Electronic music icon Paul Kalkbrenner announces the release of “KABELMANN,” a multi-part short film project accompanying the artist’s upcoming two-track Kabelmann EP. The films, created by Mother Berlin and SMUGGLER, and directed by Björn Rühmann, premiered at the renowned Ciclope Festival in Berlin earlier this week and were released alongside the EP today.

A Tale of Connection in Two Parts
“KABELMANN” unfolds in two short film chapters, each scored by Kalkbrenner’s tracks. The films follows the journey of Kabelmann (literally meaning cableman), an otherworldly character and outlier perpetually tethered to endless cables—an homage to Kalkbrenner’s analogue production methods and live-only approach to performance.

Part one is the emotional story arc of an outsider. Kabelmann searches for human connection, hindered by a mysterious energy flowing through his cables. Small flashes of Kalkbrenner hint at the source behind Kabelmann’s energy as the song’s rhythms push the story forward. 

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Part two catapults viewers into a dreamlike afterlife juxtaposed with a violent and climactic showdown, which, accompanied by Paul’s melodic and optimistic track Kabelmann 2, leaves Kabelmann’s ultimate fate ambiguous.

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Internationally acclaimed and award-winning director Björn Rühmann helmed the project, which was shot on location in Manchester and Berlin. The production embraced an analog aesthetic, capturing all footage on Kodak 16mm film. It is the second collaboration between Paul and Mother, who also produced the short film that accompanied his track “Schwer” last year. 

Björn Rühmann, the film’s director, explains: “The process of finding our Kabelmann’s destiny took forever – in a great way. We loved exploring all the ways for this character to become the perfect blend of an alter ego of the artist (Paul) – and a unique, otherworldly hero that captivates the audience. To create the most cinematic vision, we worked with fantastic people such as Kevin Howarth (Actor, Kabelmann) and Krzysztof Trojnar (DP, known for his work on Baby Reindeer), just to name a few.”

Paul Kalkbrenner, who appears throughout the film as an enigmatic energy source, stated: “I have always loved exploring how my music can work in visual mediums, whether that’s in the live setting or in cinematic projects like this. The concept of the Kabelmann made total sense to me, as I have often felt my analog approach to music and performance has made me a bit of an outlier in contemporary electronic music.”

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