Apart from some confusion at the outset – (“It’s 6pm already? Ah… of course, the interview) the Bpitch Controller is primed and ready to go. Ask him about the film – which centres on the adventures of a hedonistic musician and seems to be turning into something of an indie Human Traffic for Germany’s (and beyond) minimal generation – and he’s off in a furious rush – “You are recording this? OK, good…” Ask about his music though, and the pace slows, and Kalkbrenner reveals something more of himself.

But to playing roles first. Prior to this project, the Berliner had no acting experience, formal or otherwise. And he had little interest in movies either.

I had never acted before. I am not a big movie fan – I don’t go all that often. It was such a chance that I went to see a movie by the director, Hannes Stohr. I don’t know why I went to this – his other films have been a big success in Berlin, so one night I went to see his. And I really liked the way he shot it, his approach to making films.

How did you get involved in Berlin Calling then?

Hannes liked my 'Self' album (which in itself was a concept LP for a movie) and he told me about the idea he had for the lead character, Ikarus. It was quite specific: he wanted to know about a guy who lives like this, not a DJ, someone who plays his own music, who lives the life like in the film…This was maybe five years ago, and as time went on, my role become more and more. He asked me to supervise, and then help produce the soundtrack, and then after two years it got more and more… I would brainstorm the script, help develop the characters. He would come to my parties… And after a while, he said, 'Well, there is nobody else!'

Wow. It's an interesting way to ease yourself into what is essentially another world. How did you feel about moving in front of the camera?

I knew nothing about acting. But that was a plus point for Hannes – he likes to work with people who are inexperienced, surrounded by people who have experience. So I thought about it and I knew I could do it. He is close to what I am. He speaks my language.

Were you nervous?

Not beforehand. Not until maybe the last week before the shoot, I was thinking, 'Oh my God! What will happen? The budget is e1.7m - what if it crashes?!' And they forbade me to know anything about acting, to get classes. Now, afterwards, I am pre-nominated for the German movie awards for my acting role… and for the soundtrack too. But the thing was, on set, they never told me I was good, so I didn't get vain. As a director, Hannes is so cool. He pulls me away from certain things, and if I got a line wrong in a scene, or got a whole part wrong, he was fine… he believes in creativity. It's like he was the coach on the sideline and I was the No10 on the pitch.

The first day, I was up at 6am - it's not my time to get up… I get up in the afternoon, and 5pm is when I get creative… but it had to be done because they had to shoot! That was strange. But after first day, I was like, yeah it's there. It was either going to be super-bad or super-good…

Will you act again?

Only when I can do it like this again. I don't want to take a small part here or there. I want it to take three years or maybe longer – I would like something I can join from little idea right through to the sounds and mixing.

We've spent all this time talking about the film, but what about your music? You put the soundtrack together, but in a way, the film is now overshadowing your recorded output…

The film and music were bound together. For the soundtrack, at the start the director needed tracks to create certain scenes, so he used some old stuff of mine, and I worked on the other tracks too, so, for me, the music was a constant process…

You take your time with releases.

My release schedule is slow for a reason. I enjoy success, but little steps are important too. The journey is as interesting as getting there. I like to enjoy every step, moving constantly upwards.

I'm not in the studio much. I don't like music. I prefer silence, or I prefer reading books. I am best when I have no input. I respect people, DJs, who listen to thousands of records and select music to play or inspire them, but I am not like that.

The lead track from the film, 'The Sky And Sand', has become something of a focus point: a kind of anthem for people who maybe would not know Bpitch Control or your music.

But I think that is good, because genres are not important. I have people on Myspace telling me I only used to like rock or whatever but now I like what you do…

What do you do next? Music or movies?

My schedule is so packed. I'm shaking my head! I have maybe 10 shows a month and then for the next three years, it’s Berlin Calling, Berlin Calling… premieres, film festivals, meeting people about the movie. And in a way, the film has become like an ending for me musically: the soundtrack is like a 'Best Of…'. So I await the next stuff. I really don’t know what I will do next.