Ferry Corsten
ATB is the stage name of German DJ, composer and music producer André Tanneberger, born on 26 February 1973 in Freiberg, then part of East Germany. His career spans more than three decades of electronic music, from the Eurodance of the early 1990s to trance, progressive house, ambient, chillout and contemporary dance-pop. ATB achieved international fame with 9 PM (Till I Come), but his catalogue extends far beyond a single hit and includes Don't Stop!, The Summer, Let U Go, Hold You, Ecstasy, Marrakech, Renegade, What About Us, Apollo Road and Your Love (9PM).
ATB belongs to a generation of German producers who helped take melodic European club music far beyond the specialist scene in the late 1990s. His early recordings were distinguished by an instantly recognisable synthesiser sound reminiscent of an electric guitar, while his later work became considerably broader, blending trance with vocal pop, atmospheric electronica and more relaxed instrumental compositions. This duality — music for the dancefloor and music for home listening — runs through a significant part of his album discography.
From Freiberg to His Own Studio
André Tanneberger was born in Freiberg, Saxony. He spent his childhood in East Germany before his family later moved to the western part of the country. Tanneberger's musical interests gradually shifted from playing instruments towards synthesisers, tape recorders and independent experimentation with sound. His fascination with electronic music production ultimately shaped his professional career.
In the early 1990s, an important role in his development was played by German producer Thomas Kukula, also known for the project General Base. After gaining the opportunity to work professionally in a studio, Tanneberger began releasing his own music, and in 1993 his first notable project, Sequential One, emerged.
Sequential One: The Career Before ATB
Sequential One operated within the musical territory typical of the European scene of the 1990s, somewhere between dance, Euro house and Eurodance. The project began releasing singles in 1993 and later developed into a full-fledged group. Among its best-known recordings were My Love Is Hot and Dreams. Alongside his own music, Tanneberger gained experience as a remixer, working with material by Technotronic, Haddaway, U96, The Outhere Brothers and other artists.
By the end of the decade, the Sequential One format had begun to limit Tanneberger's musical ideas. In 1998, he launched his solo project ATB. The name was formed as an abbreviation of his own name, and the first track released under the new project would almost immediately transform the scale of his career.
9 PM (Till I Come): The Melody That Changed His Career
9 PM (Till I Come) was first released in 1998. At the heart of the track was a short melodic phrase built around a distinctive pitch-sliding effect. Although it is often referred to as the “ATB guitar,” the famous sound was created using an electronic instrument and processing, merely resembling a guitar part. A similar sonic idea later appeared in Don't Stop!.
The true international breakthrough came in 1999. In the British UK Singles Chart, 9 PM (Till I Come) reached number one and remained at the top for two weeks. It finished as the fifth best-selling single of 1999 in the UK. For a German producer previously known primarily within the continental European scene, the success moved his career into an entirely different commercial league.
His debut album, Movin' Melodies, followed in April that same year. Alongside 9 PM, it included Don't Stop!, while the album as a whole already demonstrated that Tanneberger's interests extended beyond club singles. More energetic dance tracks appeared alongside calmer, melodic electronic pieces.
Two Worlds and the Development of His Own Musical Language
Rather than endlessly repeating the formula of his first hit, ATB quickly began expanding his sound. Released in 2000, the album Two Worlds was conceived as two distinct musical parts. The first disc, The World of Movement, focused on his dancefloor-oriented side, while the second, The Relaxing World, explored chillout and ambient music. Among the album's guests was Canadian singer Heather Nova, while German project York contributed to Fields of Love.
This concept would later become one of the defining characteristics of ATB's albums. Tanneberger never regarded himself solely as a club DJ: alongside dance tracks, he regularly recorded slower instrumental music, atmospheric compositions and songs centred around guest vocalists.
Dedicated, Let U Go and Collaborations with Vocalists
The third studio album, Dedicated, arrived in 2002. During this period, the signature sound of ATB's early singles gradually gave way to richer arrangements, piano parts and a greater emphasis on vocals. Canadian singer Roberta Carter Harrison became an important contributor to this phase of his career, providing vocals for Hold You and the original version of Let U Go.
ATB was increasingly moving away from relying on a single recognisable synthesiser technique. Melody itself, the progression of a composition and the combination of club rhythms with fully developed song structures became more important to his work. This approach is particularly evident in recordings from the first half of the 2000s.
Addicted to Music and No Silence
Addicted to Music was released in 2003. The album continued ATB's melodic, vocal-driven direction and included I Don't Wanna Stop and Long Way Home. Roberta Carter Harrison once again served as one of the project's principal vocalists.
The following album, No Silence, released in 2004, produced two tracks that would become among ATB's most recognisable works: Marrakech and Ecstasy. Both feature vocals by British singer Tiff Lacey. The album showcased Tanneberger's characteristic combination of gentle vocal melodies, trance rhythms, piano and atmospheric layers of synthesisers particularly well.
Ecstasy became one of ATB's signature tracks alongside 9 PM. The two recordings, however, belong to very different stages of his development: while his debut hit was built around an immediately recognisable instrumental motif, Ecstasy represents the more mature, vocal-oriented side of his music.
Trilogy and the Two Sides of ATB's Music
Following the compilation Seven Years: 1998–2005 and the The DJ — In the Mix series of DJ compilations, Tanneberger returned to the studio-album format with Trilogy in 2007. The project once again emphasised the contrast between dancefloor-oriented and more relaxed electronic music. Heather Nova was among its most prominent guest performers, recording several songs with ATB, including the single Renegade.
German musician and songwriter Jan Löchel was also a regular contributor to songs from this period. His voice can be heard on ATB tracks including Believe in Me, Feel Alive and What About Us. Löchel's role in Tanneberger's catalogue is therefore considerably more significant than a simple list of guest appearances might suggest.
Future Memories and Distant Earth
The album Future Memories was released in 2009. By this point, ATB was no longer attempting to fit within a narrow definition of classic trance: his recordings freely combined trance, progressive house, vocal dance music and more relaxed forms of electronica. During the same period, Tanneberger continued to tour extensively and remained a prominent figure on the international club scene.
In 2011, he released the double album Distant Earth. The first disc was devoted primarily to vocal and club-oriented material, while the second focused on more atmospheric music. The album featured two collaborations of particular interest to trance audiences: Apollo Road with Dash Berlin and Vice Versa with Armin van Buuren.
Contact and ATB in Concert
ATB's ninth studio album, Contact, was released in January 2014. It continued the two-part approach of his later releases, combining song-based and dancefloor material with a separate selection of calmer electronic music. Contributors included JES, York, Jan Löchel, Tiff Lacey, Sean Ryan and Stanfour. In Germany, Contact reached number five on the national albums chart.
By this time, Tanneberger was also developing the ATB in Concert format, which differed from a conventional DJ performance through the involvement of live musicians and vocalists. The project toured the United States among other territories, with concerts taking place in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
neXt and Further Work Beyond the Album Cycle
In April 2017, ATB released his tenth studio album, neXt. Tanneberger once again brought together club tracks and more relaxed material, working both with performers familiar from his previous releases and with new collaborators. Within ATB's discography, the record became his final full-length studio release for an extended period.
His studio work did not stop, however. Individual singles and collaborative projects continued to appear over the following years. In 2019, ATB and Markus Schulz joined forces for the first time on the track Heartbeat.
Your Love (9PM): The Return of His Defining Melody
In 2021, ATB revisited the melody that had launched his solo career. Together with German producer Topic and Swedish singer A7S, he recorded Your Love (9PM) — not a conventional remix, but a new composition built around the familiar motif from 9 PM (Till I Come). The track was released on 15 January 2021.
The project became one of ATB's biggest commercial successes more than twenty years after the original recording. Your Love (9PM) reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart and spent 27 weeks on the main British chart. The melody that had first made Tanneberger an international star in 1999 therefore returned to the UK Top 10 in an entirely different era of the music industry.
New Music and The Final Chapter
Following the success of Your Love (9PM), Tanneberger continued releasing new music. His subsequent work included That Feeling with TRAVYP and Highs and Lows, recorded with Au/Ra and York. DJ Mag highlighted both tracks as further examples of ATB's characteristic combination of melodic songwriting and an energetic dance foundation.
In 2024, ATB announced his intention to bring the album chapter of his discography to a close with one final full-length project. The release was later given the title The Final Chapter and rescheduled for 2026. Tanneberger stressed, however, that this did not mean he was retiring from music: after his final album, he intended to continue releasing individual tracks and performing. One of the songs introduced during this new phase was Believe in Love, featuring vocals by Sean Farrugia.
At the same time, the The Final Chapter World Tour was launched. ATB's official touring schedule includes performances across Europe and beyond, ensuring that live appearances remain an important part of his career even after the announced conclusion of his studio-album format.
What Makes ATB's Sound Recognisable
ATB's sound has never remained completely unchanged. His early tracks were immediately identifiable by the famous synthesised “guitar” timbre, but Tanneberger quickly avoided turning the technique into a permanent formula. During the 2000s, piano harmonies, extended melodic lines, male and female vocals and the contrast between energetic club tracks and almost meditative chillout compositions became far more important.
For this reason, describing ATB exclusively as a trance DJ does not fully reflect the breadth of his work. Trance remains at the heart of his musical biography, but his catalogue also incorporates progressive house, ambient, dance-pop, downtempo and other forms of electronic music. Tanneberger himself has described his DJ approach as “emotional, energetic dance music”.
The longevity of his career is also reflected in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs ranking. ATB appeared in the poll for more than two decades; he reached number eleven in both 2009 and 2010 and, many years later, continued to remain inside the Top 100 — for example, ranking at number 59 in 2025.
ATB Studio Albums
- Movin' Melodies — 1999
- Two Worlds — 2000
- Dedicated — 2002
- Addicted to Music — 2003
- No Silence — 2004
- Trilogy — 2007
- Future Memories — 2009
- Distant Earth — 2011
- Contact — 2014
- neXt — 2017
This core discography is supplemented by numerous compilations, the The DJ — In the Mix and Sunset Beach DJ Session series, remixes, live projects and standalone singles. ATB's official catalogue confirms the sequence of his studio albums from Movin' Melodies through to neXt.
ATB's Place in the History of Electronic Music
ATB did not emerge at the beginning of trance history, so it is more accurate to regard him not as one of the genre's founders but as one of the artists who played a key role in its international popularisation around the turn of the millennium. 9 PM (Till I Come) arrived at the centre of the British trance boom of 1999, when club music was rapidly moving into mainstream culture.
Tanneberger's significance, however, is not defined by that historic moment alone. His subsequent albums demonstrated that ATB could exist beyond the formula of his first hit: from the concept of two musical worlds on Two Worlds and the vocal-driven material of the No Silence era to the atmospheric second discs of his later albums and the successful reinterpretation of 9 PM more than two decades after the original.
ATB's catalogue therefore represents not only a document of the commercial trance era, but also the story of one producer's long-term evolution — from the European dance scene of the early 1990s to contemporary international electronic music.
