Slam

The Slam project was created in Berlin in 1994.

It brings together the same production team as the M & M Crew project—Mike Michaels and Mark “MM” Dollar (aka Triple M)—and shares the same label, Triple M-EMI Edition. The group is built around singer Axina Schönfeld and rappers Stefan “Steve” Schleickman and Sten Mehlhorn.

Steve and Sten have been friends since school. After graduating from university in 1993, they form their own group called Toasters and create a raggamuffin backing track that they perform in Berlin pubs. Axina, born in Berlin but raised in Toronto, Canada, daughter of renowned jazz musician Friedhelm Schönfeld and chanson singer Gipsy Schönfeld, returns to Berlin in 1994 to continue her studies in singing, piano, and acting. She meets Sten and Steven during one of their performances at the Zoo club and invites them to a session in her producer’s studio. Although her initial intention was to record a soul album, Steve and Sten convince her to move toward dancefloor grooves.

The music for the first single, Back To Music, is composed by Mike Michaels and MM Dollar. The lyrics are written by Mike Michaels, MM Dollar, Sten Mehlhorn, and Axina Schönfeld. The track is mixed at Magic Groove Studio in London and is followed by a CD of remixes.

The next single, We Get Around, features a different team: the music is composed by Empty and Willigerodh (also producers), and the lyrics are written by Samira Besic (also a singer on this track) and Douglas John Wilgrove. Recording again takes place at Magic Groove Studio.

In 1995, the single U Got To Know (Doodappenbadappen) features guest rapper Giorgio.

In 1996 the single Crazy is released, with Mark Tabak joining to contribute to composition, production, and arrangements. It is recorded at Kit-Cat Flower Studios in Los Angeles. The cover notes “taken from the forthcoming album”. A remix is produced by Amir Saraf and Ulli Brenner.

Alongside the Slam project, Axina Schönfeld performs extensively in clubs, concert halls, and on television, and takes part in many studio productions—whether as a trio, quartet, big band, or with a symphony orchestra. Across her various projects, she collaborates with many acclaimed artists such as Chris Walden, Malcolm Luker, Neil Stubenhaus, Walter Norris, Reinhold Heil, Udo Arndt, Curt Cress, the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, and Friedhelm Schönfeld. She also releases a solo jazz album titled *When we make love*.