The name 'Blumenkraft' which means 'Flower Power' in German, was born out of Marc's Swiss-German name - Roosli - meaning 'little rose'but is also a reference to electonic music icons 'Kraftwerk'.
Roosli grew up in the midst of the burgeoning Swiss techno scene of the early 90s. After the classical piano training of his childhood he swiftly swapped his piano for a Korg, Commodore & set of decks in his teenage years when he began crafting his own sounds.
In 1994 Marc met with Kiki, a talented song-writer and singer whose early musical exposure, having grown up in Ireland in the 80s, can be traced to bands such as U2 and the Boomtown Rats. Her early influences can still be heard today in her song-writing style and voice.
The couple settled in Ireland and both followed creative careers in arts & multimedia with music always at the heart of their lives as Kiki raised her 2 children with a guitar close to hand.
It wasn't until early 2009 that Kiki & Marc decided to start a musical project together in an effort to get creative again after putting the children to bed! “We are not really TV watchers…” says Kiki “so instead we turned to the studio!”
Taking inspiration from their eclectic early influences the couple started producing dance tracks with quirky song-writing at their core. The term ‘future-retro-pop’ has been used to describe the songs but Blumenkraft is not too concerned about labels. Although, there is a definite retro feel about Blumenkraft’s sound yet somehow they seem to be able to make it sound very fresh.” Kiki’s song-writing and versatile singing style brings something very special to the mix” says Marc.
Blumenkraft's debut single 'Skinny’'(2009) is a catchy dance track which requires a big sense of humour. Considered by some as a bit of a novelty track and by others as an all time favourite it certainly is something quite different and very hard to get out of your head!
In a Computer Music magazine review, well respected producer Tim Oliver, known for his work with New Order, Sinead O’Connor or Van Morrison, wrote of the track “It’s got throwaway attitude by the bucket load… pure bubble-gum pop in and 80s electro style. Oozing radio appeal. I can’t help but like it!”
And it did get plenty of airplay. In Ireland Spin FM’s Dave Davin was the first to support Blumenkraft on his Dirty Disco Show and the single has since been played in over 20 countries.
Blumenkraft organised a remix contest for its debut single. Over 300 producers got involved and the 4 best remixes were released in November 2009 as a 'Skinny Remixes EP'. One of the remixes (Extesizer RMX) has even been licensed to no less than 4 compilations which were all released globally in December 09 and January 2010.
Then earlier in 2010, Blumenkraft teamed up with Drum & Bass MC ‘IreeMC’ to record their second single ‘Fresh Times’, out on April 16th 2010 on Galvanized Records. Fresh times is another catchy dance/pop anthem featuring Blumenkraft’s now trade mark future retro sound and Kiki’s clever verbiage.
Blumenkraft is currently working on their brand new album due out later this year which will feature further collaborations with a few more surprises in store.
