, The Young Gods, X-ecutioners or Moonstarr. Later he also toured the Czech Republic, Germany, England and Belgium.
As a learned electrical engineer and full-blooded musician, Jakob was always interested in the production process of music. On nocturnal discovery trips he made friends with sampler, synthesizer and music software. His first track appeared on the CCC Compilation, an inventory of Swiss electronic music. Shortly thereafter Jakob released his own vinyl record „Strohwittwer EP†on the Zurich label Meadow Records. Ramax remix of Hank Shizzoe’s “Happy Man†was chosen from 400 other remixes at the “Decibel.dj the Remix Contest†and made its way on the CD sampler. Working as co-producer on “Da Sign & The Opposite’s†“Sunshine†proved to be rather successful with airplay of the Video clip on Swiss television. His latest release is a remix for the Bernese duo Filewile.
By the beginning of 2007 Ramax contributed with the Bernese Symphonic Orchestra "Variaton", the cellist Stefan Baumann and conductor Droujelub Yanakiew in a classic electric concert to be performed several times. With the pseudonym "Tastatur" he's also performing live with Daniel Wihler of the Inzec Label to enliven dance floors with a mixture of electro, house, oldschool-techno, breakbeat and dub. By the beginning of 2008 another publication will follow as "IQB" on the Bernes Label "Everest Records".
Download Biography and Pictures (German & English)
myspace.com/iaqob [Jakob, IQB]
myspace.com/tastaturlive [Tastatur, Liveact]
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