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


Circus Recordings / Circus Events 







What more can be said about Yousef…

A leading figurehead in dance music. A man who has lived and breathed house music since he was a teenager, with over 20 years of dedication to the global electronic music scene, his contribution can’t be over exaggerated. Yousef, constantly pushing his own creative and artistic boundaries, while he is considered one of the best, most skilful and most respected UK DJs of all time. 

Yousef has now completed his 5th artist album, the truly accomplished “I Operate in Purple”.
The project has invited a series of world class musicians and singers to help Yousef realise his ambition to release a 14-track legacy project that leans upon his two decades in at the forefront of house music and plans to stand up next to the great dance music albums of our time. IOP eloquently manoeuvrers through original vocals, radio ready crossover and the emotive underground. Each track comes with its own individual and original 3D video that reveals the narrative Yousef has created. This is easily Yousef most unforgettable work he has ever created. 

Yousef’s powerhouse record label Circus Recordings has released music from many of the world’s most significant names, from Carl Cox to Kerri Chandler to Green Velvet to Jamie Jones, all while breaking completely new artists from all over the world directly to give them a much-needed platform. The record label runs parallel his equally globally respected Circus Events, where Yousef holds one of the longest and most important DJ residencies in the history of UK club culture. 

Circus at Blackstone Warehouse is the UK’s most cutting-edge warehouse venue. In term of sound, lights and staging there is nothing like it in the UK. Circus has invited names from Peggy Gou to Pawsa, Bicep to Ewan McVicker, Chris Stussy to Micheal Bibi and literally every major name in electronic music to join Yousef at his two decades long party… 

Yousef’s prolific music output consistently sees his music in the boxes of every major DJ from Joseph Capriati, Marco Carola, Carl Cox, Fisher, The Blessed Madonna, Seth Troxler, Honey Dijon and everyone. 
in-between 

Yousef has released more music on the world’s best record labels than almost any other artist in his field. Seminal releases on Crosstown Rebels, Desolat, Cocoon, Moon Harbour, Knee Deep in Sound, Defected, Hard Times, Renaissance and of course his own legendary Circus Recordings.

Yousef’s trusted voice led him to be requested to represent electronic music community for a private meeting with ‘HRH Prince William’ the future King of England, and later with many leading MP’s, to relay the difficulties dance music is facing through before and since covid. These efforts helped pave the way for Yousef’s Circus event to be asked to take on the colossal task to organise ‘The First Dance’, the world’s first sanctioned music test event since covid struck… The monumental event captured the attention of the entire world and its major media, with 7 billion online and news engagements, and is now cited as ‘one of the most significant moments in electronic music history”’. Yousef & Circus were given the BBC “Impact Award” on Radio One for all the work done to help the music industry in 2021

Multi Format International Dj 
Management & Bookings Via bookings@six15events.com

Enjoy my latest mixes & sets for you to download & enjoy .

One Of Manchesters Top Commercial and House Dj's ,  Carl kennedy has been long established in the Manchester and North West Area , not to be confused with his namesake based in the Usa & Australia http://soundcloud.com/carlkennedy

Carl is well established in the Manchester Area , been resident Dj at some of the key Clubs & Nights over the past 20 years .
His regular weekly gigs attract over 3500 people per week , and his following with the student population Of manchester is "Legendary" as he has played at many SU parties including the long established AU Social , Vodka Island , Torremelinos , Madferret Festival & Even the Student Night at The Hacienda .

Carl's crowd pleasing style also earned him a resident spot at ES PARADIS IBIZA in 2001 & 2002 , playing at the very successful disco inferno and deja vu nights , an unbelievable experience playing sets at one of the worlds most beautiful clubs and most prominent dj booths you can ever see . Whilst on the island i also ended up playing at Kanya , Itaca , Trops and Chac Mool too .

Carl was also resident at Manchester Superclub PURE for 4 years banging out huge electro & trance anthems to over 2000 clubber's in the Main Room Every Weekend , until it fell vitcim of the superclub closing culture in May 2011 , but proud to say i was blessed to do that immense gig !!

You can find Carl at the following current venues in Manchester -- Selfridges (Official Instore DJ) & Revolution Deansgate Locks , Velvetine in Lytham , Revolution Blackpool .

Enjoy the mixes & see you at one of my gigs soon !!!

any comments please hashtag #ckbangers on twitter !
CARL K d-_-b

Jamie is a DJ/Producer from Dublin, Ireland.

For bookings contact : 
jamieennis1995@yahoo.com

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