German producer Maurizio is one of dance music’s most enduring legends. The creator of a particularly distinctive brand of techno that took its inspiration from the dub sound systems of Jamaica rather than the usual sci-fi obsessed Detroit sources, the rumours surrounding the mysterious Maurizio are as strong as the legacy left by his scuffled dub shuffle.

Unfortunately, the publicity shy producer doesn’t do interviews, so we can’t ask him about the numerous half truths and myths, or the new Arrange And Process Basic Channel Tracks album a collection of the man’s finest moments from his Basic Channel and Chain Reaction back catalogue. Available on Tresor and put together by Basic Channel duo Scion, aka Pete Kuschnereit and Rene Lowe, the album is an alluringly hypnotic mix of Mauriizio’s hissing electronic highlights.

Kuschnereit and Lowe, who also double up as Substance and Vainqueur respectively met in 1991 when they started working at the Basic Channel affiliated Hardwax record store in Berlin.

“My impression about Basic Channel is that, in the beginning they just wanted to let the music speak for itself,” explains Rene. “When they wanted to stay anonymous it became like a self-perpetuating thing and they had nothing really to do with it. The mystique about Maurizio and Basic Channel just kept going and the weirdest stories came about. No one knows who started them, but that’s how the legend started.”

Apart from their day job in Hardwax, Rene and Pete showed an interest in following in the footsteps of Maurizio, by 1995, Basic Channel had deemed Scion’s work good enough to warrant setting up a new imprint. Consequently, Chain Reaction was born to release their material.

“We just gave them the tracks and they released them,” Rene says in a matter of fact way, but, having released their first EP, also called Scion, duty, quite literally called.

“After we made this we had to do national service,” Rene explains. “Unfortunately, as soon as Pete was finished it was my turn, so there wasn’t really time for us to work together for quite a while. In fact, this CD is the first serious studio project we’ve done in the last few years.”

Having served their country, the duo returned to Hardwax and Chain Reaction, pooling their studio resources to release more EPs. A succession of releases followed, but they are adamant that recording in the shadow of Basic Channel did not intimidate or put them under pressure.

“Not really, because we were also heavily influenced by Chicago and Detroit,” Rene says, admitting nonetheless that, “We learnt how to produce there and learnt from the Basic Channel sound. “If anything, the job at Hardwax helped us more than Basic Channel,” Pete adds. “In the early ’90s, this is where everyone from Berlin hung out, as well as all the first wave of DJs who were coming over from America. We met them all and got to know a wide range of producers who were and continue to be really important,” he concludes.

Similarly, Scion seem unfazed by the Basic Channel legacy, but when I ask them about the effect the act had on the contemporary electronic music landscape, they are quick to praise Maurizio’s work.

“They made it clear that there’s a connection between modern techno and music that was made years ago in Jamaica and even old funk music,” Rene replies. “I remember in the early ’90s people said this was something new, there was this idea that the Basic Channel music came out of nothing, but that’s not true,” he continues. “They showed where this music came from and they had a huge influence on techno producers. At the same time,” he adds, “it’s a wave that started many years ago: they transferred the sound and the Jamaican recording methods to a modern environment. It’s important to know your history, to be aware that music from 20 or 30 years ago has a lot in common with contemporary music. If techno is all you know, how will you progress?”

The release of Arrange And Process should remind and introduce people to the magic behind the Basic Channel legend. Classics like ‘Phylyps Trak 2’, BC’s version of Carl Craig’s ‘The Climax’ and Cyrus’ ‘Inversion’ hiss, squelch and hum smoothly together, segued by Scion. Given that Basic Channel aren’t really known for their business acumen, it’s an unexpected move for them to release a mix CD.

“There were a number of factors that led to the release,” Pete explains. “It wasn’t a big plan, but Dimitri, who owns Tresor, was always interested in presenting a project that brought together all the old BC records. At the same time, he had asked us to do a regular mix CD for the label. We didn’t want to do a regular mix and none of these records had been released on a CD before, so that’s how it happened. It’s a nice reminder of Basic Channel as well as a good collection.”