Welcome to the official web page of Frank Woelfer. All important information about the guitarist, composer and teacher Frank Woelfer can be found here.
NEWS
Update January 2025: „Life“ played on radio wdr 5 – upcoming soloalbum – Frank Woelfer Project founded in december 2025
Der Song „Life“ aus meinem Album „IIIII“ wurde im Tagesprogramm auf WDR 5 gesendet. Nachdem bereits der Song „Touch“ aus meinem ersten Album auf Deutschlandradio Kultur lief, ist dies ein weiterer Airplay-Erfolg für mich, neben einigen Einspielungen bei...
GIGS
tba
About the artist / press information
Frank Woelfer – trained carpenter, professional musician and teacher – is active as guitarist, keyboarder, bassist and composer and producer in live performances and studio recordings in a wide range of different music styles. Well-known due to the band Univerve with which he, amongst other things, performed as a support band for such famous acts as Saga, Manfred Mann, Simple Minds, Lake or Kraan and in 2007 received a prize at the German Rock & Pop Awards in the category “Best Progressive Rock Band 2007” (2nd place). In 2012 his debut album Unification was chosen as the “Best Jazz Rock Album 2012” (1st place) at the German Rock & Pop Awards. Furthermore, he received the award for “Best Instrumental Soloist 2012” (1st place). More positive reviews followed (for example in the German music magazines MusikZirkus, RockTimes and Gitarre&Bass (Act of the Month January 2013)).
In the summer of 2014 the second solo album The Human Factor was released, which continued along the line of the first album – this time purely instrumental – with Daniel Hopf (bass), Fabian Koke (drums) and Niklas Hauke (keys), who also form the current line-up of the Frank Woelfer Group. At the German Rock & Pop Awards 2014 this album received two prizes: “Best Instrumental Album 2014” (3rd place) and “Best Jazz Rock Album 2014” (1st place). Also, for the second time since 2012 , Woelfer was awarded the prize for “Best Instrumental Soloist 2014” (1st place) and was even presented with the honour of “Best Guitarist 2014” (1st place).
The third solo album (Fuego) from Frank Woelfer was released in March 2017. It carries the title Multiverse and is, like its predecessor The Human Factor, purely instrumental, using different styles like, for example, Jazz, Blues, Electronic Music or Minimal Music and combines these together in a unique fashion. Apart from a few bass parts that again were contributed by the great Daniel Hopf, Woelfer played all the instruments on his new work himself. In contrast to his first two albums Unification and The Human Factor, Multiverse stands for less of a band sound and more for the focus on the creation of very different moods and sound combinations that are often danceable and groove orientated but are also spiced with virtuosic guitar and bass parts, that will appeal to both enthusiasts of real “handmade” music as well as sound freaks and friends of atmospherically dense productions.
Further albums are Future was now (FUEGO, Bremen 2018) and IIIII (FUEGO, Bremen 2020).
In colaboration with Florian Pritsch (Keyboards), Woelfer played the guitar-parts on Florian Pritsch first album “Set on fire” and two years later on his EP “No time for heroes”. Both you can find on every usual Streaming-Portal like TIDAL, Spotify etc. On this records you may be surprised by discovering Woelfer’s authentic rock attitude.
On October the 25th 2024 Florian Pritsch released his new Song “Wild and Free”, again with Frank Woelfer on guitars – check it out on TIDAL, Spotify…
The new album All has been released on march, 3rd. (FUEGO, Bremen, 2023). It continues the line of the previous album IIIII as an instrumental album with a huge range of styles and moods between rock and electronic, jazz and blues. All songs played, composed and produced by Frank Woelfer.
In July 2023 Woelfer started recording for his seventh album “0” in the Watt Matters Studio Bielefeld with Martin Herbst (Keys), Frank Ritter (drums), Udo Tanger (bass) and Reinhard Klinkemeier (percussion). Again there are Woelfer-typical melodies and solos, but also groovy and tasteful jam-parts, which reminds on the 70ties Fusion-music, combined with modern Sounds, everything recorded in HiRes Audio (96 kHz/24 bit) to deliver a more authentic live-feeling. “O” has been released on february the 2nd 2024!
In Summer 2024 Woelfer started to produce the first songs for his album #8.
December 2024 Woelfer founded the Frank Woelfer Project. Members are Markus Jung (keys), Udo Tanger (bass), Frank Ritter (drums) and Reinhard Klinkemeier (percussion).
Live events from the Frank Woelfer Project and from Univerve are due to take place in late 2025. Information to that effect will appear on this page shortly.
Reviews:
Jazzrock TV (episode no. 84, 8/2014) about the second solo album:
“(…) this has really bowled us over! (…) one of the best German records this year!”
Joachim Joe Brookes (RockTimes, 9/2012):
“Frank Woelfer’s skills on his instrument are like an exciting book with many twists and turns. The man has class!”
Stephan Schelle (MusikZirkus Magazine 3/2023):
“Wo holt Frank Woelfer nur immer diese Gänsehaut treibenden Melodien und Soli her? Wie schon auf den vorangegangenen Alben präsentiert er wieder erstklassige, fett groovende oder atmosphärische Instrumentalstücke die unter die Haut gehen. Klanglich ist das auch hervorragend umgesetzt, denn der Sound kommt richtig fett aus den Boxen. Musikalisch bietet er wieder Musik, bei der er Loungemusik, Rock und Jazz der Marke Pat Metheny miteinander verbindet.”
Joachim Joe Brookes (RockTimes, 8/2014):
“(…) Frank Woelfer’s The Human Factor is a journey in the Microcosm and the universe. The means of transportation has been tanked with the fuel of fantasy and so turns almost sixty-five minutes of total playing time into a real event.”
Gitarre&Bass (one of the most important music trade magazines in Germany, January edition 2013) about the Unification album:
“(…) accompanied by competent colleagues Woelfer expertly rocks right away on the first track with great high-speed single note lines that remind one of Joe Satriani or Yngwie Malmsteen. In quiet pieces beautiful melody lines and long improvisations impress, often enriched with funky wah-wah passages. Woelfer’s phat distorted sound always has a jazzy impact. Very impressive on this accomplished album is the versatility of the skilled musician (…).”
Supports, awards & references
German Rock & Pop Awards:
3rd place: Best Instrumental Album 2017 (for my third solo album MULTIVERSE), Best Instrumentalsolist 2017, Best Electronic-Interpret 2017
3rd place: Best Instrumental Album 2014 (for my second solo album The Human Factor)
2nd place: Best Progressive Rock Band Univerve 2007
1st place: Best Instrumental Soloist 2012
1st place: Best Jazz Rock Album 2012 (for my first solo album Unification)
1st place: Best Jazz Rock Album 2014 (for my second solo album The Human Factor)
1st place: Best Instrumental Soloist 2014
1st place: Best Guitarist 2014
Gitarre&Bass (one of the most important music trade magazines in Germany, January edition 2013):
Act of the Month January 2013
He has shared the stage with the following bands to date:
Saga, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, (Ex-) Simple Minds, Lake, Kraan & Helmut Hattler, Richie Arndt & Bluenatics, amongst others
“Music affects the smallest as well as the largest things. In Planck’s world and in the entire universe. We make it, it makes us.”
(Frank Woelfer)
CD PRODUCTIONS
On his seventh album, guitarist and composer Frank Woelfer once again indulges extensively in his typical soundscapes, which are subtly interwoven with danceable grooves, expressive solos and cantabile melodies. Accompanied by his new band, the eight instrumental pieces were mainly recorded “live” in the studio, giving the album, which bears the title “O”, an organic and very lively sound.
Despite his great passion for the electric guitar, which gives Woelfer a multi-faceted sound ranging from rock to bluesy to jazzy, the musician, who has won several German Rock & Pop Awards including “Best Guitarist” and “Best Instrumental Soloist”, plays many melody and solo parts on a classical nylon string guitar on his new album, which gives the songs a sometimes flamenco-like sound. This also makes Woelfer’s latest work sound refreshingly different from its predecessors.
Released by FUEGO (Bremen), the album can be found on all popular streaming services and can also be purchased on CD from Amazon, among others.
Das sechste Soloalbum des Multiinstrumentalisten Frank Woelfer trägt den mehrdeutigen Titel „all“, was einerseits für „alles“ steht – nicht zuletzt eine Anspielung auf die große musikalische Bandbreite dieses Albums von Rock über Jazz bis hin zu elektronischer Musik – aber auch auf die Vorliebe des Künstlers für Astrophysik und das Weltall anspielt.
Der u. a. beim Deutschen Rock&Pop-Preis als „Bester Gitarrist“ und „Bester Instrumentalsolist“ ausgezeichnete Musiker zeigt auch auf seinem neuen Werk einmal mehr, dass Virtuosität und eingängige Melodien kein Widerspruch sein müssen.
Eine Empfehlung für alle, die auf moderne wie retromäßige Sounds und tanzbare Grooves stehen!
Erscheint bei FUEGO (Bremen) und ist als Tonträger u. a. bei Amazon bzw. allen bekannten Streamingdiensten verfügbar.
Das fünfte Soloalbum von Frank Woelfer mit dem Titel “V” ist wieder ein rein instrumentales geworden, auf welchem so unterschiedliche Stile wie Jazz, Rock, Elektronische- oder Minimal-Musik auf einzigartige Weise miteinander verbunden werden. Bis auf wenige Parts spielte Woelfer auf seinem neuen Werk alle Instrumente selbst ein. Mal groove-orientiert und tanzbar, oder atmosphärisch, oft mit virtuosen Gitarren-Parts gewürzt, stehen v. a. die kantablen Melodien im Vordergrund, die Woelfer mit seinem eigenständigem Gitarrenspiel ausdrucksstark präsentiert.
Erscheint bei FUEGO (Bremen) und ist in Kürze als Tonträger u. a. bei Amazon erhältlich und auf allen gängigen Download- und Streaming-Portalen wie iTunes, TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz, Deezer etc. verfügbar!
Since very long there are two real vocal songs next to nine instrumentals on a Frank Woelfer-album, on which he connects such different styles like jazz-rock, electronic music, minimal music or pop. Every musician gets his spots and there is many freedom for spontaneous interaction, which makes this album so alive and exciting.
Once again the ten time winner of the German Rock & Pop – Price successes a convincing album with a large range of songs and varied moods on a steady high musical level.
FUTURE WAS NOW appears on FUEGO (Bremen) and is available on CD f. e. at Amazon or you can stream/download the album on every known web-portals like iTunes, TIDAL, Spotify, Deezer a. s. o.
MULTIVERSE
The third solo album from Frank Woelfer is, like its predecessor The Human Factor, purely instrumental, using different styles like, for example, Jazz, Blues, Electronic Music or Minimal Music and combines these together in a unique fashion. Apart from a few bass parts that again were contributed by the great Daniel Hopf, Woelfer played all the instruments on his new work himself. In contrast to his first two albums Unification and The Human Factor, Multiverse stands for less of a band sound and more for the focus on the creation of very different moods and sound combinations that are often danceable and groove orientated but are also spiced with virtuosic guitar and bass parts, that will appeal to both enthusiasts of real “handmade” music as well as sound freaks and friends of atmospherically dense productions.
The album is to be released by Fuego (Bremen) and can be purchased on Amazon, as well as other online retailers, from the end of March 2017 and is available on all standard download and streaming portals like iTunes, TIDAL, Spotify, Deezer, etc.
THE HUMAN FACTOR
As previously on the debut album “Unification” (Fuego 2012), the guitarist, keyboarder and composer Frank Woelfer combines very different styles and song concepts on his second solo work “The Human Factor” (Fuego 2014) to form original music that this time presents itself in a purely instrumental fashion. Although groove, melody and sound dominate, the music occasionally sounds like fusion jazz from the 70s or like a suitable soundtrack for the educational TV programme Space Night. Often virtuosic and electric – but also acoustic and calm – Frank Woelfer creates these worlds of sound with his unique and expressive guitar playing.
Supported by the excellent rhythm section Daniel Hopf (bass), Fabian Koke (drums) and Niklas Hauke (keys), an organic band sound evolves, with which one can sense the skilful musicianship as much as the elaborate studio production.
UNIFICATION
Whether Pop, Fusion Jazz, Soul, Rock or Ambient – on Unification, the first solo album of the guitarist and composer Frank Woelfer, very different styles, moods and song concepts are not only skilfully combined together but are also deliberately placed in contrast to each other, without making this sound contradictory or even arbitrary, because it is all ONE music.
Danceable Pop songs, complex instrumental pieces and sentimental ballads: brought together on one album, on which Frank Woelfer forms a central theme with his expressive and distinctive guitar playing, supported by seven exceptional musicians and the wonderful soul singer Nora Saadhoff, who can be heard on four of the ten pieces.
MUSIC
Check it out …
MULTIVERSE - Mix
Space-Madley
sad eyes (P 2022)
Club Cubus Cuban (Snippet - P 2024)
The Cat Song (P 2024)
Holding on (P 2025)
FUTURE WAS NOW - Mix
NEWTOWN NEWTURN
Excerpts from O - New album 2024
all - once more (P 2023/24)
This Time (P 2024)
Deep Dive (P 2025)
all Albumteaser (P 2023)
VOYAGER (P 2020)
Rain (P August 2024)
Tommy (composed by Tom Barlage/played and produced by Frank Woelfer in 2020 and 2024)
überAll (P 2025)
On SoundCloud you will find further examples of songs from Frank Woelfer:
PHOTO GALLERY
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Do you have any questions or comments or would you like to criticise something? Just send me an email using the contact form below or send a message directly to: info@frankwoelfer.de