Thees Uhlmann

Thees Uhlmann first gained recognition as the frontman of Hamburg indie pop group Tomte, yet he later seized the ensemble's self-declared break in the late 2000s to establish a solo path that matched its prior success. Born in Henmoor, Lower Saxony in 1974, he balanced university studies in politics and English with his duties as Tomte's vocalist; the band issued five albums from 1998 to 2008 before entering its voluntary pause. Throughout that span Uhlmann maintained additional ventures, among them penning a tour diary for the influential Hamburger Schule act Tocotronic, co-founding the Grand Hotel Van Cleef imprint alongside Kettcar members Marcus Wiebusch and Reimer Bustorff, and portraying a member of the fictional band Hansen in the 2005 film Keine Lieder Uber Liebe. The year 2011 saw him contribute to a Superpunk tribute album, guest on the title track of Casper's XOXO release, and issue his debut solo album under his own name, which climbed to number four on the domestic charts. Two years later he delivered his follow-up, titled simply #2; the collection again performed strongly, reaching number two in Germany and number four in Austria.