Kölsch
Born in Copenhagen’s Christiania in 1977, Rune Reilly Kölsch had a Danish hit as Rune before Kompakt turned his melodic techno into albums named after years.
- Danish DJ and producer Rune Reilly Kölsch, born 9 February 1977 in Christiania, Copenhagen.
- Releasing records since 1995 under several names, including “Calabria” (2003) as Rune.
- Signed to Kompakt as Kölsch; albums 1977, 1983 and 1989, and the 2016 single “Grey”.
Kölsch is the name Rune Reilly Kölsch has used on Kompakt since 2010, but it is not where his story starts. By the time that first 12-inch came out, the Danish producer had been releasing records for 15 years — and one of them had already travelled far beyond Copenhagen.
Christiania, Artificial Funk and “Calabria”
Kölsch was born in Christiania, the free town in the middle of Copenhagen. From 1995 he released music under a string of names: Artificial Funk until 2005, Ink and Needle for a run of singles between 2006 and 2008, and Rune RK, Enur, Heavy Rock and others along the way.
In 2003, as Rune, he released “Calabria” on Credence, a sublabel of Parlophone: an instrumental house track built on a synthesised saxophone riff. It won a Danish Music Award in 2004. The riff kept moving. An Enur version with lyrics by Natasja Saad topped the US Billboard club chart, Alex Gaudino turned it into “Destination Calabria” with Crystal Waters, and in June 2022 two UK top 30 songs, by Nathan Dawe and by Benzz, were built on the same sample.
Kompakt and the years trilogy
Kompakt’s Michael Mayer heard his work as Ink and Needle, and the Cologne label signed him. The first Kölsch record, the Speicher 68 12-inch led by “Loreley”, came out in 2010. “All That Matters”, with Troels Abrahamsen, followed in 2012.
Then came the albums. 1977 — the year of his birth — arrived in 2013, presented as a melodic autobiography drawn from childhood, family and friends. 1983 (2015) added strings by Gregor Schwellenbach and a vocal by Tomas Høffding of WhoMadeWho. 1989 (September 2017) went further, with orchestral arrangements by Schwellenbach played by the Heritage Orchestra.
“Grey”, Cercle and the collaborations
In 2016 he released “Grey” — read the story of “Grey” in the archive. In 2017 he played on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris for Cercle.
The circle of collaborators kept growing: “Dogma 1 & Dogma 2” with Michael Mayer (2016), “HAL” with Tiga (2018) and “The Lights” with Sasha (2019). He remixed WhoMadeWho’s “Dynasty” and Nic Fanciulli and Damon Albarn’s “Saying”. His 2019 fabric mix was built from exclusive tracks named after flight numbers from his travels. Now Here No Where (2020), with guest vocals from Beacon, was followed by Isopolis (2021) and I Talk To Water (2023), and in 2025 by “Waste My Time” with CamelPhat. Over the years his collaborators have also included Coldplay, Imogen Heap and London Grammar.
In the mix
A Kölsch track usually works the same way: a patient build, a melody that grows bar by bar, a release made for a big room. For more of that melodic side of techno, keep digging with WhoMadeWho and Tiga.
FAQ
Who is Kölsch?
Kölsch is the best-known alias of Rune Reilly Kölsch, a Danish DJ and producer born on 9 February 1977 in Christiania, Copenhagen. He records for the Cologne label Kompakt.
What was Kölsch’s first hit?
Before the Kölsch name, he scored with “Calabria” (2003), released as Rune on Credence, a Parlophone sublabel. It won a Danish Music Award in 2004.
What are Kölsch’s albums?
On Kompakt: 1977 (2013), 1983 (2015), 1989 (2017) and Now Here No Where (2020), then Isopolis (2021) and I Talk To Water (2023), plus a fabric mix in 2019.
