History
X Marks the Pedwalk was founded by Sevren Ni-Arb (born André Schmechta, May 13, 1969) in 1987. Schmechta - himself a classically trained musician - became interested in synthesizers at an early age, and found himself part of several bands after he was able to buy his first keyboard at the age of 16. At that time, with influences such as Skinny Puppy, Kraftwerk, and DAF, Schmechta started a band called Scarecrow with his school-mate Regan Eracs (born Jörg Böhme).
Shortly after releasing their first single, 1988's "Black Door", the members of Scarecrow were offered to sign to German DJ Talla 2XLC's new record label, Zoth Ommog. Thereafter, the project name was changed to X Marks the Pedwalk, and both members adopted pseudonyms for themselves.
Schmechta, who did the writing, production, and engineering of all X Marks the Pedwalk tracks, was the only consistent member throughout X Marks the Pedwalk’s history. After the release of the first album, Freaks, and then the "Cenotaph" single, Böhme left the band in 1992 to pursue other interests, and Schmechta enlisted the help of his brother Raive Yarx (born Thorsten Schmechta, June 14, 1971).
At this time, Schmechta decided to focus on music as a career, and built T.G.I.F. Studios (an acronym for "Thank God It's Friday!"). Although a new member had arrived, X Marks the Pedwalk's musical style did not change drastically until after the Schmechta brothers' first two efforts together: Human Desolation and The Killing Had Begun. 1995's single "Facer", however, saw the combination of "Techno-Dance and Crossover-Industrial with EBM-elements". The final two X Marks the Pedwalk albums, Meshwork and Drawback, received favorable reactions by many fans within Europe, and thanks to the latter's release by Metropolis Records, helped build an extended fanbase in North America. Some listeners, however, rejected the new sound of X Marks the Pedwalk (see Meshwork).
André Schmechta put aside his work on X Marks the Pedwalk in the late 90's (along with his multitude of side-projects) to concentrate on his family and career. He is married to Stefanie Eckmann (born March 21, 1969) who has contributed vocals to X Marks the Pedwalk under the name Estefania, and has two children: Lennard Christian and Luis Maximilian.
X Marks the Pedwalk returned in late 2009/early 2010 with a new album and single, with live shows in 2010.
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