Paul Kalkbrenner is putting a real live twist on his DJ sets

Creating the music in the moment is what sets Paul Kalkbrenner apart from some of the globetrotting DJs he is normally lumped with, writes Ed Power

WHEN Paul Kalkbrenner was growing up in East Berlin, the life of a high-flying international DJ and producer seemed an impossible fantasy. The Cold War was still raging and the Wall divided East from West. He does not romanticise the old days. For him they were deathly dull, a purgatory from which there was no possibility of escape. Until suddenly one day there was.

“Behind the Wall I was longing for West Germany,” he says. “After the Wall came down I experienced real freedom and could go anywhere. One of my first trips was straight to McDonalds — I even kept the paper the burger was wrapped in and smelled it before I went to bed that night.”