Culture Beat is a German group formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau, DJ in a nightclub in Frankfurt. Group that he will form in the company of 2 friends, Jens Zimmermann and Peter Zweier. As for the singers, the main performers will be Tania Evans and Jay Supreme.
The year of their training released their first Single "Der Erdbeermund" in German. First Single with limited success but the group is already starting to make people talk about him. But it was especially the arrival of rapper Jay Supreme in 1990 that was to change the situation. The Single "I like you" which comes out this year is much more successful than its predecessor and launches the group for good on the international scene.
The year 1991 saw the release of their first album "Horizon", album of modest success and which contained the previous titles, but also "No deaper meaning" which was also released that year. Single which will experience its heyday mainly in northern Europe.
Little air hole in 1992 followed by the providential arrival of Tania Evans in 1993, an arrival which will boost the group like never before. The magical tandem Supreme-Evans will literally do wonders on the track "Mr Vain", an amazing Dance track, which will literally set fire to all the Dancefloors on the planet and literally explode the notoriety of the group. A track which will sell several million copies and which will undoubtedly remain as one of the biggest dance hits of all time !
The forthcoming album "Serenity" was also a hit, taking advantage of the phenomenal suction effect caused by "Mr. Vain". Album from which will be extracted 2 other mega hits in 1993 which are "Got to get it" and "Anything". As well as "World in your hands" in 1994. The group becomes one of the biggest musical phenomena of the moment.
But the promising adventure will take a far more dramatic turn when Torsten Fenslau is killed in a car crash at the age of 29. It was his brother, Frank, who took over the reins of the project.
A new album "Inside out" was released in 1995, an album which did not experience the colossal success of its predecessor but which obtained more than flattering sales scores. So proving that in the Fenslau family there is really talent. A single title bearing the name of the album will be released in 1995, a title that will also be a hit proving that the project is far from dead.
The proof in 1996 with the release of the Singles "Crying in the rain", "Take me away" and "Walk the same line" still extracted from the same album and which, once again, will truster the best places of the Charts on all the planet.
Frank Fenslau decides to give the group a more pop sound orientation to the group from 1997. This is how the album "Metamorphosis" was born in 1998. An unfortunate orientation that will seal the fate of the group and trigger an irreversible decline. The album was only a modest success, and the Singles it produced did not meet with the hoped-for success. Putting an end to an incredible adventure that will have left an anthology title in the musical history of the 80s and which has not finished making the planet dance.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
80s Decade :
Der Erdbeermund 1989
90s Decade :
I like you 1990
No deaper meaning 1991
Mr Vain 1993
Got to get it 1993
Anything 1993
World in your hands 1994
Inside out 1995
Crying in the rain 1996
Take me away 1996
Walk the same line 1996
Pay no mind 1998
Rendez-vous 1998
You belong 1998
2000s Decade :
Insanity 2001
Can't go on like this 2004
Your love 2008
Tracks :
1989 ... a first title to break in. Well, there it is clear that there is still work, that's for sure. The base is good but it is not enough, far from it ...
1990 ... there, on the other hand, the change is obvious. The arrival of Jay Supreme changes the situation damnably and the result is immediate : first major hit !
1991 ... the singing duo works pretty well but does not allow the group to move on to the Champions League for the moment. We will have to be a little more patient ...
1993 ... then comes THIS title and especially a providential angel named Tania Evans. Jay Supreme finally finds the ideal partner and the results are astounding. The group is simply signing one of the biggest dance hits of all time. An inspired melody, a duet that works perfectly, the miraculous recipe in a nutshell. Simply PHE-NO-ME-NAL !
1993 ... an exceptional year in all respects for the group. The exceptional hits follow one another at an incredible speed. The group literally walks on water !
1993 ... the pass of 3 ! An exceptional year which ended in apotheosis with a 3rd planetary mega hit, consecrating the group as one of the biggest phenomena of the moment. A-MA-ZING !
1994 ... a year 1994 which started again on almost the same bases as the previous year. The level of success is lower but given the level reached previously, it would have been purely incredible for the group to remain at such a level two years in a row
1995 ... only one mega hit for the year 1994. Ditto for the year 1995. The production of titles slows down, that's clear. But the melodic quality is still at an incredible level !
1996 ... after 3 amazing years, the group begins its deceleration phase. In a hyper-competitive musical context, you have to create an event for each song. Bet far from obvious ...
1996 ... anyway, a BIG 1996 nevertheless. Even if the group is no longer familiar with the stars, the level of success is well above average
1996 ... 1993 counted 3 intergalactic hits including 1 anthology, 1996 will also align 3 hits. Certainly of lesser caliber, but the group does not have to be ashamed of this level of success which would satisfy many others !
1998 ... the re-orientation of the group towards a more pop sound will disconcert the fans of the 1st hour. And lead the group irreparably to a programmed end. And yet, when we see the quality of the song, we tell ourselves that this group really has extraordinary talent !
1998 ... the group signs here its last major hit. Almost 10 years after their debut. A career that will not remain as the longest in history but a discography in the end to make more than one pale. Undoubtedly one of the major groups of the decade and of the end of the twentieth century period
1998 ... another year with 3 hits ! Certainly minor, but still. Here comes another inspired title, with more than certain melodic quality. Too bad the public did not follow ...
2001 ... the group will even have passed the milestone of the millennium. And still manages to produce titles that hold up well. An exceptional talent that they will have retained until the end !
2004 ... the production of titles has nothing to do with the decade 90 but they still believe in it. Rightly or wrongly, that's something else ...
2008 ... but how far will they go ? Here they are again and always trendy. So we imagine that with them, the adventure may continue a little ...
Wiki :
Official Website :
https://www.culture-beat.com/ Greatest Hits :
Discography :