Mendel weaves together different rhythms, intensities and emotions with precision and passion. His captivating sets reflect a broad spectrum of music plucked from anywhere in the last fifty years, from sweet boogie steppers and high-energy disco to deeper house, moody electro, and gritty acid tracks. Though his dance floors always move through moments of euphoria, Mendel favours the sensual moments over fist-pumping fixations. His party—and life—philosophy is to transcend quick entertainment and strive for something meaningful. This ethos resonates with audiences worldwide who seek genuine and heartfelt experiences. Whether playing on a wild boat, a big festival stage or in the darkness of an intimate club, Mendel’s sensitive perception and proficiency, honed over two decades of experience, are ever evident. 

In his hometown of Amsterdam, Mendel hosts the Ciranda parties, a community-driven event series. Ciranda’s programming platforms upcoming talent, unsung heroes, and the occasional legend, while its loyal and diverse dancers bring a truly special, warm energy that is hard to come by.

uk/eu bookings: nevan@klsbookings.com
au/nz bookings: james@watartists.com 


@georgia-bird-3 + @djsarahmorgan

other: sarah@neurotiqerotiq.com
+ georgia@neurotiqerotiq.com

~~ 

upcoming shows: https://ra.co/dj/IN2STELLAR/tour-dates

We also run monthly-ish parties // 
Neurotiq Erotiq

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


#Stranger ft. Elliphant out now: http://smarturl.it/Stranger.PD

"Peking Duk not only tastes good, but it sounds even better” – Tommy Trash

Management/Remixes/Enquiries: 
ben@myriadmgmt.com

Aus/NZ Bookings: 
guven@vitaartists.com

North/South America Bookings:
rob@spinartistagency.com

Asia Bookings:
robb@supermodifiedagency.com

Heritage Gardens Open Air - Jan 10 2026

Aus Bookings: james@watartists.com 
Bandcamp: https://waxoparadiso.bandcamp.com/


'Over the past 10 years, Simon TK and Edd Fisher have built, curated and cultivated the now-institution that is Wax’o Paradiso. Wax’o Paradiso’s holistic approach to music sees the esteemed outfit working as hard behind the scenes as they do behind the decks. Harnessing a harmonious balance between stalwart DJ duo, ever-reliable events series and recently founded record label, Wax’o Paradiso’s offerings have cajoled a passionate and dedicated community predicated on a commitment to creating playful and positive dancefloor experiences. 

Wax’o Paradiso’s once theatrically themed events remain charismatic - roving, leftfield locations, expert production and longform DJ sets from Wax’o Paradiso and like minded guests create place and space to elate. As DJs, the duo presents a sonic frontier with unparalleled synergy. Each rapturous journey, a cosmic concertina of rare groove and psychedelia that illuminates the vast reservoir that is Wax’o Paradiso’s ineffable musical knowledge and technical skill. The resultant long-lasting, high-impact performances almost always unfurl in moments that push exultant crowds to soar together in shared states of dancefloor freedom and energetic ecstasy. It’s with this mantle that the duo have a consistent and far reaching presence, amassing frequent club and festival appearances both near and far. 

Together, the pair also co-run the newly established Wax’o Paradiso Recordings, a label devoted to unearthing contemporary antipodean sounds spanning the soothing and the psychedelic, as well as a collection of spirited mixtapes - an expanding back catalogue that’s sure to keep your heart warm and your body moving.'

Words - Pjenne

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