F.S. Blumm

Berlin resident Frank Schültge Blumm, who composes adventurous, intricate music using a variety of acoustic and electronic instruments, describes himself as an “ear worker.” Born in Bremen on July 16, 1968, Blumm studied music art, educational science, and classical guitar. His early projects focused on noise (Blumm’s way of rebelling against the classical guitar), but his work became more structured once he became interested in radio plays. A move to Berlin in 1997 found Blumm collaborating more, most notably with Harald "Sack" Ziegler for the Sack & Blumm project, and his radio plays were broadcast across Germany. Having already released records on the Staubgold, Gefriem, and Audio Dregs labels, Blumm came to most people’s attention in 2001 when he released Mondkuchen, one of the first “acoustic” records on Morr Music, which had generally released electronic music up to that point. In 2002, Staubgold released his dreamy Ankern album, but he returned to Morr for 2005′s Zweite Meer and 2006′s Summer Kling (Audio Dregs also issued Lichten in 2005). Numerous collaborations followed, including a 2007 release with trumpeter Luca Fadda, singles with Anne Laplantine and David Grubbs, and an album with vocalist Jana Plewa under the name Old Splendifolia. Additionally, Blumm and Ellinor Blixt (aka Bobby Baby) released two albums as Bobby & Blumm, and Blumm joined Fadda and Jason Candler in the reggae-inspired Quasi Dub Development project. Blumm also began releasing a series of experimental albums with famed German pianist Nils Frahm. The solo full-length Up Up and Astray appeared on Pingipung in 2013; the label also issued Blumm’s subsequent collaborations with Springintgut (The Bird and White Noise) and Hey (Riddims and Biscuits). Welcome, an album of laid-back, intimate electro-acoustic indie pop, was released by Karaoke Kalk in 2017. ~ David Jeffries & Paul Simpson