Kölsch x ANNA w. Airrica and Kotiēr by Gray Area

Who they are

• 

  Kolsch

  Denmark · 6 bookings since Oct 2023

  “For Danish Native Rune Reilly Kölsch, Kompakt is the “perfect label” to call “home.””

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  For Danish Native Rune Reilly Kölsch, Kompakt is the “perfect label” to call “home.” The much-­‐ revered Cologne-­‐based imprint released Kölsch’s seminal LP ‘1977’ in 2013, continuing a tradition of providing ground breaking and genre-­‐defining cuts. Kölsch’s work proved to rewrite the rulebook on techno production, setting it on a melodic, emotion-­‐induced course. Kölsch returns to Kompakt this year with his long-­‐awaited album ‘1983,’ a veritable master class from one of techno’s very best. Kölsch, Rune’s primary and personal project, is a medium for the narration of his life through sonic soundscapes. Rune’s first critically acclaimed album release, ‘1977’, which is full of timeless tracks such as Loreley, Opa, Oma and Goldfisch, signifies the year of his birth and draws inspiration from his culturally diverse upbringing. Rune himself notes, “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, Rune 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 Rune attributes the emotion of ‘1977’ to the “solace” and “imaginary world that I would spend days in,” he describes ‘1983’ as a “travel album,” sound tracking the first year he travelled through Europe aged six. The sentimentality is clear; the journey is vibrant and picturesque. Rune describes the experience of traveling from Denmark through Europe to the South of France as driving from “cold northern winter through the spring into the summer.” Kölsch continues to perform to the highest calibre, serving an acclaimed Essential Mix for Pete Tong to the BBC Radio 1 listeners, setting the Fabric main room alight with his sound, playing Space Terrace – in his words “a boyhood dream since I started going to Ibiza in 1999” and opening Ushuaia in 2015. Kölsch has continued this run of global domination with his Australian Tour, South American Tour and also the Ibiza commitments in 2015, where he’s also playing Space and Amnesia + closing Ushuaia with Antz. Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac has shown her undying support, noting 'that man is sort of King when it comes to pianos and House music. He’s got a way of wrenching your emotions.' Continuing his exploration of the complete musical spectrum, Kölsch has also given Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars”, a characteristically extended remix that improves upon the original in every conceivable way. Rune describes how ‘1983’ has been over two years in the making. The result is an elegant, anthemic, transcendent soundtrack, which engulfs the listener from the outset. A sonic coupling of classical composition and contemporary production, the addition of Gregor Schwellenbach's emotive orchestral strings blend in harmony with the beat-­‐laden percussion, offering a symphony of sound unheard in the techno spectrum. The final track ‘Papageno,’ taking its name from the main character in the play the ‘Magic Flute,’ is about Rune’s revelation while watching that very play. It dawned on him that “the whole higher establishment of the German upper-­‐middle class” were instead of watching the stage, looking at him, “this little hippie kid, and they did not approve of me being a part of their society.” With Waa Industry supplying the melancholic vocals, the track serves as a plaintive end to the cathartic experience that is ‘1983.’
  SoundCloud ↗Bandcamp ↗
  Their RA profile lists Kompakt, Green, FM X, Sound Of Copenhagen and 1 more.

  Recently at Avant Gardner, Brooklyn Mirage · often with Oktave, Francis Mercier, Kimonos, none of them here that night

• 

  ANNA

  Brazil · 5 bookings since Aug 2023 · Cityfox melodic techno

  “The globally-prolific Brazilian-born, Lisbon-based DJ and producer moved to Barcelona in 2015 to be nearer the European dance music circuit – a scene that had grown fond of her hypnotic and melodic techno released on a range of vital labels from Drumcode to Plus 8, Mute Records to Afterlife.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  The globally-prolific Brazilian-born, Lisbon-based DJ and producer moved to Barcelona in 2015 to be nearer the European dance music circuit – a scene that had grown fond of her hypnotic and melodic techno released on a range of vital labels from Drumcode to Plus 8, Mute Records to Afterlife. Her summer 2019 hit 'Forever Ravers' with Miss Kittin on Kompakt lit up dancefloors around the globe and became a pandemic anthem while her powerful, driving productions continued to evolve and enrich her sound with every new track, often distinctively infused with an ambient essence that served as a primer for her shift towards the ambient music world. Anna is now twenty plus years into a celebrated and highly revered career, one that had elevated her from the dancefloors of Six – the nightclub her father owned in the rural outskirts of São Paolo, and where she first cut her teeth behind the decks. ANNA was – and remains – every bit the sought-after techno superstar - she continues to perform at some of the world’s most esteemed clubs including DC10, Hi, Printworks and Warung and takes to the stage at iconic festivals ranging from Movement to Tomorrowland, TimeWarp to Coachella. In the last years, she’s delivered classic crossover remixes for the likes of Jon Hopkins, Orbital and, now, her huge rework of Depeche Mode’s ‘My Cosmas Is Mine’ – which the band embraced hugely despite it not even being a selected single from their 2023 album. It was granted Pete Tong’s Essential New Tune on its debut radio play on BBC Radio 1. Anna has been a DJ since she was 14 year’s old. “I experimented with all styles in the beginning. After some time, I found my identity and it was techno. I became focused on my career 100 percent of the time. I would practice for ten hours a day, and I was always researching and planning,” she says. It’s this drive – an incessant desire to “make better music and be more creative” – that led her to a neurofeedback centre in Germany in October 2017. This is where she took the vital next steps in her self-realisation journey – opening her mind and forever altering her creative process and worldly outlook in the process. This would eventually lead to the creation of her debut ambient album ‘Intentions’ (released with Mercury KX through Decca this year), which sees her trading in her club-driven production for sound healing and ambient sensibilities. “I left the centre totally surrendered to spirit and to my soul. I thought, ‘What is it that life wants to pass through me?’” She'd long been interested in spirituality and utilised meditation as a tool for recentring for some time. However, it had never been her main focus. These days, she is fully committed to following the course as well as other forms of spiritual and meditative practice – including Transcendental Meditation, Vipassana (“You're in your process; you don't speak to anyone, and you meditate for 10 hours a day”), and Shamanic energy healing training. After the course in Germany, she started to experience things differently. Classical music is something she discovered a passion for after opening herself up to a more contemplative and love-filled way of life. Ambient, too. In fact, her ‘Intentions’ journey started with ANNA experimenting with sounds and frequencies to use as a tool in her meditations and contemplative moments. Using pianos and flutes; and sound healing techniques, she’d listen to these works – these soundscapes for self-realisation – while exploring the world. The outside world, of course (both touring and nature itself remain fruitful sources of inspiration) but also the inner. This debut album includes a collaboration with Grammy Award-winning artist Jon Hopkins; long-time ambient guru Laraaji and contemporary ambient artist East Forest. Their acceptance of Anna’s ambient project is a result of the power of the music. It is her understanding of how the Techno and Ambient worlds can sit side by side that makes it feel so natural. “I am everything. I am the stillness, the chaos, the light. I'm combining these worlds. I am bringing this more open and spiritual side to my techno side, so that everything becomes one.” In doing so, ANNA’s found a way to channel her emotional empathy and crowd-reading talents into her current output across her two musical careers. Anna’s very own name is a palindrome and her career is now the same: two worlds, one true artist.
  SoundCloud ↗Discography ↗
  Their RA profile lists novamute, Kompakt, Plus 8 Records Ltd, Domino and 6 more.

  Recently at Brooklyn Mirage, Bossa Nova Civic Club, 99 Scott Ave · often with KAWABE, BELA.B, DJ M!AU, none of them here that night

• 

  Airrica

  Los Angeles · 7 bookings since Oct 2023 · Cityfox melodic techno

  SoundCloud ↗
  Tech House on 7, Progressive House on 4, House on 3 and Minimal Techno on 3. styles on their catalogued releases

  Released on Black Book (2), Crosstown Rebels (1) and Factory 93 Records (1). labels on their catalogued releases

  Recently at Brooklyn Mirage, Knockdown Center · often with Devault, Dreya V, GABSS, none of them here that night

• Kotiēr

  4 bookings since May 2024

  Last at Elsewhere in Feb · often with Mont Rouge, AUGUSTE, Friend of Honor, none of them here that night