Bryan Kessler

Definitely not one of your usual DJ/producer suspects, Cologne’s Bryan Kessler making his first forays into music and aspiring to become a recognized poet, didn’t waste his time with pre-teen bedroom synthesis, mp3 collections or fan wallpaper – rather, he’d be on the poster himself, entering the spotlight at the tender age of twelve to front for his ragtag gang of musical misfits that would become known as The Pollywogs. Jumping off the deep end, Kessler quickly turned out to be a natural on stage as well as in the studio. From sculpting a vibrant guitar riff to landing it in front of a fired-up crowd, he was instrumental in shaping his band’s refreshing style, a gutsy mix of pop and pogo, irreverent bold attitude in lyrics and catchy melodic sensibilities spread across two full-length albums and multiple live tours through Germany. But a restless genius-in-the-making like Kessler’s wasn’t to be confined to the indie mosh pit, soon discovering the forbidden pleasures of club life and electronic dance music. He started curating his own DJ sets for sweaty dance floors – and also took his new-found passion to the mixing desk, where he’d churn out his first techno and house tracks, quickly locking in a unique blend of minimalistic, percussion-heavy dance beats, vocal loops and in-your-face songwriting. Highly idiosyncratic and fairly unpredictable, a Kessler jam is almost always a pretty kinetic affair, infusing the electronic flow with a well-needed dose of snotty punk rock and his slightly questionable behavior holding an SM57 in one hand and a drum stick in the other – a strategy that finds its most accomplished application on his on productions, that enables Kessler to take the conventional DJ set to a live escapade. Following energetic releases on underground labels such Coméme, Get Physical, and more recently Jackmaster’s Numbers imprint, Bryan Kessler’s releases including his "New Feel" series present a booty shaking, action-packed selection of slow motion mutant disco belters and riff-ready stadium synth tunes. Since 2018 Bryan Kessler gives out his new 60min DJmix show called 'Irrational Fiction' on Radio Cómeme which features punky guitar disco grooves mixed with selected spoken poetry from all over the globe. Alongside his residency at Club Gewölbe in and his club series ‘Do the taboo’ in Colognes Acephale, he is constantly on tour with places such as Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, Bali, Buenos Aires, Mexico, London or Paris as some of his regular stops. He single-handedly hosts street gigs by going out into the streets of Metropolises, performing in front of pedestrians and turning his show into a major party. When he’s not in the midst of performing, Bryan Kessler can be seen pasting poems to house walls or producing other artists, as he is not only known for being the producer of his own music but is also sought after for productions in a great variety of genres. Additional to his work as a producer, he loves collaborating with other creatives such as the DJ’s Pareja, Christian S, Mamacita as well as authors from Berlin. Out of the depth of his making, his tracks always make their way into the clubs and are regularly played by the likes of big ones like Dixon. Bryan Kessler has a distinct and consistent sound and a very evident artist personage, always wanting to provoke, hit a nerve and create something individual while simultaneously stepping up his game, reinventing himself, knowing no limits and still keeping a common theme.