Martin Kohlstedt

Both live and on his recordings, Martin Kohlstedt sets standards in how cutting-edge electronica can come together with analog and acoustic elements from classical piano, ambient, field recordings and score design. Kohlstedt manages to intuitively find a common form for the influences from such different worlds and to create a living body from them – as a spectacular festival show, an introspective piano concert, a multidimensional film soundtrack or an immersive album experience.

Kohlstedt describes his way of working as modular composing. The pieces are constantly in motion and do not follow a fixed form, even in concert. Improvisation is an essential part of his work, as is the courage to fail, searching and interacting with context, space and people.

Martin Kohlstedt has already collaborated with renowned partners such as the GewandhausChor Leipzig, with artists such as Ben Böhmer, Douglas Dare, Sudan Archives and Henrik Schwarz as well as with labels such as Warner Classics. Martin Kohlstedt plays concerts in over 30 countries, including at the most renowned stages and festivals in Europe. In addition to his own pieces, Kohlstedt writes soundtracks for films, plays, podcasts and radio plays. With Edition Kohlstedt, he runs his own label and fulfills his responsibility as an artist with his own reforestation project. Martin Kohlstedt lives and works in Weimar.