Kreislauf

Kreislauf is a German music project centered on electronic dance music, ambient music, and independent broadcasting. It began in 1997 in Mannheim as an Ambient-Club founded by Andreas Buttweiler and Thomas Hentrich. Rather than operating solely as a conventional record label, Kreislauf developed as a broader cultural platform intended to recommend and publish electronic music without being constrained by commercial categories or rigid genre divisions. Its scope has included house, techno, breakbeat, ambient, and related forms of experimental and club-oriented electronic music. A major part of the project’s identity is its radio activity. In 2000, the founders began the weekly Kreislauf.FM radio show on Bermudafunk, the free radio station serving Mannheim and Heidelberg. The program extended the project’s role beyond releases by providing a recurring channel for music discovery, curation, and discussion. From 2004, the show was also broadcast on Tide 96.0 in Hamburg, giving Kreislauf an additional presence in Germany’s independent radio landscape. Kreislauf’s label division was established in 2001 by Dirk Hartmann, identified as the owner of the Hörzu! label, together with Andreas Buttweiler. The label later transitioned into a netlabel in 2006, reflecting the growing importance of digital distribution for independent electronic music. Its catalog has been organized under several release groupings, including the main Kreislauf series, Kreislauf Extra, and Kreislauf Kommerz. Documented releases include Josh Winiberg’s Game Over, released as Kreislauf 081; Hug A Turtle Today’s :hel, released as Kreislauf 062; Labkopp’s Labkopp LP, released as Kreislauf 061; and Tails’ Tripbrett EP, issued as Kommerz 01. The project’s positioning is therefore that of an independent curator, broadcaster, and digital label rather than a mass-market music company. Kreislauf’s significance lies in connecting free-radio culture, electronic-music discovery, and online label distribution. The available reference material does not establish a current corporate owner, legal structure, current headquarters beyond its Mannheim origin, present release schedule, or whether the label and radio show remain active. A documented catalog note states that Kreislauf 016 was not released.

Kreislauf was founded in 1997 by Andreas Buttweiler and Thomas Hentrich in Mannheim, Germany. At its origin it was described as an Ambient-Club, placing the project within the independent electronic-music and free-culture environment of the city. Its purpose was to recommend and publish electronic music outside strictly commercial frameworks and conventional genre classifications. The project’s musical field has encompassed ambient music as well as house, techno, breakbeat, and other forms of electronic dance music. In 2000, Kreislauf expanded into broadcasting with the launch of the weekly Kreislauf.FM radio show. The program was carried by Bermudafunk, the free radio station associated with Mannheim and Heidelberg. This radio presence gave Kreislauf a regular public platform for presenting music and supporting discovery beyond the conventional album and single market. In 2004, the show also began appearing on Tide 96.0 in Hamburg, extending its reach to another German city and strengthening its connection with the country’s non-commercial radio sector. The project’s label division was established in 2001 by Dirk Hartmann and Andreas Buttweiler. Hartmann was identified in the reference material as the owner of the Hörzu! label. The label structure allowed Kreislauf to move from broadcasting and curation into formal release activity, while retaining its broad electronic-music remit. The catalog was subsequently divided into identifiable series, including the main Kreislauf sequence, Kreislauf Extra, and Kreislauf Kommerz. In 2006, the label section became a netlabel. This change placed Kreislauf within the digital-distribution movement that was particularly important to independent electronic music during the 2000s. A netlabel model enabled releases to circulate online without the manufacturing, warehousing, and retail infrastructure associated with physical records. The documented catalog includes Kreislauf 061, Labkopp’s Labkopp LP; Kreislauf 062, Hug A Turtle Today’s :hel; and Kreislauf 081, Josh Winiberg’s Game Over. The Kreislauf Kommerz series includes Tails’ Tripbrett EP as Kommerz 01. The catalog also records that Kreislauf 016 was not released. The surviving account presents Kreislauf as a hybrid cultural platform: part radio show, part independent label, and part curator of electronic music. It does not provide enough information to determine the project’s current operating status, legal ownership, active personnel, contemporary release schedule, or present distribution channels. Its documented historical development nevertheless traces a clear progression from a Mannheim ambient club founded in 1997, to a free-radio program beginning in 2000, to a label division founded in 2001, and finally to a netlabel in 2006.

• 2006

  The label becomes a netlabel

  [1]Kreislaufen.wikipedia.org

  Kreislauf’s label section transitions to a netlabel model, emphasizing online distribution for independent electronic music.

• 2004

  Kreislauf.FM expands to Hamburg

  [1]Kreislaufen.wikipedia.org

  The radio show begins broadcasting on Tide 96.0 in Hamburg in addition to its Bermudafunk presence.

• 2001

  Label division is established

  [1]Kreislaufen.wikipedia.org

  Dirk Hartmann and Andreas Buttweiler establish the Kreislauf label section.

• 2000

  Kreislauf.FM begins broadcasting

  [1]Kreislaufen.wikipedia.org

  The project launches a weekly radio show on Bermudafunk, the free radio station serving Mannheim and Heidelberg.

• 1997

  Kreislauf is founded in Mannheim

  [1]Kreislaufen.wikipedia.org

  Andreas Buttweiler and Thomas Hentrich establish Kreislauf as an Ambient-Club focused on electronic music beyond narrow commercial and genre boundaries.

An independent German electronic-music curator and netlabel combining free-radio broadcasting with digital releases across ambient, house, techno, breakbeat, and related genres.

• Electronic music catalog

  Kreislauf main release series

  The primary Kreislauf catalog contains independent electronic-music releases spanning ambient, house, techno, breakbeat, and related styles. Documented entries include Labkopp’s Labkopp LP as Kreislauf 061, Hug A Turtle Today’s :hel as Kreislauf 062, and Josh Winiberg’s Game Over as Kreislauf 081. The sequence also includes a documented unreleased entry, Kreislauf 016.

• Electronic music imprint

  Kreislauf Extra

  Kreislauf Extra is a named subdivision of the project’s release catalog. The available reference material identifies the series but does not provide enough information to describe its specific repertoire, release policy, or current availability.

• Electronic music imprint

  Kreislauf Kommerz

  Kreislauf Kommerz is another catalog grouping associated with the Kreislauf netlabel. Its documented release list includes Tails’ Tripbrett EP, issued as Kommerz 01. The available material does not establish whether the series remains active.

• Radio show · 2000

  Kreislauf.FM

  Kreislauf.FM is a weekly radio program devoted to electronic music. It began on Bermudafunk in 2000 and was additionally broadcast on Tide 96.0 in Hamburg from 2004. The show represents the project’s broadcasting and music-curation side.

1. 1Kreislaufen.wikipedia.org