Ayla — Nirwana. Story behind the album

How many cases have there been when a remix by an outside musician turned out to be more popular than the original? And how many cases have there been when a remix by an outside musician influenced the entire future sound of the project? That’s exactly what happened with Ayla. In the first half of the nineties, 30-year-old Ingo Kunzi made heavy techno and played records in the southern regions of Germany. In 1995, sitting in the studio with a girl, he got the inspiration to record something beautiful. The girl’s name was Ayla, so the track was named after her, and later the whole project.

Ingo Kunzi

For support, Ingo turned to Ralph Beck, nicknamed Diver or Taucher in German. It was in a diver’s suit that the skinny Ralph made his way to the club to listen to Sven Väth’s set in his youth. In the mid-90s, Taucher was a rising star and worked behind-the-scenes with the pioneer of German trance music (and half of the future York band) Torsten Stenzel. “Taucher also was a good influence, he often whistled melodies and I just played them. We were a really good team,” Torsten recalled.

This is how the remix must have been created, which not only repeatedly surpassed and eclipsed the pale original, but also determined what the sound of the project should be. The public was already used to it: the track was repeatedly licensed in Asia and Europe, present in European charts, covered and used in ads. Maybe another one? Sure thing: Ingo, Torsten and Ralph teamed up once again and the second record sold like hot cakes. And in 1998, when, with the support of the British label Positiva, Ayla entered the UK charts, it became obvious: they needed to prepare a debut LP. It’s an album of one sound, but it gives a good idea of the semi-pop side of trance music of the 90s.