ABout jan

For me, music has always been a way of telling stories.

I'm Jan Kaatze, a film composer, cellist and producer based in Germany. I love finding the sound that belongs to a story—because I don't think there's one musical language that fits every film. Every project has its own atmosphere, its own pace and its own emotions, and that's where my work usually begins.

Curiosity plays a big role in the way I compose. I'll sit down at the piano, pick up my cello or simply record sounds that catch my attention. I enjoy working with acoustic instruments because they feel human and imperfect. Often, I'll take those recordings and transform them—stretching them, layering them or blending them with electronic textures until they become something entirely new. Some of my favourite sounds have come from that process of experimentation.

What fascinates me most about film music is that it can communicate things that aren't being said. Sometimes a score carries the emotion of a scene, sometimes it creates distance, and sometimes it simply leaves space for silence. I'm always looking for that balance rather than trying to tell the audience what they should feel.

Over the past few years, I've written music for projects including the coming-of-age film Viel Nebel im November, the short film Anouk and the web series Die Problemlehrer.

I'm inspired by composers like Max Richter, Nils Frahm, Philip Glass and Ludwig Göransson, but I think my biggest inspiration comes from the stories themselves. Every film asks different questions, and I enjoy the process of discovering the musical world that answers them.