A Deep Dive into Free Improvisation:

Cologne, Germany – KARJA HAUPTMANN DUO, the collaboration between celebrated pianists Kirke Karja and Felix Hauptmann, is set to release their debut album, Underwater Consciousness, on June 27, 2025, via Boomslang Records and will be available on vinyl and digital download.
Blurring the boundaries between free improvisation and instant composition, Underwater Consciousness captures the duo’s exploration of textural depth, rhythmic complexity, and layered time structures on a delicate yet captivating piano dialogue. The music emerges from a shared rhythmic sensibility, drawing listeners into immersive auditory landscapes filled with both exigency and introspection.

Recording the Album: A Process of Sound Exploration

The album was recorded on January 4, 2024, at LOFT, Cologne. After an intensive day of rehearsing and discovering new textures and musical ideas, Hauptman and Karja recorded in just an hour the entirety of the music in the album. Each piece unfolds naturally, shaped by their improvisational confabulation and intuitive artistic connection, in which humour and playfulness is present.

“The recording shows depth and urgency—both are core values in our work."
– Felix Hauptmann