Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary are fashion selectors. The two Berliners have been releasing albums and EPs and working as producers and DJs for 20 years now. Together with Sascha Ring alias Apparat they form the trio Moderat. It took four years until new material was created again, and by his own admission it was probably by chance. Actually, the two of them just wanted to dust off old tracks from the albums HELLO MOM (2005) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY (2007), which meant that “everything was dismantled and put back together again”.
It wasn’t planned that way, but as it always is: coincidence is king! The result is strongly reminiscent of the duo’s beginnings, but has nothing yesterday about it. On the contrary. They sound like crackling and bouncing albums on a rainy evening on the 17th floor of a high-rise building in Frankfurt am Main. Or like the early morning in a private club that serves mate. Or like the background music while packing up moving boxes for your twin brother. Encouraging and calming at the same time.
With “This Track Kills Fascism” hope is packed into danceable slogan repetitions. This works better than the whiny singer/songwriter whispers of those who recently claimed in a feel-good way that it had to be enough to somehow be “The Many” and chant “AfD – go away” on the streets. It didn’t work, I didn’t do it. The thing about leaving. Speaking of leaving: you could do that again. Modeselektor will be playing live again from April. In times like these, a little escapism can’t hurt.
This review appears in Musikexpress 3/2026.
