Statistiques
Biographie
Kalkbrenner was born in 1981 in Berlin, Germany and likewise got his career start in this city, specifically the Lichtenberg district. Though he has been passionate about music since his early youth, his first professional job was as a culture and music journalist, working for TV stations such as MDR, MTV, and Deutsche Welle.
His older brother Paul is also a musician involved in the Berlin house scene and though he plays in many of the circuits frequented by DJs he considers himself to be a live act. Through Paul, Fritz discovered techno music in one manner which included being sneaked into the well-noted Berlin club, Suicide Circuit.
Fritz became enamored with the night life culture and eventually dropped out of school to pursue a music career (some of his first compositions were recorded on equipment he inherited from Paul). Unlike his brother, Fritz was greatly impacted by American hip-hop. He spent many hours in his teenage years soaking up records by Eric B. & Rakim, KRS-ONE, and Wu-Tang Clan.
The two Kalkbrenner brothers collaborated together on the track “Sky and Sand”, which acted as a catalyst through which Fritz was able to break into the music business.The song was an instant success and is considered an utter classic in the electro pop scene. It peaked at No. 2 on the Belgian Ultratop 50 Charts and has also placed on the charts in several other European countries. In Germany the single remained on the charts for a total of 129 weeks, making it the longest running chart hit of all time. Additionally Fritz collaborated with his brother on the soundtrack for the 2008 tragicomedy “Berlin Calling” in which he made a cameo appearance as himself.
One of Fritz’s first official releases was a collaboration with house producer Sascha Funke. He acted as a guest on the track “Forms and Shapes”, which was the highly successful single that spearheaded Funke’s debut “Bravo”. By 2009 Fritz was putting out solo material frequently. That year saw the release of his “Wingman” EP, an appearance on a Chopstick & Johnjon’s track and the single “Sky and Sand”, which was distributed by Ellen Allien’s record label BPitch Control.
In 2010 Fritz issued his studio debut “Here Today Gone Tomorrow. During this period he developed a strong sense of what the core of his sound represented. This album exhibited pounding sub bass overlaid with shimmering guitar chords and rustic vocals, sounding as though Bruce Springsteen and Daft Punk had just joined forces for a new record. His music was anthemic, but retained the cool beats ubiquitous in the DJ culture.
Fritz issued two albums in 2012, “Suol Mates” and “Sick Travellin’” both which came out through the label Suol. His follow up album “Ways Over Water” came out two years later also through this label.
Avis
Sometimes far too much value is placed on the live performances of traditional rock bands. This is not to say that they can’t affirm lives like nothing else on the planet but it’s starting to annoy me how many people talk smack about the live performances of electronic artists and DJ’s because they “don’t even play an instrument”. It annoys me because it misses the point pretty much entirely. Who cares whether the music being played is being created live on stage? When it comes down to it, what’s important is whether the audience is enjoying themselves. That’s what creates the atmosphere for band and DJ alike, it may not be identical but both of them can produce moments of beauty and euphoria that the other one can’t, and isn’t that what counts? When a DJ can capture the attention and adoration of a room full of people simply armed with good tunes and a laptop, that’s some kind of magic and few in the business are as adept at that as Fritz Kalkbrenner. The Berlin native’s Deep House sets are cut above from most others not only for his inspired blend of tried and tested deep house with soul samples and deep bass frequencies but also for his own singing and song writing, which turns up in his sets as often as any other artists tunes. A huge festival draw in his native Germany, a set of his could hold its own against any modern rock band for sheer entertainment value and delivering moments of sheer, untrammelled joy to thousands and thousands of people. Elitism aside, that’s all that counts in the live arena and it would be a true shame to miss out!
Deep House is one of those genres that has been around for quite a while – since the 80’s kind of while. Lets discuss the German DJ and producer, Fritz Kalkbrenner. He has an air of musicality about him that shows that he went to music school and learned a lot along the way, as his music showcases quite a definitive maturity.
The evening is a DJ showcase, with a lot of guys in suits and a lot of people there for a good time. It’s a fantastic evening of music so far with the caliber being set extremely high by the predecessors. Kalkbrenner takes to the stage behind his decks setup and launches head first into his huge Deep House sound, which is chilled but at the forefront has enough of a hook to keep the listener engaged with the sound. “Facing the Sun” brings the house down, catching the attention of many, at the end of the night, patrons are queuing up to his merchandise.
Fritz Kalkbrenner. I just wanna say, thank you, thank you so much for everything you make us (me) feel with your music. We will always remember Last night in Razzmatazz, your music is my drug, It just makes me happy and in Love, time stops and you just wanna dance and live every single moment. Fritz + your best company its just the best cocktail you can have in a club. Every time he's around we don't lose the chance to see him, and we won't. So see you next time. Nobody that loves good electronic music should miss the opportunity, he is a great artist. With love. Thank you again fritz!
The music was amazing! I would say he needs to change his LED background animations, they look very outdated!
I will also say it's better if he doesn't sing when he is playing. I would play just his voice from the records. It doesn't sound very good.
We had a lot of fun though
Wonderful concert in a mythic place in Lille
I loved the performance of Fritz. He's a great DJ ! The place was full of fans from every age.
Fritz played his last album and all his old success hits. More than 2h30 of scene. Great !