by John BushAs Sun Electric, Germans Max Loderbauer (the son of a composer) and Tom Thiel (a studio engineer) marry dizzying Teutonic trance with chilled-out ambience. They first met at the studio where Thiel worked, and the two later played as part of the band Fishermans Friend. Manager Thomas Fehlmann, a frequent Orb co-worker, encouraged the two to move to his native Berlin and form a band. The two agreed, and when their debut single O Locco appeared, it was picked up by the Orbs Alex Paterson for his Wau! Mr. Modo label. The duo then signed to ZTT, who unfortunately wanted an electro-pop group. After wrangling out of the contract, Sun Electric signed to the Apollo sublabel of R&S and released their debut album, 1995s Kitchen. The following year brought a live album recorded at Berlins Love Parade, while Via Nostra appeared in 1998.