Paul Kalkbrenner Returns With New LP, The Essence - Trap A Holics

After seven years of silence, Paul Kalkbrenner returns with his ninth studio album, The Essence, out now via B1 / Sony Music. The album marks a personal rebirth for the German techno icon. His first since Parts of Life in 2018. And a reminder of why his music continues to shape European electronic culture. Crafted across years of reflection and experimentation, the record captures his most stripped-down and emotional sound yet, trading big-room polish for analog warmth and quiet depth.

Paul Kalkbrenner describes The Essence as an “archive of personal states of being,” born during a time when he had stopped thinking in album form. Yet, as he puts it, “I realized how nice it is to have something that connects everything again.” This connection goes beyond conceptual, it’s emotional. It lives in texture, tone, and atmosphere rather than in story. What results is a record that feels deeply lived-in: one that could only have come from the artist who made Berlin Calling possible.

A Personal Sound Lab in Berlin

Much of the album came to life in a Berlin apartment that served less as a studio and more as a sonic sanctuary. “No neon lights, no screens, no tech overload,” says Kalkbrenner. “Just dimmed bulbs, vintage furniture, and instruments everywhere.” The space itself became an invisible collaborator—every sound bearing traces of its warm wooden floors and tungsten glow.

The setting also mirrors Kalkbrenner’s mindset: patient, tactile, and rooted in feeling over function. With The Essence, Paul Kalkbrenner built soundscapes of permanence. Tracks like Ninety – Two and Que Ce Soit Clair with Stromae stand as proof of his timeless instinct for melody and rhythm. “This is an album I can fully stand behind,” he adds. “It has no filler. Not even a filler moment.”

Inside the Tracks of The Essence

Across twelve tracks, The Essence showcases Kalkbrenner’s ability to merge nostalgia with progression. Opening cut Ninety – Two pulses with hypnotic groove and festival-tested energy, while Que Ce Soit Clair fuses Stromae’s haunting vocals with hard kicks and emotional clarity. Dreaming On, featuring Depeche Mode, bridges ‘80s synth heritage with modern techno sensibility.