Fritz Kalkbrenner is an undeniably positive force within the electro pop music scene. His sound embraces the catchy hooks typical in pop music, but adds sincerity and depth to the sound (and not just in terms of his obvious deep house influences).
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.
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