Dolphin Love talks about getting to know each other for the first time on 50cm mattresses, moments of consciousness and their new release.
What does life sound like? What sound makes the moment and what places are hidden behind melodies and words? Dolphin Love’s new EP (NOT) FROM HERE (2025) offers answers. On the evening of October 23rd you could also hear them in Neukölln, more precisely in the Rough Trade store in Berlin. There Dolphin Love celebrated the release of the first vinyl for the spring EP and at the same time they shared the B-sides of the third EP released on October 17th. Reason enough to stop by and talk to the duo.
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Dolphin Love: Master of Parallel Worlds
It was blue hour outside, a wet wind was blowing the dry leaves of a linden tree around – it was generally uncomfortable. But that should change quickly. The black and white colored record store not far from Neukölln town hall invited people to a release gig on October 23rd: Dolphin Love released their first record and a new EP along with it. Friends, family and strangers gathered in front of the record wall and listened for almost 90 minutes to the stirring sounds of inner parallel worlds that Coco Knopp and Jani Kaspers created so effortlessly.
We met with the two of them beforehand and talked about their story, the new EP and what the eight songs have to do with being alive – and why you could feel that at their show.
The beginnings: From solo project to duo
Dolphin Love was initially a solo project by Constantin Knopp. The Hamburg resident writes, composes and produces all of his songs himself to this day. With the help of a loop station and his almost multi-instrumental skills on guitar, bass, drums and piano, the musician could have shone on stage alone today. But he just didn’t want to, so he looked for a drummer. Knopp came across Jani Kaspers by chance.
Do you still remember when you met?
Kaspers: That must have been 2019, I think. That was in Stade, at the Hanse Song Festival. I went to him after Coco’s show and said that I thought his music was really cool, we didn’t really talk about anything else.
Knopp: That’s right, we didn’t talk anymore. (laughs) But I thought to myself: Oh, he makes a kind of nice impression on me. At the same time I was looking for a drummer, and after we left Stade, I remembered our meeting and thought it would be kind of funny with him. But I didn’t know that he played drums, I only found out through stalking him. I then saw a video on his Instagram of him sitting on the drums, wearing a cowboy hat and super drunk, and I thought: Yep, he’s eating. (both laugh)
A phone call, a rehearsal – and “that’s it!” The two have been working together for two years now and have become good friends. Kaspers was 18 years old at the time and had previously played in his friends’ music projects. Knopp’s request is still something special for him today, as he explains. You can tell they’re familiar – and as the musicians say, it’s been that way since they first met in “real life”.
Knopp: The first time we actively spent time together, after we had already spoken on the phone and rehearsed, all online, I played a solo show in Münster and Jani spontaneously came along. Afterwards we celebrated a bit and as is sometimes the case, it all went on for a bit longer. In the end, we rode the e-scooter together to my sister’s apartment and slept on a 50 cm wide mattress – spooning.
Kaspers: (laughs) Just on the first evening, we had just seen each other for the first time, and it ends like this. It was then clear at the latest: let’s do it, it’ll work.
“Now is the right moment” – for the first vinyl
They don’t seem the least bit excited as they sit there laughing and remembering past moments. Rough Trade is celebrating the release of the first one this evening vinyl by Dolphin Love. It’s called NOT FROM HERE and was released on April 17th of this year.
What’s it like to be able to hold your own music in your hands for the first time?
Knopp: I was sure there would be a record at some point. And somehow now was the right moment, so I’m actually much more happy than nervous. But the gig later will be exciting, you’re not always that close to your audience.
Kaspers: I think it’s really nice to be able to put on a record of ours and listen to it without having to go to any apps that then play it in poorer quality. It’s just a different listening experience, so yeah, I’m just excited.
The honest alternative: (NOT) FROM HERE
There will be almost fifty people in Rough Trade later this evening who want to enjoy the release together with Kaspers and Knopp. The special thing about this Thursday evening is not only the record release, but also the celebration of the B-Side of NOT FROM HERE, which was released a week earlier. On this EP, Dolphin Love present the creative alternative versions of the vinyl tracks.
What was the intention behind the second EP (NOT) FROM HERE?
Knopp: When I made NOT FROM HERE, there were so many songs lying around that I thought would make it onto the release, but somehow I didn’t feel that way about them. When this EP was in the process, my manager asked me in an interview to play another version of “Bungalow” (2025) – and I thought the piano version that came out was so cool that I tried it again. And now there are the B-Sides.
In the B-Side EP the “not” is in parentheses and the intro is named after coordinates. What does that mean?
Knopp: Well, in the region where the coordinates are, there is a place where I had a kind of “moment of consciousness” for the first time a long time ago, in which I simply realized: “Okay, I’m here”. That felt very special, as if I had somehow become aware of my existence at that moment. And it’s similar with the B-Sides. A lot of NOT FROM HERE is about the fact that you’re somehow never really there – you’re somehow always somewhere in your head, in the past or in the future. And this B-Side describes a bit of the mirror of that. You are exactly where you are right now. That’s just how the tracks on (NOT) FROM HERE are: everything is a bit rougher, and it’s not as polished either – so maybe just the most honest EP so far. (laughs)
Live at Rough Trade: An evening that sounds like summer
Intuitive, experimental and completely coordinated, Knopp and Kaspers create an energy that noticeably brings life into the rainy Thursday evening. It sounds like summer when Dolphin Love play. The atmosphere is excellent: from the first sound of the white electric guitar to the last drum beat, the audience hangs on Knopp’s lips and can hardly stop dancing and cheering. Knopp and Kaspers have to wait a whole three minutes until the enthusiastic applause dies down after their impressive jam session around their song “Sun” (2023). Constantin Knopp and Jani Kaspers demonstrate a full force of musical versatility, technical precision and raw fun at their gig.
If the audience wasn’t already standing, Dolphin Love would have received a standing ovation after their show. “Oh no!” shouted from the back row as the two were about to leave the stage. But they thought the same thing – so they played an encore of “Bungalow” that was received with cheers. After 90 minutes, they released their audience into the night with flushed cheeks, shining eyes and the new record NOT FROM HERE in their hands.
What’s next for Dolphin Love?
Knopp: So it would be really great if we could somehow go abroad – the USA, Australia, something like that. Or playing at Glastonbury, just because it’s such an institution. (laughs) But now it’s time to go on tour. In February 2026 we will play five shows, one of them on February 28th in the Kantine at Berghain in Berlin.