DJ Koze


Stefan Kozalla, better known as DJ Koze, is a German DJ and music producer.

Biography

Born in Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Kozalla first became known in the Hamburg music scene. In the early 1990s, he started as a rapper and DJ for various hip-hop groups in Flensburg. In 1991, DJ Koze reached second place in the German DMC Championship. Two years later, he moved to Hamburg and, together with Cosmic DJ, DJ Stachy, and the "Schreckliche Sven", founded the hip hop formation Fischmob, which persisted for about five years.
At the same time, he also worked with electronic music, increasing his name recognition as a DJ and producing remixes, sometimes under the pseudonym Adolf Noise. A collection of such remixes appeared in 2000 under the title Music Is Okay. As Adolf Noise in 2001, with Max Goldt as spokesman, he released the single "Deine Reime sind Schweine", a satire on battle rap tracks in German hip hop.
Together with Cosmic DJ and Erobique he founded the project International Pony, releasing We Love Music in 2002 Mit Dir sind wir vier in 2006. Since 2003, Koze published several Techno-Maxis at the Cologne label Kompakt under the name Monaco Schranze. He also released his second mix CD in 2004, titled All People Is My Friends.
As a DJ, he also performed at major festivals such as Coachella, Osheaga, Outside Lands, Roskilde, Sónar, Tomorrowland, SonneMondSterne, Melt!, Time Warp, Mayday, Mutek, Amsterdam Dance Event, Snowbombing, Nature One, Fusion Festival and Meredith Music Festival. In reader surveys of the music magazines Spex, Intro and de: Bug he was repeatedly voted DJ of the Year.

His productions under the name Adolf Noise are generally more experimental and eccentric. After Wunden, s. Beine Offen in April 2005, the second Adolf Noise album Wo die Rammelwolle fliegt was released.
He has run the label Pampa Records since 2009. On that label, he released the album Amygdala in 2013, entering the official German and Swiss charts for the first time. In addition, he received the Critics Award at the 2014 Echo Awards ceremony. On June 15, 2015, his edition of the mix series DJ Kicks was released on the Berlin label Studio !K7, which attracted a great deal of national and international attention. In 2017, he was nominated for two Electronic Music Awards for Record of the Year and Remix of the Year, both for his Extended Disco Version of Låpsley's "Operator".
In January 2018, DJ Koze announced his fourth studio album titled Knock Knock, which was released on May 4, 2018 on Pampa Records. On July 12, 2018, his remix of the track "Humility" by British band Gorillaz was released.
On October 19, 2018, he was awarded the Prize for Pop Culture in the Favorite Producer category at the Tempodrom Berlin.
DJ Koze performed at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall for the first time on 12 December 2019 and also debuted his new A/V show, Popup Jungle.
Róisín Murphy announced in March 2023 her signing to Ninja Tune with a new single, "CooCool", which was produced by DJ Koze. Her album Hit Parade, produced by DJ Koze, was released on 8 September 2023 on Ninja Tune and reached #6 on the official German albums chart and #5 on the official UK albums chart in its week of release.
On November 29, 2024, DJ Koze announced the release of his fifth studio album titled Music Can Hear Us, a release on his own label, Pampa Records. On the same day, the first single from the album, "Pure Love", a song created in collaboration with Damon Albarn, was released.
Kozalla himself pronounces his DJ name as which, in German, is identical to kotze. Internationally, his name is pronounced like cozy in English.

Awards

Echo Pop
DJ Awards
  • 2018: Category „Electronica/Downtempo“
Faze Magazine
Groove Magazine
  • 2023: 4th Place DJ of the Year
  • 2024: 1st Place Producer of the Year
  • 2024: 2nd Place Track of the Year
Preis für Popkultur
  • 2018: Category „favourite producer“
Pitchfork - The 50 Best Albums of 2018
  • 2018: 3rd Place - Knock Knock
Pitchfork - The 100 Best Songs of 2018
  • 2018: 5th Place - Pick Up
MIXMAG - The Top 50 Tracks of 2018
  • 2018: 1st Place - Pick Up
Noisey - The 100 Best Albums of 2018
  • 2018: 9th Place - Knock Knock
Resident Advisor - 2018's Best Tracks
  • 2018: Pick Up
Rolling Stone - 50 Best Albums of 2018 So Far
  • 2018: Knock Knock
FM4 - Most Wanted - 100 besten Clubtracks des Jahres
  • 2018: 1st Place - ''Pick Up''

    Discography

Studio albums
  • 2005: Kosi Comes Around
  • 2013: Amygdala
  • 2018: Knock Knock
  • 2025: Music Can Hear Us
Singles and EPs
  • 1998: Happy Hip Hop
  • 2001: Deine Reime Sind Schweine
  • 2003: The Geklöppel Continues
  • 2004: Late Check Out
  • 2004: Speicher 20
  • 2005: Lighta Spuba
  • 2006: Kosi Comes Around – Remixes Part 1
  • 2006: Stompin at the Clubfoot
  • 2007: All the Time
  • 2007: Naked
  • 2008: I Want to Sleep
  • 2009: Mrs. Bojangels
  • 2010: Rue Burnout / Blume der Nacht
  • 2012: My Orphaned Son / It’s Only
  • 2013: Amygdala Remixes #1
  • 2014: Amygdala Remixes #2
  • 2014: La Duquesa / Burn With Me
  • 2015: XTC
  • 2016: Driven
  • 2018: Seeing Aliens
  • 2018: Pick Up
  • 2021: Record Store Day 2021 Exclusive
  • 2022: knock knock Remixes #1
  • 2022: knock knock Remixes #2
  • 2023: Róisín Murphy & DJ Koze – Can’t Replicate 12″ Edit
  • 2023: Wespennest/Candidasa EP
  • 2024: Gerry Read x DJ Koze - Highly Recommended
  • 2024: DJ Koze feat. Arnim Teutoburg-Weiß & The Düsseldorf Düsterboys – Wie schön du bist
  • 2024: DJ Koze feat. Damon Albarn – Pure Love
  • 2025: DJ Koze feat. Ada – Unbelievable
Compilations
  • 2000: Music Is Okay
  • 2009: Reincarnations: The Remix Chapter 2001-2009
  • 2014: Reincarnations Part 2: The Remix Chapter 2009-2014
DJ mixsets
  • 2004: All People Is My Friends
  • 2009: Resident Advisor #145
  • 2013: FACT 387
  • 2013: XLR8R 324
  • 2015: DJ-Kicks: DJ Koze
Remixes
  • Herbert – It’s Only
  • Moderat – Bad Kingdom
  • Mount Kimbie – Made to Stray
  • Malaria! vs. Chicks On Speed – Kaltes Klares Wasser
  • Blumfeld – Tausend Tränen Tief
  • Fettes Brot – Silberfische In Meinem Bett
  • Die Goldenen Zitronen – Weil Wir Einverstanden Sind
  • Egoexpress – Telefunken
  • Rocko Schamoni – The Diskoteer
  • Die Fantastischen Vier – Le Smou
  • Reinhard Voigt – Zu Dicht Dran
  • Hildegard Knef – Ich Liebe Euch
  • Andreas Dorau – Kein Liebeslied
  • Ada – Eve
  • Ada – Faith
  • Heiko Voss – I Think About You
  • Mano Le Tough – Energy Flow
  • James Figurine – Apologies
  • Wassermann – Die Schallplatte
  • Meloboy – Hot Love
  • Wechsel Garland – Mutes
  • Blagger – Strange Behavior
  • Alter Ego – Jolly Joker
  • Battles – Atlas
  • Gerd – 1 In the Morning
  • Sascha Funke – Mango Cookie
  • Mathias Kaden – Kawaba
  • Nôze – Danse Avec Moi
  • Matthew Dear – Elementary Lover
  • Lawrence – Rabbit Tube
  • Låpsley – Operator
  • Caribou – Found Out
  • Caribou – Jamelia
  • The Big Crunch Theory – Distortion
  • Who Made Who – Keep Me In My Plane
  • Makossa & Megablast feat. Cleydys Villalon – Soy Como Soy
  • Efdemin – There Will Be Singing
  • Michael Mayer & Joe Goddard – For You
  • Chilly Gonzales – Knight Moves
  • Apparat – Black Water
  • Superflu – Jo Gurt
  • 2raumwohnung – Somebody Lonely and Me
  • Matias Aguayo – Minimal
  • Underworld – I Exhale
  • Roman Flügel – 9 Years
  • Radio Slave – Reverse
  • Gorillaz – Humility
  • Radio Slave – Reverse
  • Gerry Read – It’ll All Be Over
  • Sebjak & Fahlberg – 4Ever She May Live
  • Lakou Mizik & Joseph Ray – Sanba Yo Pran Pale
  • José González – Tjomme
  • Solomun feat. Jamie Foxx – Ocean
  • Peggy Gou – I Go
  • Melle Brown feat. Annie Mac – Feel About You
  • Dumbo Tracks & Markus Acher – Everybody Knows
  • Róisín Murphy & DJ Koze – Can’t Replicate 12″ Edit
With Adolf Noise
  • 1996: Wunden, S. Beine Offen
  • 2001: Deine Reime Sind Schweine
  • 2005: Wo die Rammelwolle fliegt
With Fischmob
  • 1995: Männer können seine Gefühle nicht zeigen
  • 1998: Power
With Monaco Schranze
  • 2003: Speicher 11
  • 2004: Speicher 25
With Marteria
  • 2021: 5. Dimension
With Róisín Murphy
  • 2023: Hit Parade
  • 2024: ''Hit Parade Remixes''