Philipp Jung died in May 2026, aged 55. No cause was given. On Saturday 6 June, the scene that grew up on his records gathered for 'A Night for Philipp Jung', a tribute with a portion of proceeds going to his family. This is the part worth saying out loud: for a stretch of the 2000s, the label he built decided what a certain kind of house was supposed to feel like.
What did Get Physical actually do?
Jung co-founded Get Physical Music in 2002 with his M.A.N.D.Y partner Patrick Bodmer, DJ T., and the duo Booka Shade. The house it pushed was warm, physical, song-shaped, music with a body and a hook, not just a groove. It worked. In 2005 the label took DJ Mag's Label of the Year, riding the wave of 'Body Language', the M.A.N.D.Y vs Booka Shade record that became one of the defining dancefloor anthems of its era. M.A.N.D.Y, Jung's duo with Bodmer formed the same year, also gave the scene 'Tonite'.
Was he a producer or a curator?
Both, but the curating is the part people underrate. The label's 'Body Language' compilation series put early Dixon, Matthew Dear and Modeselektor in front of a much bigger room. Get Physical championed Audiofly, Damian Lazarus and John Tejada. Jung also founded the sister labels Kindisch and Metaphysical. He was A&R and curator as much as he was a man behind a mixing desk, and that is a rarer, harder thing to do well.
After 25 years of doing this, I honestly feel like I've only scratched the surface.
He wrote that in April 2026. A month earlier, in March, he had curated 'Rewind Forward Vol. 1', a look back across the label's history. Reading it now, the line lands differently, but it also sounds exactly like someone who never stopped being a fan first.
