the_empath, aka mike erkau, has been part of electronic music since 1993 and he started releasing his own work on cdrs in 1999. shortly after he began to do remixes for other artists and won the 2004 congress of media award in the audio category. the award was for his remix of 'no protection' (originally by utr). four years later he turned the tables by releasing the 'second earth remix project' which included remixes of his work by ab ovo, def, fractional, heimstatt yipotash, sunao inami and others (more info: www.subroom.com/second earth.html). at the same time as an media engineer and tutor, mike was able to acquire advanced technical skills in video technology. his live appearances are always combined with a video performance which is strictly balanced to the tracks (a good example is consider:noize and elektroanschlag). since 2005 he has been working as a video composer and vj for xabec (aka manuel g. richter; who also mastered the_empath's first album on hymen records: meanwhile). the_empath's music ranges between ambient and electronica with organic industrial audio components. a stimulating flow of imaginative soundscapes, complex rhythmic textures, mixtures of experimental electronics, field recordings and ground loops. crystal clear tones meet thrilling low frequencies. the result of this electronic crucible is a powerful mind infiltrating compound - in short, fans of good music will take a shine to mike erkau's work. enjoy! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.