Tag Archives: Germany

Best New Bands of 2013 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #6: Autre Ne Veut

25 Dec
#6 Home stretch Hummingbird Autre Ne Veut. Lovely electro-clash record

#6 Home stretch Hummingbird Autre Ne Veut. Lovely electro-clash record

Best New Bands of 2013 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #6: Autre Ne Veut

On Christmas we cracked open a bottle of brandy and debated the fine art of electro-clash on today’s music scene. It’s been here since the early 2000’s, when we were introduced to Moving Units, Bloc Party, etc, but I think we all generally agreed that 2013 was the year where it went from being a club remix to the mainstream. Some artist’s perfected it our #6 Best New Band of 2013, Autre Ne Veut. This wasn’t his first record, crap he’s been around for awhile, 2010 as a band. I liken this record and band to some of of our recent faves like Ariel Pink with a sprinkle of Yeasayer enthusiasm. Autre Ne Veut is french for “I think of no other” and we can’t think of another band that has self expression nailed to a tee like they do in 2013.
Don’t be surprised if Autre Ne Veut busts through with a Katy Perry track…not joking.

Founded: 2010
Hometown: New York
Members: Arthur Ashin
Sonic Soulmates™: Prince, Ariel Pink, Yeasayer, Divine Fits & Drake (yep Drake)
Trackables™: Anxiety
Listen to “Counting” & “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”

Follow Autre Ne Veult:
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Hummingbird Awards – ALL YOUR BEST NEW BANDS FROM 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013:

Hummingbird Awards 2013 RECAP
#13 MS MR
#12 Swim Deep
#11 Holy Milk
#10 Mutual Benefit
#9 Diane Coffee
#8 Haerts
#7 Holograms
#6 Autre Ne Veult

Hummingbird Awards 2012
Hummingbird Awards 2011
Hummingbird Awards 2010

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Best New Bands of 2013 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #7: Holograms

24 Dec
Stockholm mates bring social unrest anthems to your Hummingbird ears. PHOTO BY: Juliette Henrioud

Stockholm mates bring social unrest anthems to your Hummingbird ears. PHOTO BY: Juliette Henrioud

Best New Bands of 2013 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #7: Holograms

It’s Christmas Eve, so we thought it would be appropriate to give you our rock/punk band of 2013. Holograms burst onto the scene in 2012, with their solidly produced self titled effort that reminded us of the Dead Kennedys if they’d had some solid studio time and better musicians. When I hear Holograms, I hear that same anger that we heard from Bono’s Irish unrest that was delivered in the early 80’s with War and Boy. Their moment is now and I feel a few of their tracks have been captured as anthemic molotovs shower unexpected crowd. Their music is an anthem for social unrest and their timing on the scene is perfect!

Founded: 2010
Hometown: Stockholm, Germany
Members:
Andreas Lagerström, Anton Strandberg, Anton Spetze, Filip Spetze
Sonic Soulmates™: U2 (the early years), Dead Kennedys, Joy Division (but better), Misfits, Savages
Trackables™: Forever is a classic mid-80’s mod-punk classic
Listen to “Flesh and Bone” & “Lay Us Down”

Follow Holograms:
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Haerts Captured Tracks to purchase Forever on LP Website
Website

Hummingbird Awards – ALL YOUR BEST NEW BANDS FROM 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013:

Hummingbird Awards 2013 RECAP
#13 MS MR
#12 Swim Deep
#11 Holy Milk
#10 Mutual Benefit
#9 Diane Coffee
#8 Haerts

Hummingbird Awards 2012
Hummingbird Awards 2011
Hummingbird Awards 2010

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Best New Bands of 2013 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #8: Haerts

19 Dec

Nothing reminds me more of KROQ, Richard Blade and The Poorman like Haerts.

Nothing reminds me more of KROQ, Richard Blade and The Poorman like Haerts.


Best New Bands of 2013 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #8: Haerts

They first burst onto the scene in 2012 when KEXP put their track “Wings” on the national public airwaves. Since that date, the track has been everywhere and so has the band. Touring with The 1975, MS MR, Shout Out Louds and Washed Out. I think I even heard the song on Parenthood. That might actually disqualify them from a Hummingbird. :^) They will take over the world in 2014! Nini’s voice and the production of the song remind me of what made 1980 Cure records so amazing. The Cure guitar riffs on the track “Secrets” remind me so much of what’s great about Haerts, clean bass lines and top string eeriness. Most of today’s indie electro clash concert goers have never heard a Cure record, but Haerts gives them a little dose of those glory years sans the horrific mascara and hair spray of Robert Smith. Put classic leather and lace Stevie Nicks in the front of a great Cure track and you have Haerts! Hell Nini is a better Roxette, maybe when they recast Pretty Woman, they’ll pull Haerts on the soundtracks.

Founded: 2010
Hometown: Germany, England and of course Brooklyn, NY
Members:
Current members include Nini Fabi (vocals), Ben Gebert (keyboard), Garrett Ienner (guitar), Derek McWilliams (bass), and Jonathan Schmidt (drums)
Sonic Soulmates™: Chairlift, Class Actress, Stevie Nicks meets The Cure, St. Vincent, Roxette, Tears for Fears, The Cure
Trackables™: “Wings”

New EP Hemiplegia

Follow Haearts:
Facebook
Haerts Website
Haerts Twitter

Hummingbird Awards – ALL YOUR BEST NEW BANDS FROM 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013:

Hummingbird Awards 2013 RECAP
#13 MS MR
#12 Swim Deep
#11 Holy Milk
#10 Mutual Benefit
#9 Diane Coffee
#8 Haerts

Hummingbird Awards 2012
Hummingbird Awards 2011
Hummingbird Awards 2010

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UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (1.9.12) I Heart Sharks

9 Jan

Arizona Turk loved them, so should you. I Heart Sharks.

If you’re not familiar, this is our key feature, we’ve called it Band of the Day, BUT starting today for 2012, we’re going to rename Band of the Day to Uncorked…these are what we consider the BEST NEW BANDS of 2012, the ones you should put on a playlist and listen to religiously. We love them so we share.

So if you read our blog religiously you know Arizona Turk. He’s our primary music excavator, digging for new bands and truly a maverick of music. His 2011 Year End Gems was shocking, bands that we’ve barely heard a whisper of and HIS FAVORITE NEW BAND is I Heart Sharks. We questioned him but he responded with “Just listen.” So we did and we pledged after that first listen to UNCORK them first in 2012. The first band to be Uncorked on NBD. Kind of a big, deal. I Heart Sharks, it’s German synth rock with an added Brit rock clean guitar flare and the vocal stylings of Friendly Fires. Their love of 80’s First Wave is clearly evident and I think it might be the first time A Brit, A German and a Parisian (we think) have created music together…well maybe not the first time, but definitely unique. They met sometime in 2007 in one of Berlin’s many clubs, toured a little bit through Germany, played Festivals and late last year we got their first full-length. Think of them as Scandinavian electro-pop with Berlin’s house music and the perfect dash of British flare.

Vitals:
Hometown: Berlin, Germany DE, Paris, FR, London
Members:
Pierre Bee
Simon Wangemann
Georg Steinmaier
Sonic Soulmates™: Friendly Fires, Passion Pit, Foals
Trackables™:
“Summer” –

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Spotify

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Band of the Day (10.20.11) Apparat

20 Oct

Apparat is 2011's Washed Out but Better!


BOD (10.20.11) Apparat

Really there are days, weeks when I just get bored listening to the same old drivel. I try not to remind myself how great it used to be…when one band from one new area from say Toronto, led to a slew of fantastic artists. Wow, that was just last year. Sometimes, I just have to remember that great music isn’t easy to find. I feel like our excavators have exhausted The Swedes, The Canadians, Chicago, San Francisco, the well seemed dried up. But then, I found a this lonely ‘ol lost track from Apparat, dream pop artist who had two records on Shitkatapult now on Mute. His new record The Devil’s Walk is great commute music. Calming dream-pop that conjures up 80’s revivalists like Cocteau or Roxy and then layered in a little James Blake. I feel good about today’s selection and I think you’ll find love in Apparat.

Vitals:
Hometown: Berlin, Germany
Members: Sacha Ring
Sonic Soulmates: Four Tet, Cocteau Twins, Sigur Ros
Trackables:
“Black Water”

Follow:
Apparat Home
Facebook
Spotify

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Band of the Day (2.1.11) Fotos

1 Feb

German mood rock will lead the Hamburg scene to fame

Band of the Day (2.1.11) Fotos

So last year we profiled Karkwa, a French Canadian rock band that was quite brilliant. They created a bit of a stir for us here at NBD and we love em. Even though their lyrics are French, it’s hard not to love their sound. Fotos is a German foursome that got their break from Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene. Now I don’t understand a lick of German, but the energy and mood mix of their 2nd Wave sound is quite impressive. There’s quite a scene happening in Hamburg these days. Bands like Kettcar and ClickClickDecker are part of this trend building and I think you’ll find Fotos to be the band that may just break here in the US. They have 3 albums, the most recent Porzellan, was released in 2010. The band is grinding out the tunes, videos and tour stops. It will take one or two tracks in English to do it, but their music is so strong that I think it’s quite possible. Take a listen and let us know what you think.

Vitals
Hometown: German Indie-Combo from Hamburg, Cologne and Wuppertal Hamburg, Bitte Bundesland/Region auswählen, De
Members:
Vocals: Thomas Heßler;
Guitar: Deniz Erarslan;
Bass: Frieder Weiß;
Drums: Benedikt Schnermann;
Sonic Soulmates: Interpol, German Radio Dept.
Must Hear Tracks:
“Porzellan” – Mellow mood rock and it sounds like English to me. 🙂

“Alles Schreit” – Shoegazy and their best track. It’s Radio Deptish with a spell of electric guitar.

Follow Fotos:
MySpace
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Official Site

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Band of the Day (1.3.11) Playfellow

3 Jan

The Deutschland delivers something special

Band of the Day (1.3.11) Playfellow

Well we’re back and 2011 is already starting off with a bang. We’ve had some great feedback on our 2010 wrap-up from labels, bands and of course our readers. So who will top 2010’s The Tallest Man on EarthBest New Band Honors of 2010 honors, well we start the year off with quite possibly our best new band in a while, Playfellow. You probably saw them on the Turks Best of 2010 Gem (Album) List well here they are in all their glory.

The German boys and a lady, probably our first band from the Deutschland, are moody rockers with a hint of the Karkwa boys. Maybe it’s the cold weather, but their songs harken, cold moody indoor days, where you contemplate everything. Their solid Brit Rock sound, is very similar to early Snow Patrol, before they were gobbled up by The OC, and I was actually shocked to see they weren’t from London. I love their sound and their use of echoed, layers of sound with whining guitars, and piano plucking. They are a nice more homey version of Muse with a dash of Radiohead’s experimentation.

Vitals:
Hometown: Brandenburg, Deutschland
Band members: Toni Niemeier – Gesang / Gitarre, André Dettmann – Orgel / Synthesizer, Katharina Mey – Bass / Gesang / Piano, Robert Laeßig – Gitarre, Tom Herberger – Schlagwerk
Sonic Soulmates: Muse, Snow Patrol, Radiohead even early Soundgarden, Midlake
Tracks to hear:
“All’s Asleep” – Ever heard “Full on Kevin’s Mom” by Soundgarden? Well this track is a much better version.

“Another Weird Place”

Pick-up their new album which was released on 11.26.10 Carnival Off

Follow Playfellow:
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Facebook
Band Site

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