Messed!Up
After meeting in a record store and joining forces as a DJ team, Jens Moelle and Ismail Tuefekci decided to create a dance project that acted as a band and dubbed it Digitalism. Sounding like Daft Punk with a real live drummer, the single “Idealistic” introduced the band in 2004, first as a white label and soon after on Kitsuné. Follow-up singles “Zdarlight” (2005) and “Jupiter Room” (2006) gained them more fans, and as indie rock’s dancefloor presence was increasing, the stage was set for their much-anticipated debut. Idealism arrived in 2007 and was licensed by Toshiba EMI in Japan and Astralwerks in the U.S. After a world tour, Digitalism returned in 2010, back on the Kitsuné label with the EP Blitz, and in 2011 they joined the V2 imprint with their album I Love You, Dude, which featured a guest appearance by Julian Casablancas of the Strokes. Their volume of !K7’s DJ-Kicks mix series appeared in 2012.
Following a few non-album singles and EPs, Digitalism’s third full-length, Mirage, appeared on their own Magnetism Recording Company in 2016. An extensive string of club-tooled EPs and singles followed, including 2017’s 5KY11GHT and 2018’s Zdar C1U6. Their fourth album JPEG arrived in 2019, recalling their previous record’s blends of gritty electro-house and indie dance.
Following the release of JPEG, Digitalism continued to evolve their fusion of club music, indie rock energy, and melodic synth work throughout the early 2020s. Rather than chasing mainstream EDM trends, the duo leaned further into a DIY philosophy through their own label, Magnetism, allowing them to release music on their own terms. Tracks such as “Liquid Bodies,” “Golden,” “Sirens,” and “Achtung! Optimism” reflected a warmer, more melodic direction while maintaining the driving rhythms and distorted textures that had defined their earlier work.
Live performance remained central to Digitalism’s identity during this period. The duo continued appearing at clubs and festivals across Europe and beyond, balancing high-energy DJ sets with immersive live shows built around synthesizers, live edits, and spontaneous performance elements. Their music increasingly emphasized atmosphere and emotion alongside dancefloor impact, drawing from synthwave, house, indie dance, and classic electronic influences.
Today, Digitalism launched one of the most significant chapters of their later career with the announcement of their fifth studio album, Optimism. Introduced by the single “Space Invaders,” the album was described by the duo as an escape into “a firework of colours, chords and melodies,” created largely during winter studio sessions in their famous Hamburg bunker studio. The release of Optimism marks both a creative reset and a reaffirmation of the band’s enduring identity. Accompanied by a major European tour in 2026, the project showcases Digitalism’s ability to remain relevant more than twenty years after forming, without abandoning the energetic indie-electronic spirit that first made them influential.
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Digitalism: ‘Optimism’
