Horst Weidenmueller

Horst Weidenmüller founded !K7 Records in 1985 at the age of 21. He has consistently represented the wider independent music sector on a political level during the last decade. Serving as a board member of Merlin since its inception in 2007, Weidenmüller has been on the Impala board since 2003 and also served as a board member of VUT, the German Association Of Independent Music Companies.

Weidenmüller initially started !K7 as a music video production company, working with independent artists including Nick Cave, Mudhoney & Einstürzende Neubauten. The ‘DJ-Kicks’ mix album brand was then launched in 1993. More than 19 years later and nearly 40 albums strong, it remains one of the most respected and prestigious DJ mix compilation series worldwide and has featured mixes by many of the leading players in contemporary electronic music including Carl Craig, Apparat, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Kode9 and Wolf & Lamb.

!K7 began releasing artist albums in 1996, and has since been responsible for an array of progressive projects from across the electronic music spectrum. Key acts have included Tosca, Boozoo Bajou, Bomb The Bass and Herbert. Recent signings include Brandt Brauer Frick and When Saints Go Machine.

In 2001 !K7 broadened its musical range with the incorporation of leading specialist labels Strut, Gold Dust, Rapster and Ever. With each label focusing on its own niche within the independent musical landscape, the !K7 Label Group has released new music from artists as varied as Pete Rock, Roy Ayers, Mulatu Astatke, Grandmaster Flash, Kid Creole and Lee Hazlewood.

The early 2000s also saw Weidenmüller introduce !K7’s distribution services. !K7 currently offers label services and distribution to partners including BBE, Crosstown Rebels, Moshi Moshi, Sonar Kollektiv, Piranha, as well as artist-lead labels for Tricky, Fat Freddys Drop and The Whitest Boy Alive.

 
In 2011, !K7 opened a management department which currently looks after the interests of Brandt Brauer Frick and Hercules & Love Affair.

!K7 has offices in Berlin, London and New York