The Dane’s fifth album is a poignant journey through love and grief
Danish house and techno phenomenon Kölsch sends hearts soaring on his rousing new album I Talk To Water, out now via Kompakt.
Kölsch’s fifth album for Kompakt, I Talk To Water, is an intimate, deep-dive narrative that interweaves themes of family and history, whilst acknowledging the process of turning grief into comfort. The core of the album is inspired by Kölsch’s father Patrick Reilly, a touring musician during the sixties and seventies who passed away in 2003. Album tracks ‘Grape’, ‘Tell Me’ and ‘It Ends Where It Began’ all use recordings of Patrick’s dreamlike guitar playing to poignant and delicate effect, fusing the album with the past.
Elsewhere, 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, while ‘Dreams’ builds a shimmering soundscape around heart stopping strings. Deeper into the tracklist, sublime lead single ‘An Amazing’ is an electrifying uptempo groove driven by a delicate vocal line repeating the simple yet powerful central hook: “you’re an amazing”.
Pieced together during the pandemic and its numerous lockdowns, the tranquillity of this moment inspired Kölsch to reflect on his father’s passing, and how he could memorialize such a significant figure in his life.
“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.”
Delving into a wave of sentimental emotions, I Talk To Water began to bloom. The recordings used in the project provided a gateway for Kölsch, to unite both the past and present in a meaningful way, allowing him to create his most personal body of work yet.
I Talk To Water – album tracklist
I Talk To Water (with Perry Farrell)
Dreams
Grape (with Patrick Reilly)
Pet Sound
Khenpo
Thoughts
Only Get Better
Implant
Hands Of Time
Tell Me (with Patrick Reilly)
An Amazing
It Ends Where It Began (with Patrick Reilly)
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