Purwien & Kowa release synthpop single ‘Italo-disco in San Francisco’
Purwien & Kowa release the single “Italo-disco in San Francisco” on 9 October 2026 via Town & Towers Records, ahead of their album “Sechs” on 23 October.
Town & Towers Records releases Purwien & Kowa‘s new single “Italo-disco in San Francisco” on 9 October 2026, ahead of the German synth-pop duo’s sixth studio album, “Sechs,” due 23 October on the same label.
The digital single carries four tracks: German and English versions of “Italo-disco in San Francisco,” an extended “Irgendwas ist immer (12″ Mix)” and a combined “German English Mashup 12″ mix” of the title track. Both language versions of the lyrics string together a run of 1980s references, naming figures including Lady Diana, Mikhail Gorbachev, Blondie, Phil Collins, Falco and Michael Jackson alongside songs such as “Blue Monday,” “Tainted Love,” “Like a Virgin,” “Take On Me,” “99 Luftballons,” “Forever Young” and “The Final Countdown.”
“Italo-disco in San Francisco” mixes Italo disco, synthpop, New Wave and EBM, and follows the singles “Concorde” and “Hinter Glas” as the third preview of “Sechs.”
About Purwien & Kowa
Purwien & Kowa is a German synth-pop duo based in Dortmund formed by Christian Purwien and Thomas Kowa. Purwien co-founded the electronic/darkwave act Second Decay in 1987, initially under the name Blue Velvet, together with Andreas Michael Sippel. Second Decay released the tape “Monochromes” in 1988 and the 12-inch “Killing Desire” in 1989, followed by “La Décadence Électronique” on CD in 1992, the “Hinter Glas” maxi-CD in 1993 and the album “Taste” in 1994. The band continued with “Der Nerv” in 1995, “Familiar” in 1997, “The Hunt” and “De Luxe” in 1998, “Hotels” in 1999 and “Kaltes, weißes Licht” in 2001, before pausing new material after the 2002 live release “Zwischenfall 1999.”
Thomas Kowa, born Thomas Kowalzik in 1969 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, joined the German synth-pop band No Comment in 1989 and has lived in Switzerland since 2007. He founded the label Nanopop in 2001, closing it in 2007 to focus on writing. Since 2012 he has published a series of crime novels and thrillers. His other current music projects include Nine Seconds and Emily Kinski’s dead.
Purwien and Kowa began recording together as Purwien & Kowa, releasing the three-EP digital set “Drei” via Zwei Records in October 2018. The duo also co-hosts the Disko 80 podcast, which covers 1980s music and has featured more than 100 episodes with guests including Joachim Witt, Bernhard Lloyd of Alphaville and Marcus Meyn of Camouflage. Kowa separately co-hosts the “Krimi Schweiz” podcast on Swiss crime fiction. Purwien and Kowa also record together as Heldautomat, whose own single “Liebe ist endlich” reached Town & Towers Records on the same day as “Italo-disco in San Francisco.” The duo performed at the 18th Elektrisch Festival in 2026. Purwien & Kowa returned this year with the singles “Concorde,” “Hinter Glas” and “Italo-disco in San Francisco,” ahead of their sixth studio album, “Sechs,” produced by Olaf Wollschläger and due 23 October 2026 via Town & Towers Records.
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Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!
