Skanfrom is Roger Semsroth from Berlin, best known for his purist minimal techno project Sleeparchive. Skanfrom is Roger Semsroth from Berlin, best known for his purist minimal techno project Sleeparchive.
Before Sleeparchive there was Skanfrom, who first appeared in the late-90s, releasing limited edition 7"s on his own A.D.S.R. label. This was part of a small movement of DIY labels influenced by the melodic, experimental electronica output of labels like Rephlex, Skam and Warp. Skanfrom's music displayed a particular affinity for the lush, melodic electro of Bochum Welt, who was an early signing to Aphex Twin's Rephlex label. You could practically call Bochum Welt the blueprint for Skanfrom's sound. But there was something a little different about Skanfrom. Unlike Bochum Welt, who claimed influence from big shiny '80s producers like Trevor Horn and Thomas Dolby, Skanfrom was listening to a lot of raw synthwave music. The influence of early Depeche Mode (Speak and Spell), Kraftwerk (Radioactivity) and more obscure bands like Vice Versa and Ceramic Hello, clearly set Skanfrom apart from his IDM contemporaries.
Skanfrom found a likeminded home in Suction Records, who were releasing records by Solvent and Lowfish with many of the same musical references. In 2002, Skanfrom released his debut album on Suction Records, "Hand Picked Fragments". A lot has changed since 2002, but in Skanfrom world, 2014 is very much the same. "Postcards" is full of the same pure and melodic electro(pop) that made Skanfrom so special to us from the start. As it was in the beginning, Skanfrom produced "Postcards" using little more than his beloved Roland SH-101; this classic vintage monosynth, with it's minimal layout and pure analogue tone, remains the ideal instrument for Skanfrom's enduring, synthetic sound.
