It can take a long to find yourself in the music industry, as German producer Marius Lauber aka Roosevelt has found out. Three years was the time it took for him to flourish and stand apart on his own. The industry is an unforgiving one at times but Roosevelt has re-emerged in the fast-paced world with a worthy debut.
The Cologne-based musician was part of a series of unsuccessful bands prior to going solo. He learned to play guitar and drums as a result of his failed ventures but it was moving to Cologne that helped him find new life. The city is one that has an incredible heritage of electronic dance music, which is what inspired and propelled the artist to begin work on his own music production.
Shortly afterwards Lauber landed himself a seminal DJ residency at Kompakt's Total Confusion party and benefited from gauging how different audiences reacted to various music styles.
"What I really enjoyed about DJing was that you could see the results immediately - there was feedback and interaction from the crowd." Maybe this is what makes his eponymous debut album so accessible and watertight in terms of production, nonetheless it couldn't have done any harm.
The flood of positive reviews since the record was released has saw the artist gain even more momentum in such a short space of time. The wave of success Roosevelt is currently riding is set to continue in 2017 too.
Tracks from his debut were slices of infectious, upbeat electro that appeal to a wide audience of music fans. There's elements of minimal German techno at the core of tracks such as 'Moving On', 'Night Moves' and early release 'Colours'. There is also nu-disco and beguiling instrumentals at the heart of the record, reaching out and appealing to a mass collective.
'Roosevelt' is so much more than just a dance album. It's a treat for everyone with non-dance elements present on various tracks during intervals, gorgeously loud big beats, dance-floor fillers and dreamy, sweeping ballads when the tempo drops.
Roosevelt originally made a name for himself re-mixing tracks from the likes of Sundara Karma, Glass Animals and Blossoms. Now he's set himself apart and has built an immaculate collection of electro pop tunes drenched in rich synth swatches that will be remembered as the greatest breakthrough of 2016.
Words Lauren Wade
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