U96; the German band that commercialized techno with their anthem Das Boot!
Hayo Lewerentz, Ingo Hauss(U96)
52:44•2,656 views
This interview with U96’s Ingo Hauss and Hayo Lewerentz was recorded before Ingo’s death in 2025. It is now presented in his memory and as a celebration of his contribution to electronic music.
Ingo and Hayo tell the remarkable story of U96 and the record that helped bring techno out of the underground and into the mainstream: Das Boot.
They recall their early musical influences, their fascination with producers, synthesisers and recording technology, and the creative partnership that lasted for more than four decades.
The pair explain how hearing Klaus Doldinger’s original Das Boot theme in a Hamburg club inspired them to transform it into a dance record. Initially rejected because it had no conventional lyrics, verse or chorus, the track eventually became a club phenomenon—and one of the defining electronic records of the early 1990s.
Ingo and Hayo discuss forming U96 with Alex Christensen, the success and controversy surrounding Das Boot, their determination not to repeat themselves and the experimental approach behind I Wanna Be a Kennedy and the first U96 album.
They also discuss Alex’s departure, their years away from U96, the chance encounter that brought them back together and their work with former Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür.
This conversation captures Ingo Hauss as an inquisitive, adventurous musician who remained excited by sound, collaboration and new possibilities throughout his life.
CHAPTERS
00:00 How Das Boot began
00:31 Introducing U96
01:00 Ingo Hauss and Hayo Lewerentz
01:40 Musical aliases and different identities
02:41 Ingo’s childhood and early musical influences
04:18 Hayo discovers Roxy Music and David Bowie
05:25 Bowie and finding somewhere to belong
05:58 More than 40 years of making music together
07:15 Technology, synthesisers and Trevor Horn
08:50 Studying the credits behind the records
10:00 How Ingo and Hayo met
12:20 The record deal that changed everything
13:37 How their creative partnership worked
15:25 Becoming part of Boytronic
19:53 Meeting Alex Christensen and forming U96
21:32 The electronic revolution of the late 1980s
23:12 The inspiration behind Das Boot
23:52 Turning Klaus Doldinger’s theme into a dance track
25:11 Channel message
25:36 Why the industry initially rejected Das Boot
27:08 Releasing the record
27:55 From the clubs to number one
28:59 Bringing techno into the commercial charts
30:02 How success changed their lives
31:38 What could possibly follow Das Boot?
31:53 Creating I Wanna Be a Kennedy
33:26 The studio becomes a creative playground
34:59 How sound and rhythm affect the body
35:48 Learning from nightclub audiences
40:09 Why U96 and Alex Christensen separated
41:57 The years away from U96
42:25 The chance meeting that reunited them
43:33 Collaborating with Wolfgang Flür
45:18 Creating Transhuman
46:29 Encouraging Wolfgang Flür to sing
48:44 U96, Kraftwerk and creative influence
50:40 U96’s return and future collaborations
51:40 Closing thoughts
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What do you remember about hearing Das Boot for the first time—and how important was U96 to the development of commercial techno?
In memory of Ingo Hauss.
#U96 #IngoHauss #HayoLewerentz #DasBoot #Techno #ElectronicMusic #GermanTechno #WolfgangFlür #Kraftwerk #90sMusic #PopTheHistoryMakers
