Paul & Fritz Kalkbrenner classic ‘Sky And Sand turns 11 years old

The names Paul and Fritz Kalkbrenner are associated with some of the finest melodic techno ever made, and on this day 11 years ago, the German brothers teamed up for arguably their most iconic release to date. ‘Sky And Sand’ dropped on this day in 2009, and featured a deep techno melody which perfectly encapsulates the Berlin sound.

Growing up in the shadow of real socialist prefab buildings in the Lichtenberg district of Berlin, Fritz Kalkbrenner was a couple of years shy of being able to participate directly in the anarchic techno mayhem that followed right after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when new possibilities and freedoms opened up in East Berlin within a short period of time. At the beginning of the 1990s his older brother Paul and his best friend Sascha Funke went crazy for techno beats, while hip hop artists such as Eric B. & Rakim, KRS One and Wu-Tang Clan were Fritz’s heroes who could do no wrong. He studied their flow, memorised hundreds of lyrics and learned how to tell stories – all basic research that would later benefit him.

By the time ‘Sky and Sand’ appeared on the soundtrack to the movie ‘Berlin Calling’ – the first project Fritz and Paul Kalkbrenner worked on together – it made the charts, and both Fritz and his voice gained international recognition. Not only was his first solo production practically in the bag, but he also found likeminded individuals in the heads of the Suol music label, Chopstick and Johnjon, hip hop aficionados who immediately recognised Fritz’s artistic potential.

You can check out this Kalkbrenner classic below: