Best known as the lead singer of Hamburg indie pop outfit Tomte, Thees Uhlmann went on to take advantage of the band's late-2000s break to launch an equally successful solo career. Born in Henmoor, Lower Saxony in 1974, he studied politics and English at university while simultaneously fronting Tomte, who went on to release five albums between 1998 and 2008 before taking a self-imposed hiatus. During the band's career, Uhlmann regularly pursued other projects, writing a tour diary for influential Hamburger Schule outfit Tocotronic, setting up the Grand Hotel Van Cleef label with Kettcar's Marcus Wiebusch and Reimer Bustorff, and appearing in the fictional band Hansen in the 2005 film Keine Lieder Uber Liebe. In 2011, he contributed to a Superpunk tribute album, appeared on the title track of Casper's XOXO album, and released his self-titled first solo effort, which reached number four in his homeland's official chart. In 2013, Uhlmann released his second solo album, simply called #2. The set was another hit, fittingly rising to number two on the German charts, while peaking at number four in Austria. ~ Jon O'Brien