Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
Already in the early 50s the city was a centre for new music. Home to Herbert Eimert's 'Studio für Elektronische Musik' which was taken over by Karlheinz Stockhausen in 1963 and also a musical home to Pierre Boulez.
The 90s had the 'Sound of Cologne' redefined by musicians such as Wolfgang Voigt, Whirlpool Productions or Mouse on Mars and influential labels like Trapez, Kompakt or A-Musik.
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Homelabel
Kompakt |
Having started his impressive career as early as 1991, Wolfgang Voigt is without a doubt one of defining figures in German electronic music, commonly credited for pioneering the minimal techno style as a native musical language of Germany's techno scene....
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Homelabel
Ware |
Ware label founder Mathias Schaffhäuser has been roaming the techno and house scene since 1994 and has released tracks on Definitive Records (house sub-label of Plus 8), Blaou Sounds, Force Inc., Multicolor and Frisbee Tracks. In 1997 he started the label...
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Homelabel
Kompakt |
As a member of Kompakt since the early nineties, Reinhard Voigt has been a key player in the development and subsequent success of this legendary Cologne-based record label. Taking early notes from his infamous older brother Wolfgang Voigt (aka Mike Ink),...
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Homelabel
Kompakt |
Michael Mayer was born in the Black Forest in the west of Germany. As a young boy he already started his passion for the DJ's craft and collecting records from Italian disco, the Pet Shop Boys to extended 12" mixes of pop tracks and classic funk. At the...
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Homelabel
Television Records |
Maral Salmassi is a Cologne based DJ and producer, who has been running her own label Konsequent from 1996 till 2005, releasing music from the likes of Jay Denham, Pacou or The Advent. In recent times she has shelved the serious techno approach in favour...
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Homelabel
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Passionate drummer and Cologne resident, Adam Kroll, appeared first in 2000. To date he released on such labels as Traum Schallplaten, My Best Friend and on his own label Squonk, which he launched in 2007.
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Homelabel
Firm |
Born in the German Democratic Republic, André Kramel, moved to Frankfurt at the age of 16. After some years of Dj-ing he started 2002 producing Techno & House music in his very own style for the Label FIRM in Cologne, where he resides since the year 2000.
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Operating along the borders of electronic music and rock, Marcus Schmickler's Pluramon project has always been an unpredictable highlight of the Cologne music scene. Its most recent album 'The Monstrous Surplus' on Karaoke Kalk, which features Julee Cruise and Berlin-based musician and actress Julia Hummer on vocals, Schmickler has...
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Homelabel
Basmati |
Growing up with classical music and somewhat involuntary cello lessons, Gabriel Ananda's musical world changed when he was privileged to experience a DJ set by Sven Väth in 1995. After this revelatory experience Ananda began experimenting with electronic...
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Homelabel
Babiczstyle |
Active as a producer since the early 90s, Robert Babicz - just as well known under his former nom de guerre Rob Acid - is one of Germany's best reputed techno musicians. Responsible for a countless number of releases, remixes and live performances in all...
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Homelabel
Sender Records |
The people behind the minimal techno project Misc. are Christopher Bleckmann and Hannes Wenner - two opposing characters linked by music that have successfully grown together over more than ten years. While Christopher reaps the benefits of a classical...
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Homelabel
Italic |
Popnoname is the name Jens Uwe Bayer uses to develop his unique blend of wavy, melancholic house and indie pop. His releases have appeared on Cologne labels Firm, Italic, Brut! techno-pop outlet Pop! and most recently - and fittingly - the relaunched...
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Homelabel
International Records Recordings |
Michaela Dippel presumably chose pioneering 19th century mathematician Ada Lovelace as her name saint, and just as Lovelace, Ada is one of the most prestigious women in her domain. Her highly regarded productions explore melodic pop influences in a techno...
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Homelabel
Kompakt |
One of the Kompakt label's more esoteric producers, Superpitcher's sound is ever changing and adapting. From the lush electronic soundscapes of early works such as Shadows, to electro pop reworkings of Brian Eno to his 2005 remix album, Today,...
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Homelabel
Hartchef Discos |
From the solar plexus thump of deep house to the satisfying robotic melodies of techno and the refined sleekness of minimal, Audio Werner does it all and, more importantly, does it all well. When this Cologne artist isn't releasing crowd pleasing tracks...
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Homelabel
Italic |
As Coloma, Rob Taylor and Alex Paulick are without a doubt one of Cologne's most exciting musical duos. Fusing elements of electronic music and pop, the two friends, originally hailing from Britain, have made a name for themselves both in and beyond the...
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Homelabel
Treibstoff |
Cologne's Marcel Janovsky started DJing in the he early 90s, founding the Treibstoff label together with René Breitbarth in order to have a platform for releasing their own music.
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Homelabel
Poets Club Records |
Founded in 1997 by Emanuel Geller, Axel Erbstoesser and Sebastian Becky of the electro group Klystron in Cologne, Germany, SALZ are deeply rooted in techno and dub-house in the classic style of Basic Channel and Maurizio as is clear on their reissued...
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Homelabel
Prologue |
Jump-starting her DJing career as a resident of Munich's legendary Ultraschall club, Cio D'or has rapidly gained recognition for her own productions since her first release, 'Hokus Pokus', in 2004. Cio has recently teamed up with Prologue for her debut...
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Homelabel
Italic |
Comprised of Sebastian Blume, Jan Philipp Janzen, Phillip Tielsch and Christopher Marquez, Von Spar is a Cologne-based artist collective, who made first headlines with their debut album for Germany's legendary, and sadly departed, indie label L'Age D'Or...
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Homelabel
c.sides |
While his production career as Glitterbug has only begun fairly recently, Till Rohmann looks back on many years as a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and DJ, both in Germany as well as in Israel, where he has lived for some time. His 2008 debut album...
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Homelabel
Traum Schallplatten |
Since the early 1990s Riley Reinhold has been a driving force behind Germany's techno scene, as a journalist, DJ, producer, and label owner. Mainly active as a DJ and journalist during the 1990s, his focus gradually shifted to include music production...
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Homelabel
!K7 |
Besides their skills as gifted multi-instrumentalists, Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer, and Paul Frick bring a unique vision of contemporary dance music to the table: Minimal techno in essence, but recorded live with a jazz band line-up, which adds a unique...
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Homelabel
Raster-Noton |
Cologne's Jens Massel has been recording his compositions of experimental electronica since 1995 under the names of Kandis, Fumble, and Senking, mainly for two widely respected German labels, Karaoke Kalk and Raster-Noton.
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Homelabel
Karaoke Kalk |
Gameboy sounds encounter string arrangements, distorted drum machines and women choirs in the productions of Roman Podeszwa, whose music can be best described as excentric pop. Despite his second album on Karaoke Kalk, 'So Ghost' becoming an indie hit,...
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Homelabel
Kompakt |
Throughout his career Jürgen Paape has remained something of an enigma - he has never performed live or DJed, no interviews with the man exist and - until very recently - no photographs. Jürgen Paape has chosen to let his music speak for itself and pull...
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Homelabel
idee deluxe records |
The man they call Levthand (aka Levent Canseven) worked and travelled the dancefloors of Europe under the CAN7 moniker and as such delivered flawless remixes & productions for the likes of Bootsy Collins, Randy Crawford, Ricky Martin & Moloko - just to...
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| other cities in Germany | |
Classics From This City
