About Bochum Welt
Hometown
Milan, Italy
Born
1975
Genre
Electronic
Italian electro/techno composer Gianluigi Di Costanzo is the name behind the Milan-based Bochum Welt, whose atmospheric electro releases were quick to establish him as an artist at the edge of experimental electronica. Releases on braindance label Rephlex, including 1996 full-length Module 2, helped the producer gain a following for his blend of emotive melodies and inventive beats. Remaining steadily active throughout the following decades, later works such as 2019's Seafire tended to focus on more subdued ambient and downtempo pieces.
Inspired by the '70s Düsseldorf scene through such figures as Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider (both of Kraftwerk), as well as artists such as Brian Eno and Depeche Mode, Di Costanzo released his first work as Bochum Welt on the Italian Trance Communications label starting in 1994, at the age of 21. Focusing mostly on acid and more typical floorbang techno, Di Costanzo worked just as often on atmospheric electro and ambient, little of which saw release until many years later (most notably on the Phial EP).
Though Italy is hardly a stronghold of techno experimentation, Di Costanzo's early Trance 12"s attracted the attention of Aphex Twin (Richard James), whose Rephlex imprint reissued several tracks from the Bochum Welt back catalog as the Scharlach Eingang EP in 1994. Di Costanzo followed up his Rephlex debut in 1996 with Module 2, a full-length for the label. Desktop Robotics and Feelings on a Screen followed in 1997, trailed two years later by Martians and Spaceships (on Fuzzy Box). He also released material through his own label, Kromode, and the Swiss Axodya label.
Continuing strongly into the new millennium, a split EP with the Modernist (Jörg Burger) as well as an EP for Hymen Records (Fashion) appeared in 2001. Following albums for Device (2004's Kissing a Robot Goodbye) and Fuzzy Box (Elan), Bochum Welt returned to Rephlex in 2008 with R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy), a studio album which included an additional disc compiling tracks from his previous Rephlex releases. Di Costanzo kept busy working with Thomas Dolby's Headspace and Beatnik Inc., the companies that created multimedia productions for Stephen Spielberg and David Bowie, among others. He continued recording as Bochum Welt, however, and full-length Good Programs (To Be Coloured in Yellow) appeared on Rephlex in 2013, shortly before the label ceased activity. April, a downtempo/ambient-leaning LP containing tracks previously available on CD in addition to newer works, was issued by !K7 on Record Store Day in 2017. Continuing in this direction, Seafire appeared on Central Processing Unit in 2019. ~ Sean Cooper & John Bush
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