Hailing from East Berlin, Paul Kalkbrenner has long championed the music from his home and from Detroit as being integral to his success as one of techno’s most prominent global players.
In 2016, he released his 3-part ‘Back to the Future’ mixtape series, which saw Paul revisiting the songs of his youth, and compiling them in a mixtape series that’s been listened to millions of times to date. Now, he revisits the sounds of old once more in his ‘Speak Up’ EP.
The EP is classic Kalkbrenner in many ways, sticking to the grand techno sound that rose him to fame. But the EP is also a diversion, with a focus on deep club sounds and vocals like he rarely does.
‘Speak Up’ stands out as one of the deeper tracks that Paul has produced. ‘Eyes Open’ shows clear influence from the Detroit sound of old that lit up dance floors for decades. ‘Laser In’ goes a little darker, with really buzzy synths atop a distorted bass and drum groove. ‘Check Yourself’ exudes similar energy, but with a more refined synth lead and more delicate percussion.
Stream here