Wet Dreamer

Accepting an early call to his home in the central German town of Kassel, Clemens Rehbein embarks on an appropriately sleepy chat with The Music. The songwriter and guitarist of buzz outfit Milky Chance, Rehbein is the owner of that longing, distinctively scratchy voice that's conquered the contemporary European music scene.

Rehbein met the second half of the future Milky Chance conglomerate, producer and percussionist Philipp Dausch, as part of the advanced music program at his high school. It's hard to believe that the pair only graduated last year given the hype they've induced, as well as their mature approach to genre. As an alternative to the straight-up electronic scene so popular in Germany, an amalgamation of mostly acoustic, pop and rock elements inform the duo's craft, and it's all underpinned by delicate beats. This has resulted in a minimalist folktronica aesthetic that's managed to resonate with their broad fanbase. “Jazz, classic, hip hop – whatever, there's no set style where we would say, 'Okay, I want my music to be that,'” Rehbein says of the pair's mixed musical approach. “We like a lot of different styles, kinds of music – we like music in general. We had a very good education in music because of our music class.”

After Rehbein posted the first few songs they created together on YouTube in 2012, one particular track, Stolen Dance, quickly garnered traction. The video has now been viewed over 40 million views). In the wake of this sudden viral sensation, Rehbein and Dausch were approached by various major labels. However the DIY duo instead decided to forge their own path, producing their debut album and simultaneously giving birth to their homemade label, Lichtdicht Records. “It was just a few very good friends,” Rehbeins says of the start-up. “We just wanted to have a look. We wanted to try something else because we were just getting started, so we decided to start our own label, just to see how it works. And it was a very a childish idea; there was never any expectations about anything. It was just the idea to try something new.”

If anyone could afford to adopt this chill attitude, it's Milky Chance. Fuelled by organic hype, Sadnecessary trickled its way into our musical consciousness following it's release late last year. Rehbein conveys the mood and philosophy behind the album's creation with a distinctly European sincerity: “Sadnecessary for us – we use a feeling of sadness to create something in our music, and we like the feeling of melancholy. You can enjoy it – it's not feeling sad, like, sitting in the corner and crying, it's more being outside, thinking about certain thing.”

Specific details of an upcoming Milky Chance visit remain as hazy as our long-distance phone connection, but Rehbein says the band will be heading south early-2015 to take advantage of our summer festival circuit.