Modular Present:
Jan Blomqvist (Live Performance – Album Tour)
(Armada // Stil vor Talent // Berlin, Germany)
Pedro Arbulu + Matt Hubert + Jonathan Will + Benjamin K

Bio //
Jan Blomqvist is a Berlin-based live electronic artist, whose signature melancholic vocals, introspective melodies and lush beats are celebrated throughout the international dance music scene. With his band he performs dance-oriented electronic pop; as a solo artist, vocal techno.

As a child Jan was always singing. His open-minded parents immediately saw and encouraged his natural talent by exposing him to a variety of music and by giving him his first guitar. Fortunately or unfortunately he was not allowed to join the school band, so instead he formed his own band in a caravan in the woods. There they were free to play whatever music they wanted, which at that time was mostly melodic grunge and punk rock. While the band had moderate success it seemed unrealistic that it would become a career option at that point so after high school Jan, who was always keenly interested in the sciences, began studying aerospace engineering. Then, at the age of 21, he saw his first techno DJ and realized an alternative path in which music could in fact be a profession for him.

Jan continued making music, sharing his nights between producing and working at Berlin’s Week-End club where he earned enough behind the bar for even the odd educational trip to a Radiohead concert or sunday picnic at Bar 25. Through these inspiring experiences he began to form a new goal for himself as a musician, to bring a concert atmosphere to the dancefloor through strong vocals, detailed minimal beats and minor key melodies that are actually somehow uplifting. And more generally, to break up the monotony in the techno nightlife by injecting some pop and rock sensibilities back into the club scene.

In 2011 he got his first big break, a prime time slot at the fusion festival in front of 3000 people right before a big rainstorm. Then after 2 popular releases on Dantze and Stil vor Talent Records he got his next lucky punch, a beautiful video of a flawless live concert performance on the rooftop of Week-End club, which immediately went viral on YouTube and now has almost 2 million hits. This seamlessly flowed into what is now over 250 gigs in three years in places like Moscow, Paris, Istanbul, New York, Rome, Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam, Milan, Athens, Budapest, Beirut, Tunis, Naples, Bucharest, Warsaw, Zurich, Marseilles, Montpellier, Thessaloniki, Munich, Vienna, London, and Dubai.

But in the background of all this and his numerous other collaborative releases Jan has been steadily working on his debut album, taking all the time he needs to get everything perfect. And its getting close now. Sonically it stays true to the big club sound and dark melodies that he is known for.

“It’s that imperfect sound that makes us,” Jan explains. “Emotional, honest, authentic, detailed, big-bassed, sometimes atonal, but mostly just indifferent to the rules. Because, more often than not, it is that wry-ish note that give you goosebumps.”

Free guestlist before 11pm, you must submit names via email to VIP@halcyon-SF.com before 6pm on day before event. Guest list requests must be submitted before 6pm on day of event. Submitting a request DOES NOT guarantee entry to the event. All guests must bring photographic ID as proof of age. Entry is at the discretion of the management.