Magro – Grief feat. Moses Yoofee

Magro spent his formative years in Ludwigsburg, close to Stuttgart, in southern Germany. Growing up with both parents being classically trained musicians meant that he was never far away from an instrument. He learnt classical piano from the age of 6, before moving on to drums at 14, and taking his love for the instrument with him on moving to Berlin in 2015.

The vibrant music scene in the German capital, as well as the influence of his producer girlfriend, took his thoughts to the studio, and having been fed on a love for Golden Age Hip Hop, D’Angelo and Prince in his 20s, the art of music production soon became his raison d’être and Magro was born.

“Producing has opened up a new musical world for me, because I’ve learned to listen in a completely different way.” Magro

Living a rather solitary existence in Berlin, Magro dug deep to hone his own style and took his time to connect with the city’s music scene. It was worth the wait though, as the drummer and producer eventually found himself working with artists from an eclectic selection of musical genres including J.Lamotta, Stimulus and Telemakus. His first LP, entitled Trippin, was released in 2021 to huge critical acclaim, and was awarded the German Jazz Prize for Debut Album of the Year.

The follow up LP II dropped the following year, deftly combining out there space jazz with hip hop beats, and seeing the producer collaborate with soulful vocalist Kenny Wesley and rapper Rapturous, with whom he continues to enjoy a fruitful partnership with to this day.

Signing to Sonar Kollektiv marks an important moment in Magro’s career as it’s sure to bring his distinct but hard to pigeonhole, international sound to a new audience of music lovers with a broad palette. The forthcoming debut EP for the label provides a tight snapshot of his mellifluous sound.

The Tokyo Tree EP, like the Japanese cherry blossom, marks a spring-like rebirth for the producer. The first taste comes in the form of new single Grief, featuring composer, producer and keyboard prodigy, Moses Yoofee, another long time friend and collaborator. Yoofee, who has released several hugely popular EPs of his own and received the German Jazz Prize for “Live Act of the Year” with his trio, adds sparkling synths to Magro’s intricately structured backdrop and shows off his skills with aplomb. The result is a sophisticated yet forward thinking piece, and one that Magro has been playing live for some time already, inspired by a Herbie Hancock melody gifted to and re-interpreted by British jazz wunderkind Jacob Collier. Magro in turn reimagined the melody into a more abstract format, producing chords under it to complete the track.