André Schmechta (born May 13, 1969) formed [[artist:72178]] together with his school-mate [[artist:859575]]. After a first single ([m=548356]), they were offered a contract by [[label:3768]] and subsequently changed their name to [[artist:308072]]. In 1992 André built his own [[label:308893]] (Thank God It’s Friday). Jörg left XMTP and was replaced by André’s younger brother Thorsten Schmechta (a.k.a. [[artist:603460]], born June 14, 1971). In 1998 he decided to leave the music business to concentrate on his family (he is married to Stefanie Eckmann, a.k.a. [[artist:190769]]) and his carreer as managing director of the online marketing agency *die zeitspringer*. Only ten years later André made a return to music.