Kölsch
Origin: None
For danish native Kölsch, Kompakt is the “perfect label” to call “home”. The much -‐ revered Cologne-‐based imprint released Kölsch albums “1977”,”1983” and “1989” continuing a tradition of providing ground breaking and genre-‐defining cuts. Kölsch’s work has proved to rewrite the rulebook on techno production, setting it on a melodic, emotion-‐induced course and his critically acclaimed albums “1977”, “1983” and “1989” are full of timeless tracks such as Loreley, Opa, Goldfisch, All that Matters, Cassiopeia, Grey and draws inspiration from his culturally diverse upbringing. Kölsch noting himself, “being half Irish, half German and living in Denmark – it was all one big messy period of my life.” Living in Christiania, an anarchic hippie commune in Copenhagen while spending school summers in Germany with his grandparents, he recalls how “1977” was a product of “reminiscing about what shaped me as a kid” and “the weird ideas and concepts I had on my mind at the time.” While Kölsch attributes the emotion of “1977” to the “solace” and “imaginary world that I would spend days in,” the description of ‘1983’ was as a “travel album,” sound tracking the first year he travelled through Europe aged six. The sentimentality is clear; a vibrant and picturesque journey. With the 3rd album “1989”, “we have arrived in my early teens”, Kölsch explains, “a difficult time in my life, where I mostly just remember the greyness of it all – grey feelings, grey weather and my own grey face. I would escape that grey world on my skateboard, listen to my Walkman as I explored the city around me. Music became my saviour – the only way to overcome my family’s hard times. I found a soundtrack to my grey life, and suddenly there was color.” It’s why you’ll find several tracks on the album being named “grey” in different languages, and they all share this distinctly “Kölsch-esque” moment of epic melodies breaking through propulsive techno beats like the sun through stormy clouds and it must have touched a nerve since the lead single “Grey” became a big hit with over 2 million views on YouTube, 10 Millions streams on Spotify and went straight to BBC Radio 1 daytime radio. Kölsch continues his run pushing his own boundaries even further by expanding his own IPSO residency in Cologne at Gewölbe, where he is plays up to 9 Hours, – doing iconic DJ sets at DC 10, fabric and Berghain/Panorambar, – his infamous live stream on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris followed by 5 million people online, – having one of the biggest club hits with his remix of London Grammars “Hell to the Liars”, – his worldwide album tour, which saw him touch down in Miami, London, Berlin, Paris, San Francisco, Milan, New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo, Cologne, Hasselt, Dublin, Glasgow, Sydney, Melbourne, – and on top of that playing Coachella and the main stage at Tomorrowland in 2018.
