Kalipo is Jakob Häglsperger, a Bavarian-born producer who has made a name for himself as a producer for Marcus Wiebusch, Ira Atari, pandora's box and Fuck Art, Letʼs Dance. He is more widely known as a member of the German electro-punk group Frittenbude for which he has produced three albums. As Kalipo, the now Berlin-based artist goes into a different and less wild musical direction, blending lush house rhythms with trance-inducing techno beats (somewhere between 110 and 130 bpm). He also takes cues from downbeat and Gamelan traditions. With synthesizers, micro samples and acoustic instruments, Häglsperger intuitively builds melancholic yet driving arcs of suspense which are best enjoyed on a lazy Sunday afternoon at home on your couch and can also increase your endorphins on a Saturday night. In his energetic live sets, the renowned producer makes use of his extensive array of analogue synthesisers and drum machines.
Influenced by Viennese style downbeat and hip hop, Häglsperger started producing his own music in the late 1990s before taking up DJing. For a while, Häglsperger considered DJing to be his main outlet, touring clubs under a variety of different names. In those days record stores were still more important than streaming outputs, the music industry hadnʼt yet collapsed and DJing was still a job that provided a lot of challenges. After this had evolved and the scene had become faster-moving, Häglsperger lost interest in this scene. As a result, he decided to focus exclusively on his career as a producer, trying to develop a live set that drew on the experiences he has made as a DJ in hope of achieving both unique and timeless sound.
The music Häglsperger makes as Kalipo (the curious name came to him in the shower one day) is situated between his passion for downbeat and raving dance music. Apart from producing and remixing for a variety of artists over the past few years, he has also contributed to several compilations released by Stiff Little Spinners. Kalipoʼs debut album “Yarutoa” followed the abstract narrative of an impersonal biography by creating moods that correspond with certain stages of life. Yaruto was released by Antime Records in 2014, the Berlin-based label run by Häglepspergerʼs close friend and Frittenbude band colleague Martin Steer. The second album took Kalipo back to mothership Audiolith, where “Wanderer” was released in 2016, evoking tales of traveling the globe, both as a music producer or as a private artist. Since then, Kalipo has released two more EPs: “Charlie” on Polish label Otake Records in 2016 and “Alles gut” on Audiolith daughter techno label “Hold Your Ground” in 2017.
From his first bedroom recordings in his native Bavaria, to his chart-breaking records with Frittenbude, as well as his multifaceted work as Kalipo, Jakob Häglsperger has always been hard-working and driven by both his passion and ambition, and as a result he has brought us many unique and timeless pieces of art.
