Achim Szepanski, renowned founder of the influential electronic labels Mille Plateaux and Force Inc., has passed away at the age of 67. The announcement of his death came via Force Inc.’s Instagram on September 25. Szepanski was not only a key figure in the German electronic music scene but also a noted author and philosopher.
His musical journey began against the backdrop of the post-punk era before he ventured into techno music in the 1980s through his Blackout label. In 1991, Szepanski established Force Inc., with the aim of delving into progressive techno and hardcore sounds, which included groundbreaking contributions from artists like Mike Ink and Alec Empire. However, he soon perceived the genre’s limitations, stating that innovative techno had become overly constricted for electronic music’s evolution.
According to Szepanski, record labels served as a form of praxis, adhering to strict moral and conceptual expectations. This philosophy led him to create the Mille Plateaux label in 1993, a move motivated partly by his criticism of the commercialization he saw within the rave culture—something he described as “Freizeitknast,” or “pleasure-prison.” The label’s name, influenced by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s work “Thousand Plateaus,” became synonymous with a diverse range of musical styles, particularly popularizing the glitch aesthetic, known as “clicks + cuts.”
Mille Plateaux emerged as Szepanski’s most significant venture, producing landmark albums from artists like Gas, Oval, Cristian Vogel, Frank Bretschneider, and Vladislav Delay before its closure in 2004. Following that, Szepanski sold the label to musician Marcus Gabler, who aimed to produce more mainstream releases, much to the dissatisfaction of Mille Plateaux’s loyal supporters. In a reunion in 2010, Gabler noted that Szepanski had stepped back from the music industry, expressing a disinterest in the label’s direction.
Despite his retreat from music, Szepanski remained active in publishing, focusing on anti-fascist philosophy and themes such as nothingness and nihilism through his Non-Copyriot platform. He reasserted control of Mille Plateaux in later years, reissuing some of his favored albums, including works by Thomas Köner and Simona Zamboli.
In a heartfelt tribute, colleague Lain Iwakura reflected on Szepanski’s role as a “friend, comrade, and kind of a queer parent,” acknowledging his unwavering spirit of resistance amidst a harsh world. Szepanski’s legacy within the electronic music landscape is indelible, marked by his uncompromising ideals and innovative contributions to the genre.