Kölsch’s new album ‘I Talk To Water’ is a potent examination of his past

Kölsch, a Danish house and techno superstar, has a new album, I Talk To Water, out today (October 27) via Kompakt, and it will make your heart sing.

Kölsch’s I Talk To Water, his fifth album for Kompakt, is a personal, in-depth narrative that weaves together family and historical themes while also recognizing the difficulty of transforming sorrow into solace. The album is mostly influenced by Kölsch’s late father, Patrick Reilly, a musician who toured in the 1960s and 1970s and died in 2003. Three songs on the CD, “Grape,” “Tell Me,” and “It Ends Where It Began,” use recordings of Patrick’s ethereal guitar playing to create a nostalgic atmosphere.

While “Dreams” constructs a glittering backdrop around heart-stopping strings, the album’s opener and title track, “I Talk To Water,” sets the tone with a synth-soaked masterpiece featuring vocals from Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell. The album’s stunning lead single, “An Amazing,” is an electric uptempo rhythm propelled by a delicate vocal line repeating the simple yet powerful center hook: “you’re an amazing.”

The peace and quiet of this period, pieced together amid the epidemic and its many lockdowns, allowed Kölsch to think about his father’s death and how he may honor him in perpetuity. He says, “This whole album is about the process of loss, and for me it’s been one of my main driving forces in my musical life, the whole emotional aspect of whatever I’ve done has been based in that feeling that he’s not there anymore.”

I Talk To Water blossomed as it dove into a sea of heartfelt feelings. To construct his most introspective body of music to date, Kölsch used recordings from the project as a bridge between the past and the present.

In celebration of the release of I Talk to Water, Kölsch will be performing in festivals and concert halls across the world, including Tomorrowland Brazil, Art of the Wild, and the Amsterdam ADE.

Kölsch, whose true name is Rune Reilly Klsch, is a house and techno producer who has sold millions of albums throughout the world from his base in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the 2010s, he started releasing multiple volumes in Kompakt’s Speicher series and the critically acclaimed album trilogy 1977, 1983, and 1989, which featured new and innovative tracks in his signature style. Grey, a megahit from 1989, has been streamed an incredible 49 million times on Spotify. In the latter part of the decade, he launched his own Ipso label, where he has since worked with Michael Mayer, Tiga, and Sasha, and where he will continue to produce original music in 2019, via a continuous mix on Fabric. His 2020 album Now Here No Where for Kompakt included a lavish orchestration and marked his label return.

I Talk To Water is a pleasure for anyone who enjoy Kölsch’s melodic, emotionally driven techno since it tells a story across its 12 captivating tracks.

Press play and enjoy the tracks.