mfs

MFS (Masterminded For Success) was founded by Mark Reeder in December 1990. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Reeder had been producing the Die Vision album "Torture" for the East German state owned record label AMIGA in East Berlin. After months of hard work recording, he decided to take a few weeks break before the mixdown process began. The night before the wall came down, he had left Berlin on a holiday tour of Eastern Europe with friends Dave Rimmer and Trevor Wilson.
Upon their return, the world was no longer the same. AMIGA was disbanded and now that movement to the west was possible, it was decided that the production and mixing of the Die Vision album would take place (at last!) in West Berlin. There were many changes at the AMIGA. Formally powerful people were being sent on permanent holiday, or exposed as agents for the stasi and a small rebellious faction took over control.
The first thing these new masters did, was to change the label name to "ZONG". Reeder tried unsuccessfully to convince them that the name AMIGA was actually a cool and classic name, but for these oppressed people, it was understandable that they wanted to get as far away as possible from the memories of the past and still being caught up in the freedom of choice whirlwind, it was decided they would change their name from the hated AMIGA to ZONG.
Frustrated, Reeder made the impudent suggestion at one point, that they at least should call their company ZONY (zony being the western derogative term for an east german - as they came from the Soviet Russian occupied zone of Germany = zony) as it had a familar ring to it. Unimpressed, it was declined on the grounds the name resembled another record company with a similar sounding name.
Always being involved in the dance/club scene in Berlin, Reeder was caught up in the exciting new possibilities for the revolutionary soundtrack to the fall of the wall - Techno! After long drawn out consultations, Reeder decided to start his techno label venture with the newly formed ZONG using their pressing-plant facilities and offices, but he wanted his own label identity and not ZONG's. Knowing he couldnt really get away with blatantly calling his label MFS (the initials of the dreaded East German Secret Police - the Ministry For State security - aka the stasi), he knew he would have to approach this sensitive subject carefully. He would have to conceal the initials somehow. So to disguise his intentions, he called his label Master Minded For Success (which on paper looked like MMFS). It worked! it didnt arouse any suspicion and only once the label was up and running and the first artwork appeared, did it become apparent, to the not-so-amused former AMIGA staff. (Reeder's argument was he was substituting the initials of one terror organisation for another was not appreciated). If the name wasn't enough, the label's launch posters which Reeder had designed, were also very provocative, claiming "wir sind zurck" ("we are back") and at one point Reeder was nearly attacked while sticking up a poster on a east Berlin Street by a very upset passer-by. The press conference for the label's actual launch in early 1991, was quite a theatrical affair.
The AMIGA/ZONG was housed in what was once the "Reichstags Praesidenten Palais" a bold but beautiful 19th century building directly behind the Reichstag. It was from here that Goebbels and Goering had used the tunnel connecting the two buildings, to light the Reichstag fire of 1933. Reeder obtained real east German border guards uniforms and visa stamps and had friends and younger members of ZONG's staff dress up in them. He had two young girls dressed in FDJ (Free German Youth) blue nylon shirts and grey skirts, handing out the presskits and goody bags, to the journalists as they entered into the "abhoerraum" ROOM 101. Which was formally Herman Goerings office. To make it an unforgettable experience, Reeder re-created the conditions of the East German border and declared that this small bit of ground was the last bastion of East Germany. He made "Visas" which each attending journalist had to laboriously fill out, have stamped and once accepted, it allowed them to proceed to the next level upstairs, where another guard sat ready to control them once more. This guard took the journalists personal data (name address tel nr etc). Only then could the journalist finally enter into the room and collect the bag of MFS goodies, which included white label 12"vinyls and the first collection of MFS t-shirts, which had slogans emblazoned upon them as "Ich will zurueck" (I want to go back - a reference to not being able to return to the former East Germany, as it no longer existed at this point) or "Bitte kommen Sie mit" (please come with me - a quote often heard by those arrested by the secret police. Provocation was a priority.
The press conference was packed. Unfortunately, a couple of East German journalists were not amused by this crude display and were infuriated at the rigmarole of having to go through this humiliating circus, but still, they all stayed until the end, even witnessing a shocking (staged) 'protest' (where a "rebel" in the process of unfurling a banner - upon which was painted "Nie Wieda AMIGA" - was brutally beaten by the border guards and hustled away in traditional stasi-style).
On the whole, it was generally accepted as fun, as it was not a very serious affair and being totally tongue-in-cheek, many journalists saw it more as a theatre piece, as MFS basically took the piss out of themselves.
The original musical idea of MFS was to create a platform for young eastern based artists to present themselves upon. Unfortunately, hardly any of the eastie kids had the equipment or possibility (instruments nor money) to make their own techno music at this time, and so Reeder turned to the people he already knew who could, to make alternative sounding trippy techno tracks to launch the label - Effective Force featuring former Clock DVA member Paul Browse and 'The Other Ones' bassist Johnny Klimek, Gabi Delgado's project with Saba Komossa 'Two German Latinos' or VOOV. After a shaky start, the label eventually started to create its own particular musical identity (which Reeder had originally called hypnotic-techno-trance) and his idea of fusing melancholic melodies with hard driving techno "to mess around with people's emotions while dancing on E", was finally realised when Cosmic Baby joined the label in spring 1991. The idea to make a kind positive, melancholic and yet uplifting sound, which was more like Wagner meets techno, to accompany the political excitement of the newly reunified country, was gradually coming together. The hypnotic bit was dropped and replaced by the short lived Trance dance, eventually becoming simply known as trance.
With this new direction, evolving from the revolutionary sound of techno, MFS undoubtedly, coined the term trance with it's melodic style of techno music. Other techno artists such as Mijk van Dijk and Neutron 9000 had also joined the label and MFS's techno derivative was beginning to receive a positive reaction from members of the techno community.
Throughout 1991, MFS released a series of "trance" singles, which were later that year compiled, remixed and sequenced together by Cosmic Baby and Mijk van Dijk, to produce what is now recognised as the worlds first true trance compilation - "Tranceformed From Beyond" - and in turn, MFS set a precedent not only with the play on the word trance in this albums title, but also for style and design of all their releases.
Eight alternative mix-versions of tracks featured on TFB, were later presented on the first Tresor Records compilation, almost a year later).
Meanwhile, this established label, is recognised throughout the universal dance community as the first label to release this positive, melodic up-lifting sound of trance, which provided an ideal and much needed soundtrack for the optimistic feeling which ran throughout post-wall Germany at the beginning of the 90´s.
It was very exciting times. Cosmic Baby teamed up with a young east german dj called Paul van Dyk, to form "The Visions of Shiva" and a new band from North West Germany called "Humate" was added to the roster of steadily growing MFS artists. When Paul van Dyk mixed their second MFS single "Love Stimulation" he finally established his own identity and sound as a remixer.
Other MFS albums have meanwhile become classics, such as Cosmic Baby's "Stellar Supreme", Effective Force Illuminate the Planet, 030 featuring Dr Motte were early MFS successes.
Over the years, MFS has provided an important platform for an interesting and diverse selection of artists. Releasing tracks by such successful artists as Humate, Ellen Allien, Dr Motte, Takkyu Ishino's Denki Groove, Marco Zaffarano and many others.
Undeniably though, Mark Reeder is probably most well-known for discovering and firmly establishing the career of Paul van Dyk onto the world's stage, releasing over a period of almost eight years, a string of very successful singles and his first two artist albums "45RPM" and "Seven Ways" as well as his first compilation "X-Mix1 - the MFS Trip" and his remix compilation "Perspective", the remixes album which eventually became the blueprint for the highly successful "Vorsprung Dyk Technik" released in the UK on Deviant.
In 1998 Paul van Dyk left MFS and Reeder felt that after ten years of Trance, his original idea behind it, had become somewhat warped. It's growing over-commercialisation was signalling it's steady demise. Trance had started to become much too repetitive and predictable for Reeder and although there was the occasional classic tune still out there, it had really started to reach it's limitations.
Reeder experimented with harder sounds, such as Marco Zaffarano's pioneering album "Minimalism" from 1998, which is arguably the blueprint for today's Minimal techno sound.
With the dawn of the new millennium, Reeder felt that his new century needed to have a new soundtrack too.
The original techno motto of "open your mind" had been conveniently erased over the years and club music was becoming too compartmentalised, so Reeder decided he needed a new change in direction and looked towards the young open-minded artists of eastern europe for stimulation.
This inspiration he found in his old friend, the hungarian dj and producer Corvin Dalek.
Corvin was also interested in moving on musically. Corvin's unique and provocative style of music, which they promptly termed "Wet&Hard", is controversially sexual, and the first releases had a heavy emphasis on driving percussion and hooky basslines.
Mark and Corvin also created the "Flesh" record label, as an exciting new platform to present Wet&Hard. This fresh sound, in combination with their own "HotKunst" (Hot-Art) graphic design style, portrays a fashionable and individual lifestyle for those people looking for an alternative open minded clubculture.
Over the past couple of years, Corvin Dalek´s status has steadily risen, to make him one of the most sought after contemporary dj/remixers throughout the World. He has made Wet&Hard underground club remixes for established artists like, Destiny's Child, Faithless, New Order and many many others. The success of his international performances are a testament to the ever increasing popularity of his musical style and meanwhile, a crop of fresh new artists and dj's from around the world, such as Eiven Major, Mexican producers Klang or Mario Play, Czech dj/producers Jakub Mildner and Danyo, Irish djs John Gibbons and Gary Collins, American djs dj Pat Ibbeston & Ed Whitty, Canadian dj Dan Stringer, or Fidelity Kastrow and others, have embraced this successful saucy sound for themselves.