Schiller is
Christopher von Deylen and
Mirko von Schlieffen, two
Germans producing a unique brand of
melodic trance.
Their music is, in its own right, a distinct and entertaining blend of trance, leaning towards ambient...layered with the occasional
heavy
bassline. But the uniqueness, you ask? The uniqueness is
derived from a
technique many DJs use to add flavor and character to
their mix, sampling. Okay, let's clarify that before I'm lynched...Schiller samples spoken German poetry, most commonly that of their
namesake;
Friedrich Schiller, a nationally beloved poet of the
18th century. The combination of these
elements makes for some
interesting results, some of which
bears a resemblance to
Enigma, or
Deep Forest.
Schiller, already popular in Germany in the late nineties, broke into the UK dance scene with the single "Das Glockenspiel", which was
first played by Tiesto at the Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem. As Schiller gained popularity, remixes of their songs began popping up
more frequently, being played by DJs including Sumsonic, Humate, Sasha and Digweed and Judge Jules. Several tracks were also licensed
to Sasha and Danny Tenaglia's Global Underground albums, further solidifying Schiller's place in the scene.
Schiller is a member of the Trance Allstars, which is composed of Taucher, Talla 2XLC, Schiller, ATB, Sunbeam and DJ Mellow-D.
For a good taste of Schiller, I'd recommend a few of their popular tracks, Unendlich, Ruhe, and Das Glockenspiel. An interesting fact about Ruhe:
the male vocals are a german dub of Fox Mulder from X-Files. (a very successful show in Germany)
Discography (not exhaustive, there are far too many singles)
Das Glockenspiel [1999, Bang On!] (cd single)
- Glockenspiel - Airplay Edit
- Glockenspiel - Video Edit
- Glockenspiel - X/Tended
- Glockenspiel - Gary D Remix
- Glockenspiel - Mike Scandle Remix
- Glockenspiel - Free Schiller Mix
Liebesschmerz [1999 promo release, What's Up?!/Polydor] (cd single) ("Dear pain")
- Liebesschmerz - Fernseh Fassung
- Liebesschmerz - Kurzfassung
- Liebesschmerz - Langspiel Fassung
Ruhe [December 1999, What's Up?!/Polydor] (cd/12" single) ("Peace")
Ein Schöner Tag [June 2000 on Zeitgeist/Polydor] (12" single) ("A Beautiful Day")
- Ein Schöner Tag - Langspiel Fassung
- Ein Schöner Tag - Kaycee Remix
Das Glockenspiel [October 2000, Data (Ministry of Sound)] (12" single)
- Glockenspiel - Humate Remix
- Glockenspiel - Original Mix
Ruhe [February 2001, Data Records (Ministry of Sound] (12" single)
Zeitgeist [March 2001, Polydor] (first major album, "The Spirit of Time"..it's actually dolby surround encoded)
- Der Anfang
- Glueck Und Erfuellung
- Liebesschmerz
- Das Unbekannte Reich
- Das Glockenspiel
- Körperbewegung
- Freiheit
- Ruhe
- Sonnenuntergang
Mit Heppner [July 2001 Weltreise single ]
- Dream Of You - Fernseh Fassung
- Dream Of You - Langspiel-Fassung
- Dream Of You - Free Schiller Mix
- Dream Of You - Tomcraft remix
- Dream Of You - Ayla remix
Weltreise [July 2001, Polydor] (second major album, "Voyage Round the World")
This compiled discography may be inaccurate, as I've found a lot of contradictory information. The discography as a whole seems to be quite a conflict :\
sources:
http://www.global-trance.co.uk/Schiller.html
http://www.globaldance.com/ReviewSchillerZeitgeist.htm
http://www.poolpromotion.com/singledetail.cfm?single_id=268
http://www.sticker7.de/72001/schiller.htm
http://www.dasding.de/musik/starstrip/schiller/
http://www.koehler-lippmann.de/~ivo/plattenkritik/platte19.html
http://www.entertainment-house.de/music_dw/index.php?s=archiv
http://www.membersofmayday.republika.pl/schiller.htm
http://www.labyrinth.fi/summer/labyrinth_schiller.shtml
http://www.ministryofsound.com/music/tunes/features/schiller/default.asp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/artist_database/373/373.html