III
Deichkind

About:

Collective formed in Hamburg in 1997 by MC Philipp Grütering and bass player and MC Sebastian „Porky“ Dürre. Producer Sebastian „Sebi“ Hackert completes the initial band. It would take untill the turn of the century before the band would release a single called ‘Bon Voyage’ (featuring Nina). The single and following album also meant a cult breakthrough in Germany. In 2005, Deichkind represented Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the Bundesvision Song Contest, finishing 14th of the 16 entries. The band's single ‘Electric Super Dance Band’ marked a noted change in their sound. Away from the strict hiphop spectrum they incorporated techno and punk influences.

The band describes their new sound as TechRap, a mixture of techno and rap. Singles 'Remmidemmi (Yippie Yippie Yeah)' (2006) and 'Arbeit nervt' (2008) became chart hits. During the 00’s the band had several temporary band members in addition to the core trio (like guitarist Malte Pittner and MC’s Buddy Inflagranti and Ferris). On the band was shocked by the sudden death of Sebi Hackert (32 years old, 21 February 2009). The band continued without him but the death of Hackert changed the band sound in the sense that there was also room for more serious, melancholic songs over the usual comical mayhem. In 2009 they teamed up with rockband Tocotronic for the limited splitsingle ‘Die Toco Die / Ich verabscheue euch wegen eurer Kleinkunst zutiefst’. The band held an extensive festival tour in summer. In 2010 they created a musical theaterplay called ‘Deichkind in Müll – eine Diskurs-Operette’ which premiered in their hometown. In 2012 they returned for a first album without their regular producer. It would become their best selling album to date and was followed by a sold out tour.

On the web:

- Deichkind's website: http://www.deichkind.de/

If you like this, you probably like.. / european counterparts:

- De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig (Netherlands)

- Hof van Commerce (Belgium)

What do we think:

DB: Think of a sort of new age rap Prodigy with humor. That in short sums up Deichkind’s universe if you’re not from Germany. With lyrics filled with tongue in cheek irony and humor the band creates a catchy, punky and noisy world. In addition to the albums (which are a party in itself) they add that with wild live shows including rubbish bag-outfits, trampolines, vodka, and pillow fights among other things. Although they seem to take themselves not overly serious there is more then meets the eye. The craziness is carefully dosed, calculated and arranged. In that sense they are almost an techno-rap offspring of the Mothers of Invention. The more introvert elements that sneaked in after the death of bandmember Sebi give a welcome extra dimension. Maybe not the most subtle of European acts but played LOUD! definitely one those acts that highly appeal to your dancing & jumping feet and your funny bone.

Albums:

- Bitte ziehen Sie durch - 2000

- Noch 5 Minuten, Mutti! - 2002

- Aufstand im Schlaraffenland - 2006

♪♪♪ - Arbeit Nervt - 2008

♪♪♪ - Befehl von ganz unten - 2012

♪♪♪♪ - Niveau weshalb warum - 2015

♪♪♪- Wer sagt den das - 2019

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided