Egokind

As the saying goes: seek and you shall find. Well, in reality this simple formula is much more complicated usually. The history of the young native Berliner Jan Hammele alias Egokind shows that searching is never in vain, because often you get to know you better through all these different paths of seeking. The paths of Egokind are not only paved by the constant search for a personal and honest sound language, the Berlin-born artist encounters his own skills through several stages that define him today. At 7 years of age he received the first piano lessons. The love for music is kindled, but a deeper understanding for structure and functioning was missing. In the family household he discovered the guitar and took his first efforts that were complemented by classical guitar lessons over seven years from a Spanish violinist associated to the prestigious Deutsche Oper. Consequently, grunge bands like Nirvana laid the foundations of his artistic existence. The fascination to tease out a maximum of energy and emotions by simple riffs and purist melodies is now reflected in his own electronic productions. Because of the dense work by songwriters like Elliott Smith, Hammele started thinking about composition, song structure and lyrics that was channeled as a teenager joining and singing in a band. Even though the first experiments were useful as a playground for his own creativity, producing just on his own was a much better way to communicate his personal ideas concerning music and sound. At the age of 19 he discovered the complex music of artists such as James Holden, Four Tet and Burial, which pulled him into electronic music in the first place. His two contributions „Fade Me“ and „Hipper“, he released on the traditional Cologne-based label Traum Schallplatten for their „Tour De Traum“ compilations, not only exhibit the expertise he was able to acquire during his study in sound/audio design at the Berlin University of Popular Arts (hdpK), but a producer with heart and a talented mind for sensual music. You can hear him exploring soundscapes beyond functional club tracks on his remix work for Hannes Rasmus or the Bielefeld-based new jazz trio The Von Duesz. With his two Traum Schallplatten EPs „Diamond Days“ and „Nothingness“ he even goes a few steps further: Dreamy melodies meet UK-infected beats, minimal elegies meet inner cinema aesthetic. Although his deep bass lines always like to cling to the dancefloor, Egokind’s music is quite aware and comfortable to offer both – a club and home listening experience. Once again, Egokind joined forces with the Berlin producer Ozean to release their debut record „Transition“ on Traum Schallplatten in October 2014. In contrast to the computer-dominated tech house scene in Berlin, their music mark-off because of their analogue charm that proves once again: less is sometimes more. Egokind is a musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound aesthete combining chutzpah and fortune at this young age to transform his imaginary compositions in his head into impressive productions that speak a language on his own. Whether his gigs at famous locations like Ritter Butzke, Suicide Circus, Ubel & Gefährlich, Hive Club, Pratersauna, Cabaret Sauvage or internationally renowned festivals like Dockville. He enraptures both listeners and audience with a surprisingly mature compositional creativity, which definitely hold more than promising future prospects. And in his case you can see that in the end you will find more as you initially looking for. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.