After a seven-year hiatus from full-length solo releases, German techno stalwart Paul Kalkbrenner has staged a comeback with his new album: THE ESSENCE, out today October 10, 2025 via Sony Music / B1. This long-awaited LP marks not just a comeback, but what Kalkbrenner describes as a rediscovery of what matters most in music: the “essential.” His last full studio album before THE ESSENCE was Parts of Life in 2018. Since then, he’s released a few standalone singles. But true to his reputation, he’s been refining, experimenting, accumulating ideas. Listen here.
According to Kalkbrenner, The Essence is a 12-track LP that he built over several years — no rigid blueprint from the start, but a deliberate return to pure, unforced expression. It’s not about chasing hits, but about coherence, integrity, presence. He’s said this is the album he “can truly stand behind,” claiming that there is not one filler track in the record.
“Many of the songs were made during a time when I wasn’t planning to release an album at all,” says Kalkbrenner. “I had actually finished with album making, but then I realized how nice it is to have something that connects everything again.” A connection that doesn’t rely on a concept but on an attitude. Because THE ESSENCE avoids grand gestures and instead is full of musical precision, sounds with patina, and melodies from old drafts that were never released until now. “Some of the stuff on here, I wouldn’t even come up with today because it’s so unfiltered. But that’s exactly what makes it strong.”
Much of it was created in the apartment, which could almost be called a coauthor of the album. A place that feels more like an analog sound lab than a modern producer studio. “I didn’t want neon lights, no screens, no tech overload,” says Kalkbrenner. Instead: dimmed light, vintage furniture, cozy fabrics, and tons of music history in the form of instruments, collectibles, and sound sources. “I just sat there for hours, tinkering, without a plan but with a feeling.” The atmosphere of the apartment is audibly woven into the tracks: warm, intricate, and idiosyncratic.
Paul Kalkbrenner has been one of the most influential figures in modern techno for decades. Raised in Leipzig and later Berlin, he emerged in the late 1990s — early 2000s techno scene, signed to BPitch Control, releasing EPs and albums, and eventually breaking through with Berlin Calling (2008). The movie not only cemented his place in electronic music but introduced him to broader audiences. His anthem ‘Sky and Sand’ remains among the most streamed German electronic tracks ever.