Graduates
The following artists have completed
a Master of Popular Music
at the Folkwang Institute for Pop Music:
Julian Gerhard
SoSe 2022
Julian Gerhard started his studies at the institute as a singer/songwriter and gradually worked with electronic sounds as well. So he graduated with the experimental project Rabbit Beam; as a side-project he developed his techno-project Ithaqua and founded the EBM-Band Club Scum.
(Photo: Eva Czaya)
Isabelle Pabst
WiSe 2021/22
As a singer and musician, Isabelle Pabst concocts mini thrillers masquerading as pop songs. She tells stories of female characters and sings about their secrets. Hildegard Knef meets
Einstürzende Neubauten, dry beats and Slavic folklore rhythms.
(Foto: Marcus Engler)
Kira Hummen
WiSe 2021/22
Kira Hummen stands for female power, and is inspired by the melancholy of everyday life. Vocals and guitar are her instruments, her lyrics her driving force. The artist moves through various stages of female empowerment, discovering new vocal aspects and incorporating the rumbling CR78 drum machine into a unique sound.
(Photo: Bülent Kirschbaum)
Johannes Schepp
WiSe 2021/22
Johannes Schepp works as a producer, DJ and songwriter under the name of Yo Scheppert. Yo Scheppert is all about expressive hip hop and bass music.
(Photo: Antonin Mechler)
Melissa Muther
WiSe 2021/22
Melissa Muther lives in Cologne as a freelance musician, bandleader and vocal coach. She writes her own songs on her guitar, fusing soul, R’n’B and pop to create her own genre: melectric soul.
(Photo: Eva Zocher)
Julian Adler
WiSe 2021/22
Singer Julian Adler from Cologne combines international neo-soul influences with his German-language songs – in other words: Pop with a global twist.
(Photo: Frederic Hafner)
Miriam Berger
SoSe 2021
Miriam Berger is a musician and actress. She released her album project Creatures I & II under the name BERGER, focusing primarily on vocals and language. She plays with words and phrases, with accentuation, breath and rhythm, weaving tapestries of sound for her lyrics from rhythmic shifts in vocals and other elements.
(Photo: Sandra Schuck)
Ozan Tekin
SoSe 2021
Ozan Tekin came from Turkey to attend the Folkwang Institute for Pop Music. Now living in Cologne, the composer, producer and performer has already had a varied artistic career, from his work as part of Istanbul’s independent music and theatre scene, to his Seyrek Rifat singer-songwriter project, to his Anarya album project.
(Photo: Begüm Koçum)
Matteo Brossette
WiSe 2020/21
After completing his Bachelor’s degree in audio design at the Berlin School of Popular Arts, Matteo Brossette alias Malugi came to the Folkwang Institute for Pop Music. In addition to his OTEO band project, he also spent his Master’s degree cultivating the pop persona Malugi, who fuses pop and club culture.
(Photo: Nils vom Lande)
Jakob Lebsanft
SoSe 2020
Jakob Lebsanft is a musician, composer and producer. He writes pop songs from different times as BODDY.
(Photo: Frederike Wetzels)
Misagh Azimi
SoSe 2019
Misagh Azimi is a composer, music producer and video artist. He produces sensuous electronic pop through his solo project MÂNĪ and his band Getier.
(Photo: Nico Kleemann)
Elif Dikeç
WiSe 2018/19
Elif Dikeç is a musician based in Istanbul and Cologne. Originally trained as a classical pianist, she now focuses on producing and performing popular music. She is one third of the band Tired Eyes Kingdom and performs as a synth player in the live band of Melike Şahin (Turkish Artist).
(Photo: Özgü Özbudak)
Arno Kröger
SoSe 2018
Arno Kröger is a musician, producer and sound engineer in various genres, from electropop to rock to metalcore. He is also a development engineer for automotive audio/acoustics.
Fabian Horn
WiSe 2017/18
As a graduate of our course and a trained sound technician, Fabian Horn works both as a producer in the studio and as a musician himself on stage – including as a guitarist in progressive metal band In Arcane.
(Photo: Quinten Quist)
Matthew Wood
SoSe 2017
With its loud outfits, flashy stage shows and elaborate videos, Matthew Wood’s LGBTQ*-activist glam-pop is a statement against conformity.
(Photo: Ian Siepmann Baum)
Blint
SoSe 2017
As Blint, Felix Nisblé produces tracks ranging from classic techno, bleep-electro and bassy breakbeats.
The records are released on his vinyl label Blintmusik.
(Photo: Lilli Zylka)
Sonae
SoSe 2017
Sonia Güttler is a producer, live performer and DJ for experimental electronic music, and a member of the Monika Werkstatt label collective. Her albums Far Away is right around the Corner and I Started Wearing Black are internationally acclaimed.
(Photo: Katja Ruge)
Yotam Schlezinger
SoSe 2017
Yotam Schlezinger grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is a freelance musician (guitar, bass), as well as an electronic music producer/ composer. His band Tired Eyes Kingdom creates atmospheric soundscapes with a hint of electrified melancholia.
(Photo: Sabrina Weniger)
Dennis Kresin
WiSe 2016/17
With his band Frogcodile, Dennis Kresin creates music that is somewhere between The Notwist and Radiohead. With over 30 gigs per year, they are one of the country’s most active bands. Dennis Kresin also performs as a solo artist.
(Photo: Lisa Bülow)
Lena Danai
WiSe 2016/17
Lena Danai plays soul pop with influences from blues, funk and African music.
(Photo: Björn Hickmann)
