Schrotthagen

Schrotthagen are one of the more distinctive acts in the current hard techno wave, a German duo who bring melody and cinematic storytelling to a genre usually defined by sheer force. Where much of the scene chases pure intensity, they aim for feeling too.

Two backgrounds, one project

The duo pairs Giovanni Berg, a Munich musician trained in classical composition and jazz improvisation, with Dieter Schleip, who came up as a guitarist and keyboardist in punk bands before moving into film scoring. In 2023 they combined those very different histories into Schrotthagen, and it shows: their tracks carry the harmonic depth of trained composers and the dramatic arc of a soundtrack.

Cinematic hard techno

Musically they sit between worlds, harder and faster than melodic techno, but warmer and more emotional than the industrial end of the genre. Titles like ‘Strom der Zeit’ and ‘Silent Chills’ signal the mood: pounding kicks underneath, but melody and atmosphere on top. It is a lane they share with other melodic-leaning risers rather than the scene’s harsher names like Nico Moreno, and it has set them apart alongside peers such as Holy Priest and Fantasm.

A rising name

For a project only a few years old, Schrotthagen have carved out a clear identity fast, and their steady release pace keeps the catalogue growing. HDRR tracks every new Schrotthagen release as it lands, so the list above stays current.

Every new Schrotthagen release lands on the Hard Techno Release Radar the day it hits Spotify. The full tracked catalogue is listed above.