Kölsch is a medium for the narration of Danish Native Rune Reilly Kölsch’ life through sonic soundscapes, laid out in melodic vignettes that read as a picture book to the formulation of the man behind the music.
Together, these vignettes form a whole greater than the sum of its parts, a nostalgic, introspective voyage. Rune’s first voyage, captured in his critically acclaimed LP release, ‘1977’ signifies the year of his birth and draws inspiration from his culturally diverse upbringing. The ‘1977’ record itself was a dancefloor heavy output that proved the world-over the success and appeal of the melodic and emotional side to Rune’s beloved techno.
Now, Kölsch returns to Kompakt with his long-awaited sophomore LP ‘1983‘, a record layered with classical production, affording several exquisite cuts that mesh to form a truly symbiotic work. Over two years in the making, the tracks were developed as demos and thoroughly road-tested during his live shows. 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.
Kölsch continues to perform to the highest calibre, serving an acclaimed Essential Mix, playing Space Terrace, and opening Amnesia in 2014 with Joris Voorn. Kölsch will continue this run of global domination with his Australian Tour, South American Tour and Ibiza commitments in 2015. Additionally, he can also be seen in the Dominican Republic in September. As part of Groovefest, taking place 6 – 13 September, Kölsch will join the likes of Art Department, Anja Schneider, Dennis Ferrer, Nick Curly, and more, in an island paradise party.
“The scene in Holland is just so cool these days. I think it is beautiful how the Dutch people have embraced melodic techno and how it’s become a big thing.”.
As we are now into the summer season, with an inevitably busy schedule, how do you prepare for the rigours of summer travel?
It’s all about having a lot of coffee [laughs]. The good thing about what I do is that it is so enjoyable that when I travel a lot it keeps the energy up. Over the years I have taught myself to sleep-collect; grab two hours on the flight, one hour in the hotel, 3 hours after the gig, 1 hour on the way to the airport, and so on. This is kind of what DJs have as a hobby during the summer, especially since the biggest problem we endure is getting enough sleep.
8 hours of sleep is surely a luxury these days…
Absolutely!
As you are launching an Australian tour this month, how would you say your music plays over there? What are some of your impressions on the general state of electronic music in Australia?
Australia is one of my key markets in the sense that, since the first time I played there about a year ago, the people have been so welcoming. The tour was completely sold out. Australians have this fantastic sense of humour and outlook to music. They also love to party! They have a nice approach to what electronic music can be. To a certain extent, we in Europe are quite spoiled for choice. If you go to Berlin, you have the choice of any number of great parties and amazing DJs. It is a bit more scarce in Australia, so I think it is more appreciated. It feels like a younger scene that has kept a very positive attitude towards techno music.
Comparing Australia to North America, I think it shows that the latter still has a while to go, which is ironic since it is where techno originally came from. It seems like a lot of that scene is still stuck in EDM mode. Although there is a lot of enthusiasm for techno, it seems like it is not as wide spread as in other places around the world.
Coming from NYC, it seems like the scene there goes in waves. There will be these 5-10 year spans where the city becomes an electronic music centre and then, due to a variety of issues from bureaucracy to legality, the scene dissipates.
At the moment New York is great! It is a highlight for America.
Have you been out to Verboten in Brooklyn yet?
Yes! I played a few times. It is a really great club, I have to say!
Another event that looks interesting is Groovefest in the Dominican Republic this September. Have you ever played there before?
No. Never. I just came back from a tour of South America. I guess that isn’t really the Caribbean. I am really looking forward to Groovefest though. It seems like a great place to have a party!
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”filmstrip” title=”false” desc=”false” img_in_row=”3″ animation_effect=”bounce” image_width=”600″ album_title=”false” album_id=”54″]
