The Hacker

The Hacker is Michel Amato, who took his name from a Jeff Mills track. He was making electronic music in Grenoble in the early nineties. Duran Duran were an early influence, followed by the darker electro of Cabaret Voltaire and D.A.F. In 1993 he released a few 12-inch records with Benoit Bollini as XMF, and in 1998 he founded the Goodlife label with Oxia and Alex Reynaud.

His partner in electro-pop was Caroline Hervé, known as Miss Kittin. DJ Hell liked their first track, "Gratin Dauphinois", and signed them to International DJ Gigolo in 1997. The Champagne EP followed in 1998, with "1982" and "Frank Sinatra": deadpan vocals over stiff drum machines and chilly synths. Their EP Intimités appeared in 1999 and First Album in 2001.

After a US tour in 2002 the pair paused. Amato released vinyl on his own, including "The Beach" on Mental Groove and "Dance Industria" on Tiga's Turbo label. His second album, Rêves Mécaniques, came out in 2004 and reached number 130 on the French chart. He has also remixed Marc Almond, Fischerspooner, Air and Nitzer Ebb.

The duo returned in 2007 with the double A-side "Hometown"/"Dimanche", and their second album, Two, arrived in March 2009. Alone, Amato draws heavily on the synth-pop and cold wave of the early eighties, with Kraftwerk, The Cure and Depeche Mode among his reference points. His DJ sets tilt toward techno and dark, mechanical electro.