Before the duo came together, the name “Klangkarussell” referred to Rieser’s solo work. Around a similar time, Adrian Held produced electronic music under the alias, I herald, which is almost an anagram of his real name. It was in 2011 that the duo put their music together, under the name “Heldenklang” which is the German for “Hero Sound”. Afterwards, they began to use Rieser’s mononym Klangkarussell to refer to their collaboration.
2012 saw the breakthrough of this duo, on July 23rd, when they released their debut single “Sonnentanz”. It was their debut single, and was in fact published to the duo’s SoundCloud on September 29th 2011. The track became a viral hit and entered the charts by downloads only. It reached the Top 10 in 6 countries, (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), and went 2x Platinum in Germany, and 3x Platinum in Switzerland. They released another version of the song with vocals from Will Heard, a British soul and jazz singer/songwriter. It was released through Capitol and Universal Record Labels and went to number 3 in the UK.
Their full-length debut album “Netzwerk” released in Europe July 25th 2014, and on September 1st 2014 in the United Kingdom. It charted in over 5 countries and made it to number two in Switzerland.
The title track from the album, which was released prior to the release of the album on May 9th 2014, the song charted in the Top 50 of six countries. It features the vocals of British singer songwriter Tom Can and also a sample from the song “Madan” by Salif Keita.
A new breed of electronic music has been contemporarily defined by Austrian duo Tobias Rieser and Adrian Held, more aptly known as Klangkarussell.
Their saxophone laden Sonnentanz has been the key to their success, having been released in 2012 with success in house friendly countries like Germany and Holland before adding a radio-friendly version with vocals by Will Heard in 2013, subsequently reaching the top of the UK charts that same year.
Far from the repetitive and unmelodic music typical of the genre, Klangkarussell are quickly establishing themselves as a more musically complex addition to the electronic scene, not afraid to add instrumentation to their music. From the jazzy, slow building and saxophone laden Sonnentanz, to the acoustic guitar riffs in their newest single Netzwerk, their sets are more than simply bass heavy, head bobbing synth tracks.
Their live performances are what you’d except from an EDM-duo: high energy that they use to feed off each other. The difference is the inclusion of instrumentation live on stage in the form of guitarists and drummers. Add to that a token light-show and the laid-back persona of Rieser and Held– occasionally known to mingle with fans in the crowd after their set– Klangkarussell hope to solidify their place on the electronic music scene with the release of their debut album later this year.