DJ and producer Paul Kalkbrenner first began to experiment with creating electronic dance music in the 1990s under the influence of Berlin’s thriving dance scene. In 1999, he released his first tracks under the record label BPitch Control, beginning a relationship between the Kalkbrenner and BP that would go on for a decade.
Kaulkbrenner quickly became known for his highly melodic style and elaborate emotional movements, and a number of his tracks have become crossover hits with audiences outside of the EDM scene. In 2006, a film director named Hanes Stohr—who was a fan of Kaulkbrenner’s third album Self—approached him about composing the soundtrack to a film he was making based around a character who was a techno musician living in Berlin. Kaulkbrenner agreed, and not only did he make the soundtrack, he ended up being the film’s star. The movie, Berlin Calling, later became a cult classic due to its accurate portrayal of the Berlin dance and drug scene. The soundtrack broke a number of sales records, and its track “Sky and Sand” spent several weeks at the top of the Belgian charts, eventually reaching gold status.
