Studnitzky | KY!
The music projects of Sebastian Studnitzky aka KY are minimalistic yet full of layers and diverse sounds. In a stylistic departure from his orchestral project MEMENTO which earned him an ECHO Jazz Award, KY organic takes its aesthetic influences from electronic music and is performed by a scaled-down instrumental ensemble, whilst his latest releases document his solo works.
Studnitzky has long been known as a unique voice between jazz, classical and electronic music. A multi-instrumentalist on trumpet and piano, he creates sound worlds that are both intimate and cinematic. He performed on the stages of major festivals worldwide, received the ECHO Jazz and Opus Klassik awards, and collaborated with artists across genres from jazz innovators to electronic pioneers.
As a founder and artistic director of Berlin’s XJAZZ! Festival, Sebastian has also become a cultural entrepreneur and connector, shaping one of Europe’s most forward-thinking music platforms. His projects – from the orchestral Memento Odesa to the expansive new album KY! – embody his rare ability to merge emotional depth, genre-transcendence and collective energy into music that feels both timeless and of the moment.
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KY! is the new, epic album – and the name of a powerful ensemble. It unites multi-instrumentalism, genre-transcendence and raw emotional depth, with the Odesa Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra joining forces. The result: grooves with intensity and hypnosis, melodies of pure beauty, and a collective sound of rare strength – a musical uprising, a radical commitment to beauty, truth and togetherness.
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"I gathered my favourite musicians and the Odesa Chamber Orchestra – with whom we had just toured extensively – in Berlin’s legendary MEISTERSAAL to record the album live, in front of an intimate audience, and without any overdubs. The hall, which had already hosted David Bowie, Depeche Mode and U2, revealed its magical acoustics. Every musician played with inspired focus and intensity – the risky setup worked, and we captured the raw energy of a real live set." ​
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New album out in autumn 2025
Listen to KY!
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Studnitzky | Memento Odesa
release: 15.11.2024
Three of the songs were recorded in July 2023 with a full orchestra at the Odesa Philharmonic, while six more were recorded live at the concert at Berlin's Memorial Church in March 2024. The album CD / Vinyl is available since November 2024.
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​About Memento Odesa​
Studnitzky | nocturnal
release: 29.04.2022
There’s a heavy-heart feeling that touches every track on Nocturnal, Sebastian Studnitzky’s latest album. Not quite dark enough to characterize a melancholy, rather the album unfolds a gentle blend of blues and serenity that’s most common on Sunday evenings or during creative insomniac spells at dawn. “All of these songs were composed, produced, and finalized at night time,” notes Studnitzky, who for six months live-streamed midnight sessions of his improvisations to an audience of fellow night owls. Nocturnal captures Studnitzky’s solo introspection during these late sessions of playing the trumpet, piano and electronics.
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Studnitzky | Dusk
release: 15.04.2022
Dusk provides a transcendental breakthrough in Nocturnal, where over a meditative drone backdrop Sebastian Studintzky’s trumpet – played with a mute and hence sounding crisp – makes a mystical and heavenly appearance. Like some sort of messiah delivering an important omen, the listener is taken aback in awe, hypnotized by each and every of the trumpet’s scattered lines. The nine-minute-long song is a completely improvised, first-take jazz piece.
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Studnitzky | Omara
release: 18.03.2022
Omara is Nocturnal’s most longing track. The piece’s languid piano motif is filled with struggle and heart-wrenching pain. A stripped-down set-up explains the intimacy felt throughout the track, almost as if Studnitzky had simply pressed ‘record’ during an at-home improvisation. This lack of polishing also makes Omara an incredibly personal and relatable journey that hits the listener deep within.
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Studnitzky | Flusso
release 18.02.2022
...Perhaps no other track on the album best captures this polarity than ‘Flusso’, where fastpaced and intense percussion runs parallel to melancholic piano keys. Momentarily throughout the track these two universes collide, and as they synchronize the air is filled with poignancy and
momentum.
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Studnitzky | Lucine
release 21.01.2022
Single ‘Lucine’ captures just how comfortable the musician has become with this grey area, starting off with familiar classical piano chords that almost feel commonplace, the track opens up to Studnitzky’s nonsensical singing, and later signature trumpet playing – so soft the tone threatens to break. On the track, voice and trumpet appear to reverse their roles; while the trumpet feels like a human voice, the vocals are used as an instrument delivering sounds rather than words.
Studnitzky | Prophet
Studnitzky, the Berlin based multi-instrumentalist and producer, for his new album chose to focus on the most intimate setup and played all instruments himself. The track „Prophet“ combines a dark analog synth arpeggiator with Moroccan voodoo rhythms whilst a rural trumpet flies on top of it. Studnitzky also created the minimalistic but hypnotizing video for the song himself.
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Studnitzky | Auriel
"Auriel" is the first single from his new album which will be released in Autumn.
All the instruments that appear in the song I play myself (piano, analog synths, beats, moroccan drums) and I even sing a bit.
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Studnitzky | Live in Berlin
KY - Live in Berlin was recorded in January 2019 at Lido Berlin. This live-album documents the unity of this unique quartet that travelled and played intense during the last years. KY aka Studnitzky provides minimal, sophisticated but deep emotional compositions that are extended during the live performance and in songs like Organic or Egis the band dives into an intense journey of groove and sound.