Artist Spotlight : August : Henrik Schwarz
Internationally renowned music producer and composer Henrik Schwarz is known for his eclectic musical approach to composition and sound design. As a producer and performer, he has successfully maintained a balance between electronic music, classical and jazz, and between energetic, highly charged dance sets at huge Techno events and concert performances in seated auditoriums.
Since 2002, Schwarz has been releasing his own music, and has accrued over 100 music releases and productions as an artist for big and small labels like Warner Music, Universal Music, Motown, Sony/BMG, !K7, Verve Records, and indies like Defected Records, Innervisions, Ninja Tune, G-Stone , Compost Records and many more. Countless, widely heard remix productions for a Who’s Who of the international dance scene have ensued, making their way into DJ charts. Amongst those whose work he’s tailored for the global dance floor are Michael Jackson, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Boy George, Ane Brun, Camille, The Foals and Mari Boine. In addition, Coldplay and Mary J. Blige have recently sought his unique production style and sonic aesthetics.
Schwarz’s early years culminated in 2006 with a stylistically surprising and diverse mix for the hip DJ-Kicks CD series (which was originally brought to public attention by Kruder & Dorfmeister). In 2007, he released Henrik Schwarz Live, which documented his transformation from DJ to dynamic live laptop performer on the international club and festival scene.
His passion for minimal music was evident in 2009 on the conceptual mix album The Grandfather Paradox with Âme & Dixon.
Since 2010, Henrik Schwarz has performed regularly as a musician and composer. In 2010, he broke new ground by collaborating with Norwegian pianist Bugge Wesseltoft, which found piano and computer side by side on stage as well as on their first album, Duo, allowing concert halls and renowned jazz festivals a chance to discover Henrik Schwarz for themselves.
Since 2010, Henrik Schwarz has composed commissioned work for the Berlin State Ballet, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Tonhalle Zürich and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, as well as new music for silent film classics belonging to the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation. He also created the sound logo for well-known US film production
company FilmNation (The Imitation Game, The King’s Speech, Looper etc.).
With the addition of exceptional bassist Dan Berglund (e.s.t.) on bass, Schwarz’s duo with Wesseltoft has developed into a trio, Wesseltoft Schwarz Berglund. In 2014, the trio released the album album TRIALOGUE through Universal Music, playing celebrated concerts across Europe.
2013 provided the first two appearances of the Henrik Schwarz live band – at Berlin’s Watergate Club and the Melt! Festival – with Schwarz as vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player, alongside a bassist and two drummers.
That same year, his conceptual, sound research-based collaboration with German pianist Hauschka, Scripted & Prepared, was unveiled at the Muziekgebouw aan ‚t IJ in Amsterdam. Since 2014, Scripted & Prepared has continued with Swiss ECM artist Nik Bärtsch.
In 2013, together with the State Ballet, Schwarz composed and produced a nearly 30 minute score for a ballet production at Berlin’s Berghain club called
„Masse“.
As part of his own composition, INSTRUMENTS, Schwarz has worked with the Dutch Chamber Orchestra at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, independent ensembles in Tokyo and Stuttgart, and the German Chamber Orchestra in Berlin.
Henrik Schwarz’s INSTRUMENTS album will be released in April 2015.
Schwarz works on live projects with Norwegian pianist Bugge Wesseltoft, bassist Dan Berglund (Esbjorn Svensson Trio), Frank Wiedemann, pianist Nik Bärtsch (ECM), Hauschka (Deutsche Grammophon), Etienne Jaumet, Kahil El’Zabar, Ben Westbeech, Robert Owens, Johannes Brecht, and many more.
As a result of Henrik’s work for Berghain’s Masse project he worked with german painter Norbert Bisky on his exhibition/installation „Zentrifuge“ for Kunsthalle Rostock 2014.
In Autumn 2015 Henrik wrote the new title music for the famous german television show „Das Literarische Quartett“ (ZDF).
Schwarz’s international success and his passion for global music culture are visible in his collaborations with Samí singer Mari Boine (Norway), Emanuel Jal (Sudan), Kuniyuki Takahashi (Japan), Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (USA) and Amampondo (South Africa).
Henrik Schwarz has performed as a musician under his own name on the stages of, among others:
Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Barbican Hall (London), the Royal Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Tonhalle Zürich, the Cologne Philharmonic Hall, the Royal Festival Hall (London), the Auditorium Parco Della Musica (Rome), the Kampnagelfabrik (Hamburg), the Hellerau Theatre (Dresden), the Leipzig Opera House and the Chamber Music Hall (Berlin) and at festivals including:
Montreux Jazz, North Sea Jazz, Enjoy Jazz, Jetzt Musik, London Jazz, Numusic, So What’s Next, Rewire, Young Pianists Festival Amsterdam, Detroit Electronic Music Festival, Amsterdam Dance Event, Mutek, Nuits Sonores, Worldwide Festival, Melt! Festival, Timewarp, Awakenings etc
Henrik Schwarz runs his own record label, Sunday Music, which releases his own productions as well as the work of musician and producer friends.
Schwarz is in great demand as an innovator when it comes to the invention and development of music software and new technology for musical instruments, hence his release of the compositional patch, the SCHWARZONATOR. He works closely with companies like Yamaha Music, Ableton, Native Instruments etc. ~ henrikschwarz.com
K Civ Favorites
Alton Miller "Clouds Are Gone" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Ane Brun "Headphone Silence" (Henrik Schwarz Remix, Dixon Edit)
Detroit Experiment "Think Twice" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Omar feat. Stevie Wonder "Feeling You" (Henrik Schwarz Live Remix)
Kuniyuki feat. Henrik Schwarz "The Session 2" (Original Mix)
Stateless "Bloodstream" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Bill Withers "Who Is He" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Henrik Schwarz "Jon" (I'm Fading Away Mix)
Frankie Valentine "Zumbi" (Henrik Schwarz Dub Remix)
Slope feat. Disney Bailey "Keepin It Up" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
James Brown "It's a Man's World" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Fritz Kalkbrenner "Right In The Dark" (Henrik Schwarz Remix - Chopstick & Johnjon Edit)
Dark Globe "Atoms" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Ben Westbeech "Inflections" (Produced by Henrik Schwarz)
Amadou & Mariam "Je Pense A Toi" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Henrik Schwarz "Unknown Touch Two"
Kuniyuki feat. Henrik Schwarz & Yoshihiro Tsukahara "The Session" (Henrik Schwarz Version)
Popol Vuh "Heart of Glass" [Sei still wise it bin edit] (Henrik Schwarz, Dixon, Amé A Critical Mass Remix)
Baaba Maal "Fulani Rock" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Black Motion & Amampondo "Far Lands" (Henrik Schwarz Mix)
Recondite & Henrik Schwarz "Motion"
Deetron feat. Justin Chapman "Let's Get Over It" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Henrik Schwarz "Endangered Species"
Radio String Quartet "Debussy: String Quartet (Assez Vif Et Bien Bien Rythme) [Henrik Schwarz Remix]
Henrik Schwarz "L'Abeille"
Kahil El'Zabar "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Marsmobil "Gonna Be My Day" (Henrik Schwarz Acoustronic Remix)
Makossa & Magablast feat. Hurbert Tubbs "Coming Home" (Henrik Schwarz Acoustronic Remix / K Civ Edit)
Y-Bayani "Asembi Ara Amba" (Henrik Schwarz Version)
Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas "Eye Nyam Nam 'A' Mensuro" (Henrik Schwarz Blend)
J.Bernardt "Wicked Streets" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
The 2 Bears "My Queen" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Johannes Brecht feat. Qzen "Psylica" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Jackson 5 "Dancing Machine" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Seekae "The Worry" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Sheharzard "Yalla Yalla" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Foals "Red Sox Pugie" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Vista & Meyland "Yes Ma'am" (All Night Long) (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Henrik Schwarz & Metropole Orkest "Counter Culture"
Mari Boine "Vuoi Vuoi Me" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Henrik Schwarz & Amampondo "I Exist Because of You" (Henrik Schwarz Live Version)
Jesse Rose "Stop, Look, & Listen" (Henrik Schwarz Instruments Midi Version for 15 Strings)
Henrik Schwarz "Confirm Humanity"
Carl Craig "The Melody" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
London Grammar "Wasting My Young Years" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Kuniyuki Takahashi "Dear African Sky" (Henrik Schwarz Remix - Unreleased Live Version)
Emmanuel Jal "Kuar" (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Kuniyuki "Once Again" (Henrik Schwarz Version)
Dapayk Solo feat. Camara & Jon Hester "Back To Me" (Henrik Schwarz Remix / K Civ Edit)
Camille "Ta Douleur" (Henrik Schwarz Vocal Remix)
