MODERAT

Plus 600 pounds of gear, equals one massive party

By DAVE WEDGE

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Moderat didn't have a deadline to meet for their new record. But still, the notorious perfectionists nearly worked one member of their crew to death—literally.

"One guy was falling on the ground. He was so exhausted," Sebastian Szary says from his home in Germany. "They worked every day—20 hours per day. He forgot to eat."

All the work went into the long-awaited full length from Moderat, a German electronic "supergroup" of sorts that features Szary and his longtime compatriot Gernot Bronsert—who together make up Modeselektor—and Apparat (aka Sascha Ring). It's the first release from the group since its 2002 EP.

"During the last seven years, we talked every year about making a new Moderat record or [doing] some projects," Szary says in his thick German accent. "But during these seven years, everybody, Apparat and Modeselektor, [have grown] more and more, and been very successful. In the end, we forgot to talk about doing it and we couldn't find time to make a record."

But last year, the three digital pioneers finally made it happen and recorded their new self-titled disc in Berlin's legendary Hansa Studios, which is where David Bowie recorded Heroes.

"In 2002, we produced the record in a very shitty studio. It was like a bathroom—very low-cost speakers and effect tables," Szary says. "The technology has changed so much in seven years."

The recording took nearly the full year, he says, and was a grueling, albeit satisfying, affair. "We discussed sometimes, for four hours, high hats," he says. "One of us would leave the room pissed, but then after an hour, we'd come back and say, 'OK.' Some days for some tracks, it was very complicated. A lot of discussions."

They're also gearing up for a full-scale US tour, which lands at the Paradise on Sunday. And Szary promises an "audio/visual spectacle" that includes three movie screens and visuals from art group Pfadfinderei.

"You can expect it to be like a cinema. It's theater," he says.

While talking to the Dig, Szary was pondering exactly how long it's going to take to load and unload all their gear at the airport and get it all through customs unscathed. It's 600 pounds of equipment, including keyboards, video projectors, LED tubes and screens. "It's a lot of stuff," he says, laughing.

In addition to the new disc, there are several remixes being released, including one of the album's danciest tracks, "Rusty Nails," done by German househeads Booka Shade. In exchange for the remix, Moderat will also be releasing a DJ mix for Booka Shade's Get Physical imprint.

But for now, they're focused on the tour and the new record, and remaining friends through the rigors of the creative process. "The aim of the record was that every one of us had to be down for 95 percent," he says. "But now we are all down for 100 percent. We love every track, and that's not easy. It's a little democracy."

MODERAT

(MODESELEKTOR + APPARAT)

WITH DJ DIE YOUNG AND

BALTIMORODER

SUNDAY 5.24.09

THE PARADISE

967 COMM. AVE.

BOSTON

617.562.8800

8PM/18+/$16.50

THEDISE.COM