Klaus Johann Grobe

Klaus Johann Grobe formed as a Swiss duo in 2011 when Sevi Landolt on keyboards and vocals joined forces with percussionist Daniel Bachmann. Their early work drew from vintage Krautrock while employing bass, synths, and drums to produce a sound that felt both recognizable and contemporary, and they frequently delivered vocals in German. After issuing their debut LP Im Sinne der Zeit in April 2014, produced by David Langhard, the pair broadened their approach across subsequent releases. The 2016 album Spagat der Liebe introduced disco and chillwave elements, while Du Bist So Symmetrisch in 2018 ventured into gently funky R&B and soft rock with additional vintage synth textures and a stronger relaxed-disco emphasis. Their fourth LP, the melancholic Io Tu il loro from 2024, shifted toward more subdued cinematic writing that incorporated Brazilian touches and hints of jazz fusion.

The duo’s initial six-song self-titled EP appeared in 2012 as a self-released item limited to a few hundred copies; U.K. label Sound of Salvation later acquired it. That release earned favorable notice from critics and DJs, prompting U.S. indie Trouble in Mind to reissue the “Traumhaft” b/w “Nicht zu Stoppen” single after its original 2013 pressing on U.K. label Sunstone Records sold out. Following the first album’s release, Klaus Johann Grobe spent the balance of 2014 touring Europe and the U.K., including support slots for the Growlers and Temples, then expanded their itinerary in 2015 to additional countries and festival appearances at Way Back When, Eurosonic, Eindhoven Psych Lab, and Zaragoza Psychfest. In December they issued the single “Baby Lass Uns Sein.” Spagat der Liebe, released by Trouble in Mind in May 2016, coincided with the duo’s inaugural U.S. tour and marked a deliberate move away from Krautrock toward disco and space age pop. After a period of inactivity in 2017, they returned with Du Bist So Symmetrisch and waited another six years before unveiling Io Tu il loro, on which they largely set aside prior dance-oriented styles and sang primarily in English for the first time.