DEFTR, pronounced “de-future,” is the Berlin-based collaborative project of Patrick Gräser, better known as Answer Code Request, and pianist, producer and sound designer Jan Wagner.

The project developed from an established studio relationship. Wagner contributed sound design to Gräser’s 2018 Answer Code Request album Gens, before the pair began releasing music together through a run of three EPs in 2021: Yes I, Out Of and Kreuzberg 05. Across these recordings, they moved beyond fixed distinctions between ambient, electronica and club music, bringing Gräser’s intricate rhythmic language into contact with Wagner’s melodic restraint and detailed approach to sound.

Their debut album, Run Away, arrived through npm in 2024. Spanning eight tracks, the record shifts between atmospheric electronics, fractured percussion, techno, low-slung breakbeats and processed vocal fragments. Rather than settling into one defined style, the album established DEFTR as a project built around movement between forms, balancing introspective listening with the physical pull of the dance floor.

This openness also shapes their live performances. Working with drum machines, synthesisers and hardware, DEFTR reinterpret their recorded material in real time, allowing the compositions to remain fluid and responsive. In February 2025, the duo presented the project live at Säule in Berghain, transforming the textures and rhythms of Run Away into an immersive live set.

The biographical and discographical details are supported by DEFTR’s RA profile, Jan Wagner’s official credits and npm’s album information. Their Berghain hardware performance took place at Säule in February 2025.