On his third album Blizz Munich-based drummer and producer Simon Popp further blurs the line between electronic and organic sounds. In carefully crafted, slow-growing tracks tuned metal percussions cut through searing synth pads, sucking the listener into a sonic vortex. Informed by personal and spiritual themes, Popp’s debut album Laya, as well as his 2021 follow-up Devi make use of rhythms as storytelling mechanisms. Contrasting light and dark, organic and synthetic sounds, his compositions engage in a dance of subtle complexities, enticing the listener into the practice of close listening.

Throughout Blizz, a panopticon of metallophones takes flight, floating freely over earth-bound counter rhythms, conjuring up call and response techniques inherent in polyrhythmic music. This technique favors experimentation over perfectionism, leaving space for happy accidents to unlock new melodic possibilities. According to Popp, “it’s much more interesting to try to push the boundaries of an instrument to see what’s possible.”


Written, Produced, and Recorded by Simon Popp
Mixed by Mario Thaler
Mastered by Martin Ruch
Drawing by Miro Maria Schachtner
Designed by Maximilian Schachtner

  • Bayern 2

    18.11.22
    Klangschale im Kopf

    Ein Studiobesuch beim Perkussionisten Simon PoppWer schon mal versucht hat, sich einen Drumstick, Klöppel oder die flache Hand an den Kopf zu schlagen, wird schnell festgestellt haben, wie dumpf das tönt. Wenn dagegen jene Schallwellen auf unsere Ohren treffen, die Simon Popp mit seinen Instrumenten erzeugt, dann scheint es so, als würde unser Schädel selbst zur Klangschale. Im Kopf macht sich dann unmittelbar bewusste Klarheit breit die bald in eine Art luziden Traum übergehen mag. Es kann aber passieren, dass gleichzeitig alle Körperzellen auf den Groove einsteigen, wenn Simon Popp einen Rhythmus, bei dem Du einfach mitmusst, spielt.Er ist ein Tausendsassa innerhalb jener jungen, jazzenden Münchner Musikszene, die gerne mit Electronica, Pop, Neoklassik oder Weltmusik flirtet und für ihre Auftritte mit Mantras wie „Feel the freedom of music! JAZZTIFY! Become one with the rhythm!“ bewirbt. Alben und EPs werden meist auf dem Szene-eigenen Label Squama Recordings veröffentlicht; das bisher erfolgreichste Projekt ist wohl die „Quasi-Jazzband“ Fazer, die nun beim internationalen Indie- Label „City Slang“ aus Berlin unter Vertrag steht. Fazers Schlagzeuger heißt Simon Popp. Für den Nachtmix hat Judith Schnaubelt den Musiker in seinem Untergiesinger Kellerstudio besucht, was viel zu profan klingt, angesichts der schillernden und vielstimmigen Klangwelt, die sich dort aufgetan hat.

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  • 15 questions

    30.11.22
    Let the Dog Walk Through

    When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

    I grew up on an old farm in rural Bavaria and first got introduced to the drums by my uncle (also a drummer) when I was about 9 years old. He showed them to me and I loved them from the first moment.
    My parents were very supportive from the beginning, I received drum lessons from a local drum teacher and got my own practice space in the barn next door. Very soon I started first bands with friends or played in school projects, whenever a drummer was needed.
    At first I grew up with the music my parents listened to: artists like Fleetwood Mac, Fairport Convention, Led Zeppelin, Joan Baez or Jimi Hendrix come to my mind. Also I remember accompanying my mom to the local library once a week, where I got hooked on musicians biographies or the CD- and tapes collection there.

    When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?
    What I ask for when listening to music is that it makes me experience something. That can be a certain emotion, imagining pictures or connecting to situations or moments from the past.
    When it comes to creativity for me it’s pretty similar. I try to create a space for something interesting to happen and keep my mind open to anything that might come up. Basically I’m just experimenting until something happens that touches me in some way.
    Sometimes the first trigger maybe a certain sound, a musical idea or an happy accident - but I’m always trying to turn towards my gut feeling when developing the idea. When I get to the point where I don’t feel anything while writing music, I normally stop or go into a different direction.

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  • Popp


    Exploration and play are at the core of Simon Popp’s creative process. Classically trained in jazz drumming and polyrhythm, the Bavarian-born artist draws from a vast array of percussive instruments to build his expansive sound palette. Learning the drums and listening to a wide range of genres from a young age instilled in him a ravenous musical curiosity that resonates throughout his various projects: as a solo artist under his own name, his duo-projects 9ms and Enji&Popp or as the drummer for bands like Roosevelt and Fazer, the group he co-founded with conservatory peers Martin Brugger, Paul Brändle, Matthias Lindermayr, and fellow drummer Sebastian Wolfgruber in 2018.

    • Blizz

      180g vinyl

      € 25
      • Devi

        180g vinyl

        € 25
        • Laya

          180g vinyl

          € 23Sold Out!
          • Laya Clear Vinyl Edition

            2023 Repress, Clear vinyl, comes in screen-printed PVC sleeve

            € 25
            • Laya Clear CD

              Popp's debut album available on CD, accompanying the 2023 clear vinyl repress

              € 16
              • 031921 5.24 5.53

                Limited 10" dubplate (one per customer)
                Edition of 50. Comes in a letterpress printed and embossed cover with silver printed innersleeve.

                € 30Sold Out!
                • Percussive Maintenance (2)

                  White printed transparent cassette tape.
                  Limited edition of 50 copies.

                  € 15Sold Out!