Aquagen

Aquagen is a German electronic music duo made up of producers Gino Montesano and Olaf Dieckmann. The project is also sometimes credited under their real names, Olaf Dieckmann & Gino Montesano.

In the early 2000s, Aquagen made a major impact with tracks such as Ihr seid so leise and Partyalarm. Their remix of Hard To Say I’m Sorry became a key reference, while Phatt Bass (Blade) established itself as a rave staple. The duo also collaborated with Rozalla on “Everybody’s Free” and with Ingo Appelt on “Tanz für mich”.

Their career is tied to strong dance chart results and several accolades. In 2000, Ihr Seid So Leise earned a gold certification in Germany for over 250,000 units sold, and Phatt Bass also went gold in Denmark for over 5,000 units sold. That same year brought nominations for the Echo, VIVA Comet and Amadeus awards as “Best Dance Act”. In 2002, Hard To Say I’m Sorry reached No. 1 in the GDP year-end charts (German DJ Playlist). In 2003, the project received further nominations (Echo, Dance Award and Amadeus) in the same category.

From 2008 onward, Aquagen issued new versions and continued releasing music. A modern rework of Blade, made with Swedish producer Ali Payami and Warp Brothers, hit No. 1 in the dance charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and entered the Media-Control charts. In 2009, Hard To Say I’m Sorry 2K9 was followed by the best-of album So Far So Good, marking 10 years of Aquagen.

In 2011, Ihr Seid So Leise! 2011 (scheisse, scheisse leise) set new records in the German dance charts, entered the Media Control charts, and was supported by the “Ihr Seid So Leise Tour”. In 2013, Sirens with Romez & Damark was released on 29/11/2013 and reached the Top 10 of the dance charts. In 2015, Aquagen released Yeah and Back Again with Freddy Fader, issued Wacko, and reached No. 1 in the German dance charts with Here Without you 2.0 alongside Andrew Spencer (released in October).

In 2016, The Love Tonight with RUSSO came out on the Musical Madness label and was played at many festivals, while Hard to Say I’m Sorry 2016 (released in September) reached No. 1 in the official German dance charts after four weeks of promotion. Further releases with RUSSO included You Are My Universe (2017), Eternity (2017) and It Ain’t Right (2018). In October 2018, Tarantella Dance was released, used in a TV commercial across German channels, and reached the Top 10 of the German dance charts. In 2019, Aquagen released More Than This, a rework of a classic by Roxy Music.

Alongside the duo’s output, Gino Montesano is presented as the project’s producer and leading figure, credited with more than one billion streams across various projects. Aquagen are also announced for festivals such as Parookaville, Airbeat One and World Club Dome.