Codec & Flexor

Codec & Flexor are a German techno-pop duo consisting of Sven Zalac (<a href="spotify:artist:2poFeNSse2si2FyI6sITjb">Codec</a>) and Matthias Freund (Flexor). Combining aggressive, EBM-influenced dance beats with new wave-inspired vocals, their debut album, Tubed, arrived in 2002. The album was issued in America the following year, amended to include their electroclash-era club hit "Time Has Changed." Their second full-length, the poppier Killermachine, followed in 2006.

Before founding Codec & Flexor, Zalac and Freund played in an indie rock band called Atomic Comic during the early '90s. After playing their first gigs in 1993, Zalac became obsessed with electronic music and left the group. Freund then became the singer for a band named De Luxe. Zalac joined De Luxe during the second half of the '90s, and they performed at several German music festivals, in addition to recording a demo in 2000. Eventually realizing that the band formation wasn't working out, Zalac and Freund struck out on their own, as Codec & Flexor.

The duo signed to <a href="spotify:artist:0RUrMFqEEETg7HbLbrcEvv">Christian Morgenstern</a>'s Forte Records in 2001, and debut single "Crazy Girls" was released that year. Eldar, a split 12" EP with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Kompakt%22">Kompakt</a> co-founder <a href="spotify:artist:5R9d1YP5jtBw2IrQItGzQI">Michael Mayer</a>, was released in 2002, containing "Time Has Changed," which would spawn a remix EP and end up being one of the duo's most well-known songs. Codec & Flexor's full-length debut, Tubed, arrived in 2002; <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Emperor+Norton%22">Emperor Norton</a> issued an expanded version (including "Time Has Changed") in 2003. The duo remixed tracks by <a href="spotify:artist:5ph5a6uCm5yuudOwH9aejC">John Starlight</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:243v6y74lia0v8jy6FH5iF">Northern Lite</a>, and moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Kitty-Yo%22">Kitty-Yo</a> for the release of their second album, 2006's Killermachine. <a href="spotify:artist:2poFeNSse2si2FyI6sITjb">Codec</a> launched his <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Body+Function%22">Body Function</a> label with the duo's Come a Little Closer EP in late 2007. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi