U96 is a German musical project formed by DJ and producer Alex Christensen, and a team of producers named Matiz (Ingo Hauss, Helmut Hoinkis, and Hayo Lewerentz). After a decade-long hiatus, the band returned in 2018 without Christensen and Hoinkis.
History Das Boot: 1991–1992 The name of the project comes from the film Das Boot about German submarine U-96 from World War II. The project's first hit, "Das Boot" (1991), is a techno adaptation of the film's title melody, which had been originally composed by Klaus Doldinger. An album of the same name was also released.
Replugged: 1993 The band's next album, Replugged (1993), was inspired by the electro sounds of the 1980s and by ambient and disco music themes. It was less commercially successful than its predecessor, but achieved three top-10 hits: "Love Sees No Colour", "Night in Motion", and "Inside Your Dreams", which peaked at number 1 in Finland. Although uncredited, Ingo Hauss provided most male vocals for this album.
Club Bizarre: 1994–1995 The follow-up album, Club Bizarre (1995), radically changed the group's sound. It was dominated by a fast-paced Eurodance sound with a significant rave influence. The hit single releases from this album were "Love Religion" (with Daisy Dee) as well as the title track "Club Bizarre", with harmonies that were reused later by Brooklyn Bounce. Motor Music also released the Club Bizarre Interactive CD-ROM. The audio part of this CD included several music tracks and the multimedia part featured a discography, interviews with Alex Christensen, and a game for Mac OS and Windows PC.
Heaven: 1996 In 1996, U96's fourth album, Heaven, was released. It was highly commercial in sound, with greater emphasis on Eurodance, despite retaining some electro and rave influences. On this album, a new singer, Dea-Li (Dorothy Lapi), was featured, who participated in the production of four titles. The chorus in the song "Heaven"—although with a faster pace and different text—closely resembles Cyndi Lauper's 1984 hit "Time After Time". The second single, "A Night to Remember", was a top-20 hit in Austria and Finland. The final single, "Venus in Chains", peaked at number 7 in the Czech Republic.
Hiatus, Reboot: 1997–present After their fourth album, the group released the singles "Seven Wonders" (1997), "Energie" (1998), "Beweg Dich, Baby" (1998), and "Das Boot 2001" (2000), before issuing the compilation Best of 1991–2001, which included a few songs from the unreleased album Rhythm of Life. They returned to the German Top 30 in 2006 with "Vorbei", which featured vocals by Ben.
Another album, Out of Wilhelmsburg, was released in 2007, albeit with a different group lineup, before the band went on an indefinite hiatus.
In June 2018, U96 came out with the double album Reboot. Two years later, in collaboration with Wolfgang Flür, they released another double album, titled Transhuman.
Helmut Hoinkis died on 19 February 2021. Ingo Hauss died on 21 October 2025. Skadi Lange's death was announced on 29 September 2026.
Band members Current Hayo Lewerentz (aka Harry Castioni / Hayo Panarinfo)
Past Ingo Hauss (aka Bela Lagonda) Helmut Hoinkis (aka Jeff Wycombe) Alex Christensen (aka AC 16, AC Beat, Alex C.) Stefan Hafelinger Skadi Lange Dorothy Lapi
Discography Albums + Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications GER AUT FIN NED NOR SWE SWI Das Boot Released: March 1992 Label: Polydor Category: Studio album 11 5 19 — — 26 9 SWI: Gold Replugged Released: June 1993 Label: Urban Category: Studio album 21 5 22 — — 33 18 Club Bizarre Released: March 1995 Label: Polydor Category: Studio album 22 23 9 24 — 19 37 Heaven Released: June 1996 Label: Motor Music Category: Studio album 30 19 20 77 35 22 23 Best of 1991–2001 Released: May 2000 Label: Urban Category: Compilation 34 36 — — — — — Out of Wilhelmsburg Released: March 2007 Label: Centaurus Records Category: Studio album — — — — — — — The Dark Matter Released: 4 December 2015 Label: UNLTD Recordings Category: EP — — — — — — — Reboot Released: June 2018 Label: UNLTD Recordings Category: Studio album — — — — — — — Transhuman Released: September 2020 Label: UNLTD Recordings Category: Studio album — — — — — — — 20.000 Meilen Unter dem Meer Released: September 2022 Label: Motor Entertainment (Edel) Category: Studio album — — — — — — — "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Singles Year Title Peak chart positions CertificationsAlbum GER AUT BEL FIN FRA NED NOR SWE SWI UK 1991 "Das Boot" 1 1 11 9 9 3 1 5 1 18 AUT: Gold Das Boot 1992 "I Wanna Be a Kennedy" 4 6 — 18 40 — 32 3 77 "Come 2gether/Der Kommandant" 38 — — 9 — — — — — — "Ambient Underworld" — — — — 36 — — — — — 1993 "Love Sees No Colour" 6 3 39 4 20 17 — 4 4 84 Replugged "Love Sees No Colour" (remix) — — — — — — — — 38 — "Night in Motion" 9 7 50 7 29 38 — 10 18 134 1994 "Inside Your Dreams" 12 10 — 1 — 24 — 19 9 44 "Love Religion" 5 7 27 2 15 10 — 2 10 — GER: Gold Club Bizarre "Love Religion" (remix) — — — — — — — 23 — — 1995 "Club Bizarre" 19 14 37 1 44 12 — 16 32 70 "Movin'" 91 — — 3 — — — — — — "Boot II" — — — 10 — — — 53 — — 1996 "Heaven" 4 2 — 7 — 15 5 5 16 87 GER: Gold Heaven "A Night to Remember" 25 18 — 11 — — — 37 44 — "Venus in Chains" 75 18 — — — — — 54 — — 1997 "Seven Wonders" 40 — — — — — — 52 — — rowspan="10" 1998 "Energie" 29 — — — — — — — — — "Beweg dich Baby" — — — — — — — — — — 2001 "Das Boot 2001" 16 12 — — — — — — 41 — 2003 "We Call It Love" — — — — — — — — — — 2006 "Vorbei" (featuring Ben) 28 — — — — — — — — — "Mr. DJ Put on the Red Light" (featuring Das Bo) 77 — — — — — — — — — 2020 "Let Yourself Go" — — — — — — — — — — 2021 "Das Boot (V2)" — — — — — — — — — — 2023 "Dance Hall Days" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
References
External links
[ AllMusicGuide profile]