Music From Germany Rocks!

Whenever strangers discover my hidden secrets and find out that I was actually born and raised in Germany, the first question that pops up is: “Do you like Rammstein?”

There are many great musicians from Germany that I adore and cherish, other than Rammstein. Apart from their great riffs, lyricism and style, all of them are unique and special in their own way. Sometimes I wish I could blast their songs on a stereo that big, so that every single citizen on this planet could listen to them. Unfortunately, I cannot do that, but I still have this blog, right?

Now let me introduce you to some of my favorite German musicians!

Drangsal

In 2016 I ditched school for a day, just to go to a concert in Berlin. Drangsal was the supporting act, and once he got on stage and I heard the first strums of his guitar, I was mesmerized. The actual music act didn’t matter to me anymore.

Being a versatile artist, Drangsal offers a wide range of various genres with his three albums. Whether his songs resemble The Smiths, Depeche Mode or even Tool, his music style is distinctive and his lyrics are touching and put thoughts into words, which usually keep racing around in your mind. In his song “Urlaub vor mir”, he sings “scheint, als würde ich mich niemals an mich selber gewöhnen” which roughly translates into “seems like I can never get used to myself”. In my opinion, he is the best lyricist we currently have in Germany. Basically, Drangsal is a fantastic musician, a great songwriter and overall a really chill dude. You can check out his song “Urlaub vor mir” right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PIO21svOyY

Kraftklub

When founded in 2011, Kraftklub were quickly deemed the “German answer to the Killers”. And I agree, some of their older songs do sound like your average Killers chanson, but over the years (and the release of four #1 records!), Kraftklub rose to the throne of German rock music and have achieved the one thing that every big band is scared of: maturing. When bands mature and give into the absence of their lost youth, stop writing songs about parties and alcohol, some prospectors might lose interest in them - if it’s done in the wrong way! But not for Kraftklub: they have been going strong for over a decade now, and release one great rock anthem after the other.

Whether it’s a cheesy love song in which they declare “wenn du mich küsst, schreibt Noel wieder Songs für Liam”/ “if you kiss me, Noel will write songs for Liam again” and warm the heart of every Oasis fan, or a song about the political climate in Germany, the horrifying rise of the right-wing community and the urge to break away from it all: “und nein, ich war nie Anti-Alles, ich war immer Anti-Ihr” / “and no, I was never Anti-Everything, I was always Anti-You”. Kraftklub have been my favorite band ever since I was 14 years old and they will forever have a special place in my heart. You can check out their latest single “Blaues Licht” right here: KRAFTKLUB - Blaues Licht (Official Video) - YouTube

Edwin Rosen

One thing about me is that I LOVE concerts. Ever since I was 15, I’ve been going to concerts and festivals year after year. After a long drought of not being able to go out and enjoy some live music, I finally went to a concert again in May of last year. But to me, it was a terrible day. I was stressed out after work, traffic was bad and we didn’t find a parking spot immediately. We literally entered the venue at the very last minute and at the same time, a young guy entered the stage, just with his guitar in his hand. Not having any expectations, I was blown away and fascinated by his voice and his songs with New Wave influence and a great dose of Synth-Pop. He’s just getting started, but I’m sure we’ll hear more from him very soon. Check out his song “Verschwende deine Zeit” (Waste your time) right here: Edwin Rosen - Verschwende deine Zeit (Official Video) - YouTube

Die Ärzte

I was not raised by a normal mother. When I was a baby, she read Stephen King’s “IT” to me as a bedtime story, we watched Eminem’s music videos on MTV (typing this out made me realize how old I am) and in the car, we were only listening to the songs from her favorite band - an anti-fascist, very sarcastic group of three men from Berlin, who never took themselves or their lives too seriously and make the best punk rock music you have ever heard: Die Ärzte. I was only about 6 years old, when I scream-sang songs about very mature topics, such as autonomy and rebellion with swear words in it, while my peers knew all the big hits from Kindergarten, which are now unknown to me.

Started in 1982, Die Ärzte have made their stance very clear since the beginning - they are pro-humanity, and against any form of discrimination. They are vocal about the political weather here and don’t shy away from speaking up about topics, where other artists rather choose distance as an option. One thing I love about them, however, is also some of their not-so-serious songs. For example, the “Schunder-Song” is about standing up to your bully and, well, punching them really hard in the face. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IviYsUdUj6w

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Will you check one of them out? Let me know! I hope I had the chance to present to you a few of my favourite German-speaking artists. At the end of the day, music is the one universal language we can all speak. Let’s enjoy the different music and art from all over the globe and celebrate together!