Austrian Artists at Reeperbahn Festival 2022

Presented by: soda. mit himbeer

Decisions we make always open up new nodes in the time stream – a fork in the road for every deed, according to quantum physics theory. What Moritz Kristmann and Michael Schmücking from Innsbruck channel in their music reflects this in digital as well as analogue form, as they constantly open up new ways to cross the tried and tested with the experimental. Whether this sounds like neo-synth-pop, electro-indie or dance-punk is anyone’s guess. What is certain is that this marriage of styles marches through the speakers as though of one piece, once the duo starts going at full throttle. Even though a few have tried since 2015, nobody quite sounds like these two. Another Vision – for once, the name really does says it all.

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 4:30 PM @ HÄKKEN Spielbudenplatz 21-22, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Austrian Music Export

Apart from each other they are Beyza and Ezgi, together they form Aze. Since 2020, the duo provides us a nonchalant insight into their deepest inner selves with their sound mix between sad & sexy and the charming, yet playful lyrics. Aze combine all facets of RnB, Indie and Pop with sparks of oriental music; in it they find and offer space to feel, to express and to process – for themselves, but also for their audience. But after all, no drama is too big to not make it more acceptable with a humorous twist – a tried and tested coping mechanism that also works for Aze.

WED, 21.09.2022 / 8:30 PM INDRA Große Freiheit 64, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Morinoko

As a founding member of the project Mynth, which she started with her brother Mario, Giovanna Fartacek is well versed in weaving her voice into a densely textured background of synths, throbbing beats and melodies to melt away to. With her solo project under the alias Berglind, she has refined this ability to perfection and speaks in her first single “Träum lauter” (Dream louder) by means of dark poetry about the turmoil of our time and how to face it and still hold onto dreams of change. Into a new time, a new world. True to the motto: light shines brighter in the dark, Berglind encounters the present in an honest way. She and her brother have produced three albums, won numerous awards and made a name for themselves as one of the most successful Austrian pop duos in recent times, and time is more than ripe for another change. Because she’d love to share these moments with a live audience, fans of the Salzburg musician can look forward to an emotionally charged performance at the Reeperbahn Festival in September.

THU, 22.09.2022 / 10:35 PM @ MOJO JAZZ CAFÉ Reeperbahn 1, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Austrian Music Export

Bibiza raps. Bibiza produces. Everything is created and developed in a DIY manner. Not on his own, but together with the chosen family around prodbypengg, Eli Preiss, Liebcozy, Supergerne and the rest of the swift circle – because everything stands and falls with mutual support. Bibiza doesn’t come from a musical family, and hiphop wasn’t always the No.1 topic in his life. It all started with a guitar and covertracks of well-known artists: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure. With the help of YouTube tutorials, Bibiza started making his first beats and rapping at the age of 14. His new home and connecting point to the local scene were the Rap Battles at the Viennese club The Loft. With a lot of love, the first tracks and videos were created in 2018, and in 2019 the first album “Copypaste” was released. 2020 followed not only the second album “Bis Dato” but also 2 EPs, which included collaborations with Mavi Phoenix (“?!”) and SLAV (Combo EP). As of July 2, Bibiza has released eight singles in 2021 alone, which will be compiled in a mixtape. In winter 21, it came to the debut of the “Indie Bibi” – according to the motto diversity instead of simplicity appeared “Lebe wie ein Hippie” since then there is Bibiza also at selected shows in full live band to experience.

WED, 21.09.2022 / 11:00 PM INDRA Große Freiheit 64, 20359 Hamburg

Rumour has it that Stephanie Widmer and Alexander Köck only formed Cari Cari so they could hear their music in one of Tarantino’s films at some point. And although many parts of their debut “ANAANA” from 2018 do sound like the intoxicated desert rock favoured by the cult director in his works, no call has come from him to collaborate just yet. But no matter. The Austrian duo create an incredibly dense atmosphere with pinpoint pedal use on the guitars, laid-back drums and nostalgic vocals straight from the 70s, all in itself evoking top-rate summer flights of fantasy. A range of festivals including Primavera Sound in Barcelona or The Great Escape in the UK have let the two show how well this also works live. If you’re after some music for a relaxing day at the lake or a cocktail party on the roof terrace, you’ve come to the right place. On the other hand, if you want to finally marvel at this sound on stage, you know where to head for in September.

THU, 22.09.2022 / 8:30 PM @ ST. MICHAELIS KIRCHE Englische Planke 1, 20459 Hamburg

Presented by: Austrian Music Export

She writes the best lyrics when she’s angry, Eli Preiss says. This is hardly noticeable in her music though, as the lascivious and incredibly poised R’n’B that the 23-year-old Viennese composes comes across a lot more cool than it does aggressive. While she’s quite capable of dishing out verbally and speaking about deeply personal topics like self-acceptance, the distorted perception of women, or the coming-of-age traumas we’ve all experienced, sound-wise, songs like “Endboss”, “Danke Mami” (Thanks Mom), or “Gameboy/Simulation” are thickly produced, self-confident R’n’B tracks that digest influences from Christina Aguilera to Destiny’s Child as much as they do breakbeats, trap and urban electronica. Her EP “Moodswings” (2020) skillfully captures the ambivalence its title implies in its songs, which the follow-up “F.E.L.T. – Fragmente eines luziden Traums” (Fragments of a lucid dream, 2021) elevates to perfection. Watch out, there’s a world-class artist in the making.

WED, 21.09.2022 / 9:45 PM INDRA Große Freiheit 64, 20359 Hamburg

No fan of superficial blah-blah and small talk, Esther Graf elaborates in her songs on personal experiences as well as realities of life that a whole generation can identify with. Whether it’s settling accounts with an ex in “Red Flags”, the snares of toxic relationships in “Tschau Tschau” or being depressed by a society that threatens to suffocate on its own contradictions as in “sad = sexy” – Esther Graf hits the nerve of Gen Z, not just thematically and lyrically, but also musically. The 24-year-old Austrian takes punk rock from the early 2000s and mashes it with German pop devoid of kitsch or driving hooks in a modern production style. Since 2019, she’s been putting her name up on the boards, having already done so as a songwriter for other artists such as Vanessa Mai, Hava and Selmon. Now she’s taking her own personal artistic vision to a new level on stage too.

THU, 22.09.2022 / 9:15 PM @ FESTIVAL VILLAGE / SPIEGELZELT Heiligengeistfeld, 20359 Hamburg

For Anna Friedberg things always seem to happen very quickly. As a solo artist, she uploads her songs to MySpace just to go on tour with artists like Lenny Kravitz and James Blunt shortly afterwards. That was more than a decade ago. The two albums that followed netted her several awards and put her on the map in the UK and Austria. In order to find herself artistically, she goes off grid in the mid-2010s, rents an Airbnb in the Californian hinterland and begins experimenting. The resulting material she takes with her to London, within just a couple of weeks finds three like-minded musicians, forms the band Friedberg and releases her first EP “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah” last year. Electronically amplified indie pop boasting serious disco qualities on tracks like “Lizzy”, or putting a cowbell in the spotlight on the catchy tune “Midi 8”, is what this all-female combo with the cheeky attitude of a garage band are here for. Everything happens spontaneously and without restraint, with the courage to be extravagant – this gives Friedberg’s sound the momentum for a serious breakthrough. And as usual: considering these women, it’ll probably happen quickly.

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 9:10 PM INDRA Große Freiheit 64, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Morinoko

Everyone’s always on the lookout for a way out of the daily grind – the stressful 9-to-5-madness offers more than enough reason to do so. That’s why Good Wilson have dedicated their music to indulgence and dreaming, inviting you to leave all that stress and those deadline pressures behind and just be. To do nothing. To have leisure. Their perfectly formulated dream pop gives listeners more than enough room to do so, crossing hypnotic guitar chords with delicately echoing vocals and a fundamentally hopeful signature without ever turning cheesy. “Sky Gaze” is what the band calls it and it’s a nod to the legendary shoegaze bands of the 90s like Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine. While they might sound different, they’re just as good, as each of the four have gathered extensive experience through previous projects like Mynth or Polkov.

THU, 22.09.2022 / 7:45 PM @ MOJO JAZZ CAFÉ Reeperbahn 1, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: soda. mit himbeer

Even though they drop countless allusions to all manner of historical figures from contemporary history into their eclectic songs, Grant are a 100% product of the Viennese cultural scene. In other words: the grim reaper and sexual openness, crude satire and a hint of megalomania are always there in the band’s songs, sometimes addressed seriously only to be skilfully counteracted again. Their new album “Größenwahn” (2022) has all this bedded in dissolute metaphors, nested allusions between Leonard Cohen and Kurt Waldheim, Franz Kafka and Orpheus, Godot and unconventional Bible references. This testifies on one hand to a certain erudition, which directly translates into textual quality. Ok, got that. Plus it also shows an open-minded view of the world, giving this guitar music its unique flavour. “We focused a lot on the guitars during the production of this album” – and you can hear that in every second of the stylistically elusive mix of Franz Ferdinand, Falco and the finest retro-percussion. Perhaps the most exciting project of the Austro-Pop wave at the moment.

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 1:30 PM HÄKKEN Spielbudenplatz 21-22, 20359 Hamburg

Ian Fisher left his home state of Missouri and moved to Europe, forever changing his life and his music. With songs that combine an international lyrical perspective and a world-traveler’s musical influences with Americana roots, Fisher has remained on the road ever since emigrating, penning over one and a half thousand songs while also playing hundreds of concerts around Europe, North America, and Africa. His thirteen albums have earned him praise from outlets like Rolling Stone — who have described him as one of the new Americana artists you need to know and his music as “half Americana and half Abbey Road-worthy pop”.

THU, 22.09.2022 / 7:00 PM SPIELBUDE XL Hamburg

After the debut album “Volume 1” (2021) Kerosin95 followed up with the EP “Trans Agenda Dynastie” in 2022. Provocative and bluntly, Kerosin confronts us with unpleasant questions packed up in rap merged with pop sounds. There is no space for discrimination or outdated stereotypes, whether it’s about gender, appearance or culture. Standing up for important ideals with a huge amount of dedication even if the system is against you is the inner engine of Kerosin95 – at all costs. The positive response Kerosin95 has enjoyed is the evidence that this attitude has hit a nerve.

SAT, 24.09.2022 / 12:00 AM MOONDOO Reeperbahn 136, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Austrian Music Export

Leftovers are the new secret ingredient from Vienna’s underground. Wild, raw, loud and full of energy, the live performances of the four 20-year-olds are reminiscent of the elemental force of the early days of punk. Anna, Leonid, Alex and Leon have earned a rapidly growing fan base with their authenticity, generating a lot of buzz on social media over the past two years. Cyberpunk meets D’n’B, grunge, rock and everything in between or completely opposite, garnished with big choruses.

The young band’s debut album will be released on October 28th, 2022. But with the singles “Kinderzimmer”, “Tokyo” (#3 on the Radio FM4 Charts) and “Keine Zeit” (#7 on the Radio FM4 Charts) one may already fall in love.

THU, 22.09.2022 / 12:15 AM INDRA Große Freiheit 64, 20359 Hamburg

Before Sophie Lindinger started stirring up Vienna’s underground with her band My Ugly Clementine, the bass player and singer had already made a name for herself as one half of the electro duo Leyya. It rained awards and fame back then already – and she has been repeating this trick since 2019 with Mira Lu Kovacs, Kem Kolleritsch [note: departed the band in July 2022] and Nastasja Ronck, only better. The project, which boasts a prominent line-up of the city’s music scene, seems to be heading for a breakthrough which, one might argue, they had basically lined up for and achieved from the very start. Because even before anyone had heard a single note of theirs, their show at the Rhiz in Vienna had sold out – many more were to follow. While the music of My Ugly Clementine falls into the spectrums of indie, pop and garage-rock-revival, their lyrics draw inspiration from feminist discourses, from empowerment and equality. On their debut album “Vitamin C” (2000), their stylistic and thematic orientation had already garnered them such success that it was named “album of the year” by the umbrella organisation of European indie labels Impala. The band had previously collected an Amadeus Austrian Music Award and the title “band of the year” in 2020 by the radio station FM4.

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 11:30 PM KNUST Neuer Kamp 30, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Morinoko

A blessing in disguise – a saying that perfectly described the start of Neon Neet’s career on more than one level. The Duo from Tirol surprised the Austrian internet community in the spring of 2020 and just in time for the beginning pandemic with their EP “Persuasion”, delivering an unplanned but extraordinarily emotional soundtrack somewhere between R’n’B, powerful beats and a knack for yearning and optimistic melodies. They had stepped into the limelight a year prior with their single “Extension”, but while everyone was stuck in lockdowns with growing uncertainties, Neon Neet managed to find just the right notes – reaching more people than ever before. Since then, they have been working tirelessly on their debut album and are currently finetuning the final production phase. They’ll be giving us an extended preview of what’s to come.

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 12:00 AM MOJO JAZZ CAFÉ Reeperbahn 1, 20359 Hamburg

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 4:30 PM FESTIVAL VILLAGE / FRITZ-KOLA BÜHNE Heiligengeistfeld, 20359 Hamburg

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 7:30 PM IMPERIAL THEATER Reeperbahn 5, 20359 Hamburg

When all of Paris was in flames during the French Revolution, it was the women’s group Pétroleuses whose pyromania shot free with a resolute political impetus. The name fits the Petrol Girls like a glove, as they have been sticking their fingers up at the Status Quo for ten years now. From feminism or anti-capitalism, to a clear positioning against racism, sexual violence or profit-driven climate collapse: the rage-filled guys and girls of the London quartet make no secret of their stance: on the contrary, they openly take a stand. Rare enough these days, especially when it comes to socially uncomfortable discourse. But this was always the spirit forming the heart of hardcore punk and its representatives. So it’s good that the Petrol Girls show no sign of relenting, even after a 2020 re-formation and two years of the pandemic. Instead, album number three, “Baby”, is ready to go and will be served up red hot on the Reeperbahn in September.

SAT, 24.09.2022 / 9:30 PM KNUST Neuer Kamp 30, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: soda. mit himbeer

Sometimes the best way to deal with your own vulnerability is just to show it openly. This is the tack Pure Chlorine takes too. Using her smoky voice, she sings about the mindset in the throes of depression and the unwillingness to conform, in tracks with the punch of “Crown” or “FOOL”. Lyrically this is dark and gloomy. But musically she balances this with a danceable mix of slick guitars, EDM beats and an instinctive feel for modern produced harmonies, which move between electronic and instrumental. On her first EP “sorry that I smashed your ego” (2022), Claudia Bruckner ,her real name, tackles the toxic relationships and false friendships that we all have to confront sometime in our lives. It’s of course a big compliment that she’s already been described as the Austrian equivalent of Billie Eilish. But with her sound, her ideas and look, Pure Chlorine has already forged her own unique style.

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 2:30 PM HÄKKEN Spielbudenplatz 21-22, 20359 Hamburg

Resi Reiner’s artistic journey began with acting, which she pursued as a child due to her mother signing her up for a film casting on a whim. The fact that Resi got the part immediately seemed more like a dream than reality at the time. Dreams, however, are what the young actress pursues regularly, it’s basically her motto in life. And if you look, you will find. Last year she released “Ich will nach Italien” (I want to go to Italy), one of the most beautiful indie hits in years, and followed it up with “Tischtennis” (Table Tennis) and “Richtig Sommer” (Really Summer), (an homage to the classic “Wann wird’s mal wieder richtig Sommer” (When will it really be summer again) by Rudi Carell), two equally indulgent songs filled with sweet longing. Her voice, on the one hand elfin, on the other echoing as if from an old Julee Cruise song, always accompanies carefully textured arrangements of guitar, drums and synthesizers. Dreams of a better today that sound nostalgic without glorifying. A feat that Resi Reiner will hopefully soon immortalise on an album.

SAT, 24.09.2022 / 8:10 PM NOCHTWACHE Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 69, 20359 Hamburg

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 10:35 PM MOLOTOW / BACKYARD Nobistor 14, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Humming Records

Music just for the hell of it? While this might sound like absolute self-indulgence, which it is, there’s no need for any proverbially implied negative connotations that might accompany term. Quite the opposite: Sharktank’s spontaneity and naïve song writing might even be the much-needed antidote to our crisis-ridden present. On songs like “Get it Done” or their retro masterpiece with 90s vibes “Busy”, Katrin, Marco and Mike brush the heavy post-pandemic weight of everyday life off their shoulders without ever seeming out of touch. A positive outlook doesn’t necessarily have to include naivety. The trio’s lyrics are relatable, honest and get to heart of the things they address with composed precision. Accompanied by musical arrangements of indie pop, downtempo and jazz rap, their 2021 debut album is a collection of catchiness whose positive energy will outlive even the most taxing of lockdowns. Chin up, even if your outlook’s bleak – this is Sharktank’s motto with which they’ll finally be spreading exuberantly good vibes, once again this year, live and direct at the Reeperbahn Festival.

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 11:30 PM DRAFTHOUSE Hans-Albers-Platz 20, 20359 Hamburg

SAT, 24.09.2022 / 9:00 PM FESTIVAL VILLAGE / SPIEGELZELT Heiligengeistfeld, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: unserallereins

Classic conscious rap, in its many ingenious forms in Germany back in the 90s, is now rare – at least in this country. Good news then that Tyrolean rapper Spilif is trying to turn this around. She’s been translating her love of hip-hop into idiosyncratic but accessible tracks with exceptional lyrical quality for two years now. She won over Heidelberg beat producer Rudi Montaire, known for his jazz-loving, melancholic tenor, right away. Their first joint EP “Das Leben tarnt sich nur als Schnitzeljagd” (2020) serves up chilled, contemplative bars and beats reminiscent of the Hamburg school and the Eimsbush style of 1998. A rich and now certainly too rarely followed school in German rap, which is experiencing a second spring with rappers like Spilif. Self-confident and philosophical without sounding aloof or maudlin – let’s hope this young talent keeps treading this line even after the second EP “lost tracks” (2021).

FRI, 23.09.2022 / 12:30 PM HÄKKEN Spielbudenplatz 21-22, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Morinoko

Strandhase (Beachbunny) have never discussed the meaning behind their name. It metaphorically captures their sound quite well however, because the Vienna four-piece’s songs truly are summery and sweet. A splash of zany rock, some carefree funk vibes, a contemporary touch of New Wave and even a few influences by country soundtracks find their way into a stylistic mix that does one thing above all: whet your appetite. It’s a good thing that their debut album “Primetime” from 2020 has been a colourful and not seldomly comedic way out of the limiting confines of the “indie” drawer. Their shows have since been sold out, they are regarded as one of the best live bands ever between here and Vienna and they don’t take themselves all that seriously. Why should they? No one has cooler song titles or a more easy-going attitude right now anyway. Fans of relaxed guitar music listen up: they’re coming to play their old and new stuff for us this year.

THU, 22.09.2022 / 9:10 PM MOJO JAZZ CAFÉ Reeperbahn 1, 20359 Hamburg

From a local Viennese insider tip to one of the most exciting bands on the European mainland; for this, Takeshi’s Cashew have needed no more than one album. On their debut “Humans in a Pool”, the quintet effortlessly fuses the psychedelic aura of the Krautrock era with the vitality of Tishoumaren and cumbia, the smoky grooves of funk and surf rock with the hypnotic power of club rhythms, the narrative character of forgotten exotica soundtracks and the best qualities a jam band could ever hope to offer. These are epic narratives about lust and life, chaos and order, pain and ecstasy, expressed for example in the brilliant song writing evident in tracks like “Sterndüne (Kosmodroom)” (Star Dune (Cosmodroome)) or “There Is No Harmony” (including Werner Herzog quote), without so much as a single word being sung. Not necessary. The meditative, meandering sound of Takeshi’s Cashew already carries more feeling and spirit than could possibly be communicated linguistically. The fact that this band is finally coming to Hamburg needs to be called what it is: an absolute highlight – their live shows are without comparison throughout Europe.

SUN, 25.09.2022 / 12:00 AM MOONDOO Reeperbahn 136, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by: Backspin

As a Macedonian-Serbian migrant in Austria, Yugo, who used to make music as Jugo Ürdens, knows how quick people are to pigeonhole others. He’d have enough reasons to puke about it, like so many rappers. And yet the wordsmith, with his playful use of clichés, prefers to write tracks that fit his personality, that are authentic and take aim at common tropes of the commercialised hip-hop culture. Nonetheless, they are not jokes. Yugo delivers rhetorically solid spitting track after track in existentialist mode, sometimes raw and unfiltered, other times in autotune. Beats and lyrics nip at the nerve of the conventional, flaunt class instead of guns and clunkers and testify to a guy who doesn’t carry the knowledge of his origins around as a pseudo-decent phrase. Prince Charming in Slavonic – coming to us for the first time in September.

SAT, 24.09.2022 / 7:30 PM MOONDOO Reeperbahn 136, 20359 Hamburg

Presented by Fanklub/LasVegas

Fanklub/LasVegas will host a reception and showcase at the Spielbude XL this year! Open Air and free entry! The event begins at 6pm on Thursday, September 22.

THU, 22.09.2022 / 10:20 PM SPIELBUDE XL Hamburg

Reeperbahn Festival 2022

Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin