U96 is a techno music project formed by German producers Alex Christensen, Alberto Ingo Hauss, Helmut Hoikins, and Hajo Panarinfo, known for many of Eurodance's "classics" of the 1990s.
Its name is due to the famous film Das Boot on the German submarine of the Second World War U 96. The first success of the project, Das Boot (1991), is a techno / dance version of the credits of the film, composed by originated by Klaus Doldinger. The album of the same name also reached the first place of sales and prefigured the commercial development of techno in Germany.
The clearly experimental sound of 1980s electropop, ambient and disco influenced the following opus Replugged (1993) which was also a commercial success. Titles such as Love Sees No Color or Night in Motion, characterized by its engine and car sounds and typical "classic" techno-pop tunes, were among the top 10 sales. Quiet titles like The One Russian and Without You complete this album, which can be considered as precursors of the trip hop. The title Eve Of The War / War Of The Worlds has the theme The War of the Worlds whose text is explicitly mentioned.
The next album, Club Bizarre, released in 1995, marked a radical change in the "U96 sound". The album mixes the influences of techno-pop with the trance, musical genre very popular at this time, which dominates the entire album. The greatest hits of this album are the very fast Love religion (with Daisy Dee) and the eponymous title Club Bizarre with "classic" harmonics, later reused by Brooklyn Bounce.