Villhelm Rußel

Villhelm Rußel doing his iconic 'Standing' pose.

Villhelm Rußel is an acid house techno artist based in Germany. He is currently signed to Diddly Dank Records.

## Early Life

Wilhelm Rusel (his birth name) was born on the outskirts of Cologne, Germany. His fairly well-to-do family lived in prosperous West Germany, allowing him a high quality of life.

Wilhelm had his first exposure to music listening to the hits of the 80's playing in his parent's house. Features of this era, such as the heavy use of synthesizers in new wave pop, are said to have inspired his music and eventual ascension into godhood.

## Career beginnings

He began creating music when he purchased a second-hand TR-808 synthesizer on a whim at the age of 14, and began producing techno tracks and sharing them on AOL chat networks under the name "frischschlagenvierhundertzwanzig". Quickly achieving popularity with his unique fusion of trance music with dance music, Rusel decided to try offering his work to the clubs he was already frequenting.

The first club's American owner (intoxicated at the time) was pleased with his music, but told him his name was not "german looking enough". This prompted him to insert the V and ß, henceforth being known as Villhelm Rußel.

## Rising Success

After being played at clubs around Cologne, Rußel's music skyrocketed in popularity. His early compilation album "Industrial" (still anonymous) was a bestseller in album shops far and wide. Tracks from it began to be played at clubs outside of Cologne. Villhelm then began to work on a new album to formally introduce himself to the electronic scene.

The production of the album is shrouded in myth to this day. It has been said it was produced in two weeks while Villhelm was constantly high on MDMA. Others say they saw him recording after hours in the Cologne Cathedral, the space illuminated only by smoke and light machines. A REWE reciept was found, attributed to him, for 6 cans of blue paint and a pair of winter socks. The instruments supposed to have been used include his 808, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, digital guitars, analog guitars, a J. Erbe Eisenach piano, a drum set, a Fischer-Price floor mat keyboard, Mario Paint for Super Nintendo, a virus-infected copy of Windows 95, the stone floor tiles of Cologne Cathedral, his nose hairs, and the infinitesimal sound waves created when a beam of laser light hits a prism of glass.

His only comment on the production was that it was an "intensive experience".

"Licht Hitze Gefühl" saw release on 19th July 1997. It was a rousing success. The existing formula, of trance combined with dance,was heightened with the addition of electro and techno. The lead track "Vox12" blasted to number 1 on Germany- and Europe-wide charts in a matter of days. Instances are cited of Germans, upon hearing the album playing in the street, falling on their knees and weeping as they only had before at the fall of the Wall. Villhelm received offers to play live that were too lucrative to ignore, beginning his circuit of Germany. Villhelm has technically never ended his first tour; his tours elsewhere have been regarded as falling in-between shows on the Germany circuit.

In 1998, Rußel was performing in Frankfurt when a member of the crowd, TRICKY RICKY, began to freestyle wildly while high on cocaine. Villhelm quickly DJ'd to provide phat enough beats to fit Trickfield's rapid stream of words, allowing Frederick to take advantage of the massive crowd supporting him. This incident directly led to Trickfield's signing to Diddly Dank Records.

## Absichtlich Brot Verbrannt

Villhelm was working on a second album when Tricky Ricky, successfully signed to DDR, invited Rußel to work with him together on a musical project. Villhelm, intrigued, agreed to the proposal but declined to travel to Australia to record, saying that the land was "many too hot". Trickfield proposed that they meet in Tasmania, and Villhelm, not realising this was not a seperate country, accepted.

The recording process was little impeded by Villhelm's lack of English. The raw emotion, harnessed and channeled as music, sufficed; for example, Ricky would play the classic 1986 song "Hunger" to indicate that they should go for lunch.

The album's title stemmed from an incident during recording. Ricky walked into the studio to find two slices of blackened bread smoking on a hotplate on the floor, with Villhelm sitting next to it, intently listening to the sound through headphones. Taken aback, Frederick asked, in the given order, what, why, and how. Villhelm simply answered, "Intentionally burned bread."

The first album released by the duo 'Absichtlich Brot Verbrannt', The Good and the Bad, released on the 28th of March, 2001. Railway Modeller, in their review of the album, stated, "It is unique among collaborations, in that its creators have not collaborated. The acid house and rap do not compliment each other, instead fighting for dominance. Each song is a battleground." A commecial success, the album lead a rise in the public profiles of both artists.

Upon later discovering the truth about Tasmania in his infamous Bolivian interview, Rußel was seen to chuckle softly and murmer, "Er wird für dieses Verbrechen leiden."