Fragma are a Germanvocal trance music group, originally comprising three producers. The group was successful in the early 2000s when they released several singles that charted successfully across Europe, especially the United Kingdom and Ireland, but also found some success in the United States and Australia. They continued to produce music until 2012 following the departure of vocalistDamae. After several years of hiatus, Fragma recruited a new vocalist in 2017, Tess, to front the group. She now does gigs in clubs around the world performing re-recorded remixes of Fragma's biggest hits.
Musical career
Founded in 1998 by brothers Dirk and Marco Duderstadt, they produced their first single "Toca Me" with record producerRamon Zenker. When it was released the following year, it topped several dancecharts around the world, and reached No. 11 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1999, a mash-up, "Toca's Miracle" was produced by DJ Vimto, taking the music of Fragma's "Toca Me" and placing the vocals from Coco Star's 1996 song "I Need a Miracle" over the instrumental. Originally released on Orbit Records in Germany, "Toca's Miracle" was also released in the UK on Positiva Records. It went straight to number one in the UK chart, and was popular in Australia and Ireland. "Toca's Miracle" was described as a “song that was never really meant to be” by Billboard's Michael Paoletta. An album was released in 2001; Toca, as well as two other singles; "Everytime You Need Me", which featured vocals by Maria Rubia, and "You Are Alive" with vocals by Damae. 2002 saw the Duderstadts set up their own studio, called Evergreen-Terrace. The same year saw Fragma still operating with vocalist Damae, release a second album; Embrace, with hit singles such as "Say That You're Here", "Embrace Me", "Man In The Moon" and "Time And Time Again". During this period, Fragma parted with their UK record label Positiva and released "Say That You're Here" in December 2001 on Illustrious Records. The song charted at No. 25 and a hiatus on the UK chart singles chart began which lasted for several years. Dirk and Marco are also currently working as a duo under their surnameDuderstadt. Two singles have been released under this name; "Sunrise" and "Taking Over" on Gang Go Records. A third single, "Mahananda", was released in 2005 on Afterglow Records. This was followed by the fourth single "Muhanjala" in 2006, and another featuring Anita Kelsey called "Smile" in 2007. The two are also known to produce under the name Inpetto. In 2006, Fragma released the new single "Radio Waves" together with Kirsty Hawkshaw. The track was co-written by Judie Tzuke. 2008 saw the release of "Toca's Miracle 2008" with the vocals of Coco Star and the InPetto remix of the original song. "Toca's Miracle 2008" reached #2 on the Australian ARIA Club Charts and #16 on the UK Singles Chart. Fragma commenced touring again with Damae throughout Europe, where they featured on the Dance Nation tour in the UK. "Memory" was released through Hard2Beat and Ultra Records, followed by "Forever and a Day", which was released in November 2009. In October 2012 Fragma announced through their official Facebook page that they have separated from singer Damae on 1 September 2012. This was on the same year as the release of their track "Thousand Times" and their collaboration with Akil Wingate "Where Do We Go", both of which featuring her vocals. She no longer represents Fragma in their live shows, yet they will continue working on new productions with a new singer. They have also announced planning a new live show in hopes to obtain an innovative, modern concept. As of 2017, Fragma have recruited a new vocalist, Tess, who is currently performing re-recorded and remixed versions of the group's biggest hits at live shows around the world.
