Biography

Klaus Johann Grobe are a Swiss duo who sing in German and began their career playing vintage Krautrock, using bass, synths, and drums to craft a sound both familiar and modern. After the release of their first LP, Im Sinne der Zeit, in 2014, they expanded their vintage-leaning sound to incorporate disco and chillwave (on 2016's Spagat der Liebe) then R&B and soft rock (on 2018's Du Bist So Symmetrisch.) The duo of Sevi Landolt (keyboards, vocals) and Daniel Bachmann (percussion) came together in 2011 and self-released a six-song, self-titled EP in 2012, that was picked up by the U.K. label Sound of Salvation. The EP appeared in an edition of only a few hundred copies, but it left a positive impression on critics and DJs, and the American indie label Trouble in Mind reissued the "Traumhaft" b/w "Nicht zu Stoppen" single in the United States after its original 2013 pressing on U.K. label Sunstone Records sold out. The duo's first full-length album, Im Sinne der Zeit, was produced by David Langhard and released in April 2014. The duo spent the remainder of 2014 touring Europe and the U.K., partly as support for the Growlers and Temples, then headed out again in 2015 playing more countries and at festivals including Way Back When, Eurosonic, Eindhoven Psych Lab, and Zaragoza Psychfest. In December, they released a single, "Baby Lass Uns Sein." Their next album, 2016's Spagat der Liebe, found them pursuing a less Krautrock-inspired direction, instead adding disco and space age pop to the mix. It was released by Trouble in Mind in May of 2016 as the band embarked on its first U.S. tour. After taking some time off in 2017, the duo returned with a third album that continued in the more diverse direction of its predecessor. 2018's Du Bist So Symmetrisch branched out into gently funky R&B and soft rock, added some new vintage synth sounds, and increased the relaxed disco quotient markedly. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi