Superpitcher

by Andy Kellman
Superpitcher is Aksel Schaufler, a German producer with close ties to Cologne's Kompakt label. Like a lot of other producers on that label, it's nearly impossibly to predict exactly what he'll do next. He made his first appearance on Kompakt's Total 2 compilation in 2000 with "Shadows," an eerie trip-hop production seemingly designed to soundtrack a 3 A.M. drive down a foggy urban alley. In 2001, he contributed a track to Kompakt's first Speicher 12" and released Heroin, a three-track 12" with three different sounds; "Tomorrow" was later included on that year's Total 3. 2002's Total 4 included yet another track from Schaufler, a straightforward electro-pop cover of Brian Eno's "Baby's on Fire." Soon after that, Schaufler released his second 12", Yesterday, which featured re-workings of "Tomorrow" and "Heroin." He also made another appearance that year on Kompakt's fourth Speicher 12". Since stepping out, Schaufler has done steady remixing work for the likes of Dntel, Carsten Jost, Contriva Phantom/Ghost, and several others. In spring 2004, Superpitcher released his most dynamic work yet with Here Comes Love. A year later, he released a mix album for Kompakt called Today.