My new Album 'SEROTONIN' is out now: https://armada.lnk.to/Serotonin

For Rune Reilly Kölsch, Kompakt has become a great label to call home. In 2013 the German imprint celebrated 20 years of record releases at the cutting edge of electronic music, championed in June by one of the most genre re-defining albums and personal music projects for an era: Kölsch’s landmark long player, ‘1977’.

A melodic autobiography on black wax, the Kölsch project has seen 36/37-year-old Rune take stock of a diverse and successful production career and draw upon his own personal beginnings: a nostalgia for childhood, family, friends and the confusion of applying his split-cultural heritage to what it means to think of ‘home’. As Rune freely admits, “being half Irish, half German and living in Denmark – it was all one big messy period of my life.” 

Born to hippie parents in the freetown of Christiania (a commune-like autonomous borough of the Danish capital Copenhagen) his childhood was spent surrounded by creativity. His mother was an artist whose family had roots in German politics and his father a singer songwriter who travelled through Asia playing music in the early 70's. Kölsch, however, did miss out on building friendships and found solace in making up “this imaginary world that I would spend days in,” before the family moved to Germany – a period of memories, relations and characters from which ‘1977’ derives its titles.

For Rune, the tracks he began building from 2010 took in this personal reflection, his being “completely locked in to reminiscing about what shaped me as a kid and into the individual that I am now” – contemplating his unique past to form the brickwork of ‘1977’, one of the most future-facing techno albums of recent years.

Influenced by hip hop, pop and the incredible legacy of Jeff Mills and Derrick May, Rune started producing in 1995, embarking on a string of success stories. In 2003 he released the multi-million selling, saxophone-infused ‘Calabria’, that saw collaboration requests pouring in from artists as diverse as Nicki Minaj, Shakira and Flo Rida. He then set up Tattoorecs – releasing pioneering underground tracks with no titles, just tattoos for artwork, that garnered critical acclaim and support from minimal and techno trailblazers such as Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, Magda, Tiefschwarz and Ricardo Villalobos.

This appreciation of the complete musical spectrum has gifted Rune with a devotion to groove and melodics and with it the dexterity to input real creative change to the genres he reveres, not least his beloved techno. “2010 was the year of the ketamine house wave, where the music was 118 bpm and everything was extremely boring”, reflects Rune. “I wanted some melodic techno, some energy back in this scene. People needed the energy to express themselves and go crazy for a bit.”

This notion faced opposition, even from within Rune’s close circles. But it was Kompakt founder Michael Mayer who had the insight to see what Kölsch was trying to achieve. Rune’s conviction that vibrations and melodics are the key to human response had tipped the balance, underlined by his experience as a hip hop DJ where he “needed something to catch me and drag me in. And that’s what techno should do!” Here too he drew on his love of Jeff Mills and Derrick May, recalling how “they used to make mistakes all the time. It would be a big mash of all kinds of stuff, but at least something was happening. That’s what I was missing and that’s what I’m trying to change with the Kölsch project.”

The result is ‘1977’, a personal collection of dancefloor destroyers that are continuing to send clubs and festivals across the globe into melodic supernova. Take this video of Kölsch’s set at Belgium’s I Love Techno festival, one of Rune’s 2013 highlights, where “people were doing sit downs, singing along to all the tracks”. Watch it. It puts the hairs up on the back of your neck. “The response was overwhelming,” said Rune in a recent interview with Mixmag (who named Kölsch as one of their ‘Stars Of 2013’), as “when you think about it, it was just a bunch of childhood memories with a kickdrum underneath.” 

Elsewhere he’s ripped up the airways with an acclaimed Essential Mix for Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, delivered his incendiary soundscape to Singapore’s world-renowned ZoukOut Festival, boomed his live show through the heaving basement of London’s XOYO and played the hallowed Space Terrace – in his words “a boyhood dream since I started going to Ibiza in 1999. That was what I wanted from life!” So opening Amnesia in 2014 with Joris Voorn will be a bonus then...

While these are reasons enough to keep the beaming smile beneath Kölsch’s trademark black fedora, his humility remains just as striking. While tracks like ‘Goldfisch’ have taken pivotal positions in the set lists of world class DJs from across the dance music spectrum – traversing the underground with Seth Troxler, while simultaneously providing credible new euphoric highs for the likes of Axwell – Rune remains joyously down to earth. All despite producing, with ‘1977’, an album that has crossed as many cultural and musical boundaries as his own childhood past.

From the face-twisting melodic drive of ‘Opa’ and ‘Bappedekkel’, to the chord-surfing piano groove of ‘Der Alte’ and the euphoric crescendos of ‘Lorely’, ‘Oma’ and ‘All That Matters’ (all hits in different countries), the fact remains that whether in your living room, on the dancefloors of the world’s greatest parties, or simply in your headphones on your way home, Kölsch’s ‘1977’ has re-defined techno and become an achievement that speaks for itself. 

Words: Phil Dudman – Clubs & Live Music Editor, Mixmag


Hot Since 82

Yokshire based DJ & Producer.

@KneeDeepInSound

Management: Jamesd@anglomanagement.co.uk
Bookings: SHogan@wmeentertainment.com
North, Central and South America:
andrew@liaisonartists.com
mariesa@liaisonartists.com

Carina Lawrence, a Melbourne-born DJ and producer, is a rising star in the in the London underground electronic music scene where she has fast earned a reputation as a top selector with her captivating sets.

Her performances are a symphony of melodic moments, soulful tribal grooves, and eclectic sonic influences, each one drawing revellers deeper into the music. With every beat, her focus and meticulous attention to detail shine through. In the booth, it’s pure connection as she creates and builds an atmosphere charged with energy that lingers long after the last track fades.

Carina’s deep appreciation for diverse soundscapes came to life in her debut solo release 'No Quit' on @mobileerecords Zoom Vol.1 compilation. The record gained support from some pioneers of the music industry including Sasha, John Digweed and Yotto. Her follow up release came as a 4-track EP 'Love Language' on @talktalk-records (a sub label of @bar25 ). The EP jumped into 9th spot on the Hype release indie dance chart on Beatport only days after it came out. 

Not one to be bound by the confines of genre, her sets are a masterful fusion of diverse soundscapes, earning her acclaim among top London promoters like Parable, Free From Sleep, LWE and Broadwick Live. Having already shared the bill alongside top-tier talent, Carina has been making her mark on global audiences. She has directly supported Jimi Jules, Trikk, Joris Voorn, Nora En Pure and Patrice Baumel during their UK shows and has shared the lineup with the likes of Carlita, Adriatique, Yotto, Dosem, Guy J, Jody Wisternoff, Henri Bergman and many more.

She has performed at iconic venues globally like Printworks, Drumsheds, Fabric, and E1, The Sanctuary Rome and has recently, been seen on the UK/European Festival circuit at Anjunadeep Explorations, Secret Garden Party and Junction 2. 

With over a decade-long journey marked by her authenticity and passion, Carina continues to push boundaries in her mission to deliver unforgettable dance floor experiences

This is the Official SoundCloud account for Richie Hawtin and contains all audio media from Richie’s career: releases, remixes, DJ mixes, Live shows and interviews. We invite everyone to listen and enjoy what will become the definitive audio history of Richie’s career from past to present. All this material will also be linked into the new richiehawtin.com website that is currently in development.

Please note that we will NOT answer any emails, listen to any demos or tracks, or follow any individuals that are sent to this account. QUESTIONS CAN BE SENT TO info@richiehawtin.com

Thanks and enjoy.

---- BOOKING CONTACT ----

Bookings // Love Letters: markus@return-booking.com 
Bookings for North and South America: rs@thebullittagency.com
Superfriends Records (Label Management): peter@superfriends.de


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