German Artistes You Should Check Out
When people think of Germany, what often comes to mind is beer, sausages and football. But there’s so much more to the country than that. With cover bands being the minority here unlike Singapore, the numerous music venues littered across Germany together form not only a fulfilling circuit for overseas acts to tour, but also opportunities for a whole slew of local indie acts to organically grow their fan bases.
Though I’m sure that I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface, here are some of the amazing German acts I’ve discovered through my travels and Spotify:
Der Herr Polaris
Der Herr Polaris is more than just the music. A multi-disciplinary artist, he brings his creative vision to life using photos and videos as well. I love his aesthetic and the melancholy in his songs. In my favourite song of his, his arrangement creates an acoustic number with groove that hints at indie and punk roots, while displaying clear melodic hooks right up front. To put it bluntly, perhaps he is the German answer to Ben Gibbard, though not quite as famous yet.
Having discovered him on Spotify , I contacted him over Instagram to ask if he was performing anytime in November, hoping that I could catch one of his shows while on tour in 2017. He surprised me by offering to open for my show in Munich. Being total strangers at the time, I was so touched by this gesture of arbitrary kindness. We had a great time getting to know each other before and after the show too. Hopefully I can return the favour some day and open for him!
Enno Bunger
I discovered Enno, while looking for German artists to listen to when I do my German homework. I really enjoy the interaction between his words and instrumentation, which consistently comes across as a poignant, yet well crafted whole. Be it the electronic or acoustic version of his songs, Enno manages to lull me in a state of calm nostalgia.
Thankfully his tour promoting his latest release has a stop in Göttingen at Musa on 17th October. I’m looking forward to finally watch him perform live!
Hello Piedpiper
Hello Piedpiper is folk music, classic, pure and well executed. An independent artist, Fabio plays guitar excellently and employs harmonies and chord progressions in his compositions that draw similarities to Fleet Foxes. His stuff is perfect to add to your playlist to relax or study to :)
Fabio went above and beyond to organise my tour date in Köln: bringing Rayner and I around the inner city and making sure we sounded great that night! Besides performing his own music, he also organises the Melodica Festival Köln, which brings great songwriters from across Europe together for a day of awesome music =) Simply a personable guy!
Florian Ostertag
When I first heard Florian, his voice and songwriting reminded me slightly of Beirut, albeit more sparse in arrangement. His music is like a sleepy summer breeze, that weaves between you and your friends having a barbecue in the park. The first song of his that caught my attention was “Better Version of You”, which features a lone mandolin strumming away, its cheerful tones perfectly juxtaposing the depressing lyrics in his ear worm of a vocal melody, especially the chorus, sinks into your memory.
Hildegard von Binge Drinking
The band’s name is a tongue-in-cheek word play on Hildegard of Bingen, who was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. Some consider her to also be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.
Rayner and I discovered this band, thanks to following our host Florian to another gig in Dresden the same night. The setting was wonderful - an abandoned chemical warehouse repurposed for live music, with a roaring fire right out front to boot. Despite performing after a doom metal band, they hit harder with a sound that melded Nintendocore, Techno and punk vocals. The highlight of their set for me was definitely the Nintendo DS solo!
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