For more than two decades, Rework have been refining their own strain of European minimalism—cool, clipped, and effortlessly groovy, yet always skirting easy categorization. First emerging on Playhouse in the early 2000s, their music captured the spirit of a time when house, techno, and electro were bleeding into each other in unexpected ways. Over the years, they’ve kept that same spirit alive, blending machine funk with post-punk detachment, a sound that never quite fits the mold but always finds its place on the right dancefloors.
With their new EP Disco Love, Rework continue to explore the tension between movement and restraint. The two-track release balances sleek, mechanical rhythms with an underlying push-and-pull dynamic—one track locked into a tight groove, the other brimming with controlled energy. It’s a reflection of their approach to production, where instinct leads and the groove dictates the next step.
In this interview, Rework talk about their Playhouse days, their flirtation with electroclash, and the challenges of existing in the in-between spaces of electronic music. They also reflect on how the shifting landscape of the industry has influenced their work, while staying true to their core ethos: making music that lasts.
Your early releases on Playhouse came at a time when minimal house was evolving in all directions. Looking back, what do you remember most about that era, and how do you think it shaped your approach to production?
At the time of our first Playhouse releases, we rented our first studio and threw together synths and machines. We were also part of a radio program team called “Monoton” in Stuttgart, where we discovered a lot of new music daily. The music we played on the radio inspired us to make music ourselves. We played a lot of Kompakt and Warp Vinyls around this time. It was about stripping things down without losing the funk. Playhouse had this fearless spirit—proper underground, no bullshit. Conny Plank was a huge influence, too—his ability to make machines breathe, to give electronic music that raw, human pulse, that’s the kind of energy we were chasing.
Rework has always been about a certain European cool—rigid, refined, but with this undercurrent of funk that keeps it moving. Has that balance been something you’ve consciously refined over the years, or is it just instinct at this point?
We always preferred to hear percussive funky minimal tracks in the club. That kind of coolness always fascinated us. To discover good melodies, we prefer to listen to the Beatles :). That’s why we don’t like melodic techno that much. We always loved this cool machine like European and especially German music ideas that we discovered in Kraftwerk and Krautrock. We alway share ideas and hope they will become a story but in the end it’s instinct that drives us. The trick is not overthinking it. We ride the groove until it tells us where to go
Your early work had strong connections to electroclash, yet you never fully fit into that scene’s more overtly flashy or ironic tendencies. Did you ever feel like outsiders in that movement, or was there a kinship in the way artists were pulling from post-punk and house at the same time?
We flirted with electroclash, but we were never part of it. Too much glam for us. There were some parallels in our sound, that’s all. Yes sure we always felt like outsiders we never were fully part of the clubs scene nor part of a kind of indie scene as a touring band. Think it’s still difficult to mix club music with post-punk indie elements. There’s still a gap between those scenes where only a few artists can build the bridge.We were obsessed with sounds and synths, always searching for something deeper than just a scene.
There’s a kind of push and pull between movement and restraint on ‘Disco Love’—the groove is undeniable, but there’s also a feeling of tension, like it’s holding something back. Was that dynamic something you were consciously playing with in the studio?
We like to bring a special dynamic range to our tracks, every song has a different character and the direction of the track also depends on who from us both started with the first idea. That can shape the final result of the release. When we work together in the studio it’s a try and error feeling in the arrangement and the way we are using synths and samples.
Both tracks on the EP have a stark, almost mechanical quality, but they hit in very different ways—one locked into a tight, clipped groove, the other swelling with pressure. Did they come together as a pair from the start, or was there a moment where you realized they belonged on the same release?
Yeah they were kind of a pair right from the start, just because they were produced in the same week and we felt that could work well on an EP without the pressure to fit into an album tracklist. At some point, we knew they belonged together—opposites that complete each other and we liked the contrast of both tracks.
Your music thrives in the in-between spaces—too sleek for raw techno, too taut for traditional house, too icy for disco. Has that been a challenge in terms of finding the right labels and audiences, or has it given you more freedom over the years?
You hit it exactly, that in between makes it really difficult also to get bookings and play live and dj gigs. But the freedom and a little smile comes back when we sometimes accidentally are visiting clubs all over the world and hear our music played by the djs and we see the good reaction on the dancefloor. If you’re too easy to categorize, you’re too easy to forget.
With six albums and a long string of EPs, your discography covers a lot of ground. Do you see a particular album or release as a turning point for Rework—something that changed the way you thought about your sound?
Every record shifts us a little, but the first album was the big bang. After that, we knew exactly who we were. With every release, we keep refining, cutting, sharpening the edge. — always searching for that one perfect sound. Sometimes we are not so happy with our sound compared to other productions we hear, but that’s okay for us.
Your remix credits are extensive, and you’ve had your work reinterpreted by some serious names. What’s the most unexpected direction you’ve heard one of your tracks taken in a remix?
We also love to be surprised by our remixers and the most unexpected versions come when we ask indie bands for a Remix like the Remixes by Jeans Team or Low Sea. There was one that turned a deep, brooding track into some mutant disco madness. Completely unexpected, but somehow, it worked.
You’ve been making music for more than two decades, a period where electronic music has shifted from vinyl culture to digital to streaming. Has that changed the way you approach releasing music, or do you still think in terms of EPs and albums rather than the single-driven model of today?
We still release more EPs and Albums than single tracks on our own label exlove but also on other labels. What we miss from our starting time with Playhouse are for sure the good vinyl sales and promotion without any social media pressure. Nowadays as an artist it’s fucking difficult to make good music when you have to spend most of your time with selfpromoting, videoediting and algorithms. Vinyl, digital, whatever—it’s about making something timeless, not disposable.