Moderat – Iii (Boxset)

The Moderat Iii (Boxset) vinyl release is one of the more ambitious physical editions to come out of the MUTE catalogue, a limited run of 5,000 copies that treats the third Moderat album not as a single record but as a complete document of where the project stood at its peak.

Moderat and the Weight of III

Moderat is the Berlin-based collaborative project bringing together Apparat and Modeselektor, two acts that had each built serious reputations in European electronic music before combining forces. Their work sits at the intersection of textured electronic production and melancholic songwriting, and III represents the culmination of that partnership before the group went on indefinite hiatus. Tracks like “Ghostmother,” “Animal Trails,” and “Ethereal” demonstrate the range the trio had developed across their catalogue: patient, detailed, emotionally direct. This is a project that earned its audience through craft rather than spectacle.

What the Moderat Iii (Boxset) Vinyl Actually Contains

This is a 6xLP, 3xCD box set on MUTE (catalog MUTE 696394), and the scope of what is included here is the real story. The records are spread across three distinct gatefold sleeves, each covering a different version of the album: the original album, a full instrumental version, and a remix collection alongside the experimental outtake suite titled “Invaluable Waste From The Outlying Districts.” That third sleeve alone makes this set unusual. Outtakes and experimental material rarely receive this kind of presentation, and hearing them sequenced across their own dedicated records gives the material room it would not have had tucked onto a bonus disc. The set also comes with a download voucher, and some copies include a poster.

Six Exclusive Remixes and Why the Format Matters

The remix component features six exclusive reworks, including contributions from NGHT DRPS, Hodges, Skee Mask, and Siriusmo, who shares a label home with Modeselektor and brings a distinctive sensibility to his rework of “Eating Hooks.” The Benhaming take on “Ethereal” and RK’s “More Ethereal” version round out a remix section that treats the source material as genuinely flexible rather than just promotional. For collectors, the appeal here is layered. You are getting a pressing limited to 5,000 copies worldwide, across six records in gatefold sleeves, covering the album in three distinct forms. The packaging is designed with intent. This is not a reissue with bonus content bolted on. It was built from the beginning to be the definitive physical version of III, and the catalog number, label, and tracklist confirm that nothing else gets you this full picture on wax.

Tracklist

1. EATING HOOKS
2. RUNNING
3. FINDER
4. GHOSTMOTHER
5. REMINDER
6. THE FOOL
7. THE INTRUDER
8. ANIMAL TRAILS
9. ETHEREAL
10. EATING HOOKS (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)
11. RUNNING (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)
12. FINDER
13. GHOSTMOTHER (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)
14. REMINDER (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)
15. THE FOOL (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)
16. INTRUDER (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION
17. ANIMAL TRAILS
18. ETHEREAL (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)
19. EATING HOOKS (NGHT DRPS REMIX)
20. REMINDER (HODGES MORE AMOR REMIX)
21. EATING HOOKS (SIRIUSMO REMIX)
22. ETHEREAL (BENHAMING DAMAGE REMIX)
23. INTRUDER (SKEEMASK REMIX)
24. ETHEREAL (MORE ETHEREAL BY RK)
25. INVALUABLE WASTE FROM THE OUTLYING
26. INVALUABLE WASTE FROM THE OUTLYING
27. INVALUABLE WASTE FROM THE OUTLYING