Paul Kalkbrenner German DJ, electronic music producer and actor Date of Birth: 11.06.1977 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Paul Kalkbrenner
2. Early Life and Musical Beginnings
3. Early Career and Collaboration with Ellen Allien
4. 'Berlin Calling' and Solo Career
5. Recent Years and Success

Biography of Paul Kalkbrenner

German DJ, electronic music producer, and actor Paul Kalkbrenner gained most of his fame for his single 'Sky and Sand', which sold over 200,000 copies. This track went 'platinum' and became especially popular in Belgium and Germany. Kalkbrenner played the lead role of DJ Ickarus, a club musician, in the 2008 film 'Berlin Calling'.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Paul Kalkbrenner was born in 1977 in Leipzig and grew up in Lichtenberg, Berlin. At the age of thirteen, during the reunification of Germany, Paul began spinning records with his peers in teenage clubs in Berlin, despite his mother's curfew set at 11:00 PM. He and his friend Sascha Funke, whom he met in school, started playing tracks together. They both shared a deep interest in techno music and were heavily influenced by the electronic music group 'Underground Resistance' from Detroit.

During the day, young Kalkbrenner studied trumpet and music theory, and at night, he ignited dance floors in clubs like 'E-Werk', 'Planet', and 'Whale'. After many sleepless nights, Kalkbrenner was inspired to not only mix DJ sets but also create his own music. In 1995, at the age of seventeen, he started working as an editor in the television industry for two years to save up enough money to purchase recording equipment. During this time, he and Funke lived together and made music using shared or borrowed devices.

Early Career and Collaboration with Ellen Allien

Before founding her label 'BPitch Control', Ellen Allien performed at parties in the Berlin area. It was at one of these events that Kalkbrenner and Funke met her. She gave them some recommendations, and in 1999, Paul released his first tracks on the mini-album 'Friedrichshain' under the pseudonym Paul dB+. After releasing his albums 'Superimpose' and 'Zeit' in 2001, Kalkbrenner considered albums to be his preferred format. In 2004, he released the album 'Self', and in 2005, the track 'Gebrünn Gebrünn' became a crossover hit. In total, Kalkbrenner recorded six full-length albums and ten mini-albums on the 'BPitch Control' label before parting ways in 2008.

'Berlin Calling' and Solo Career

After the release of 'Self', Kalkbrenner became interested in and started following the work of German film director Hannes Stöhr. He volunteered to compose soundtracks for Stöhr's film about Berlin DJs in the 2000s. During their fruitful collaboration, Stöhr realized that Kalkbrenner would be perfect for the lead role in the film. They decided to name their musical dramedy 'Berlin Calling'. In late 2006, Paul moved to Aix-en-Provence, France, with Funke to work on the film's soundtracks. The popular track 'Sky and Sand' featured Paul's brother, Fritz Kalkbrenner, on vocals. In 2007, Paul returned to Berlin to star in 'Berlin Calling', a film about a club musician, DJ Ickarus, whose mental health deteriorates due to the scene. Despite this, the character still has many amazing musical ideas. For Paul, the character he played embodied someone he never wanted to become. After the film's release in October 2008, the soundtrack 'Sky and Sand' achieved platinum status and sold over 200,000 copies, remaining at the top of various charts for several weeks. The premiere of 'Berlin Calling' took place at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland and became a cult classic in Europe. The film played at the Berlin cinema 'Kino Central' for 145 weeks and was released on DVD in 2009. Kalkbrenner presented the album 'Berlin Calling – The Soundtrack' on 'BPitch Control' and decided it was time to go his own way and founded his own music platform, 'Paul Kalkbrenner Musik'.

Recent Years and Success

In 2010, Paul embarked on a successful tour in 20 cities, with all tickets sold out. The tour was filmed by the same team that worked on the 'Berlin Calling' movie and released as 'Paul Kalkbrenner 2010 – A Live Documentary'. On January 3, 2011, Kalkbrenner released the album 'Icke Wieder' on his own label, which reached the second spot on the German music charts and achieved gold status with over 100,000 copies sold. The events supporting 'Icke Wieder' attracted over 125,000 fans of Paul's music.

In the summer of 2011, Kalkbrenner received an invitation to perform at the famous 'Amnesia' club in Ibiza. On November 30, 2012, he presented the album 'Guten Tag'. In August 2012, he married Romanian DJ and producer Simina Grigoriu. In February 2013, Kalkbrenner embarked on a tour in Europe and the USA to support his new album.

During his concerts, Paul utilizes software synthesizers and sequencers (Ableton Live) in combination with MIDI controllers, hardware synthesizers, and drum machines. Since 2001, Kalkbrenner has exclusively used Ableton Live for music production.