The Formative Years

Deichkind

There are bands that make complete and utter sense within the cosmos they have created for themselves and the linguistic realm they are thriving in and while they would not lack appeal when it comes to their music being accessible to non-German speakers, there is a je ne sais quoi to them that proves to be difficult to translate.

Case in point Deichkind, a band that started as a hip-hop outfit in 1997 and evolved to not merely a veritable electropunk phenomenon that channels its alchemy in a myriad of layered ways, including an incarnation with their own opera.

The beauty of Deichkind is embedded in their inherent irony, often grotesque and humour laden lyrical content, which more often than not aims at provoking a reaction yet never not also entails a melancholiac and serious underlying dimension.

Musically, Deichkind has always pushed the envelope ever since they emerged out of the hip-hop scene in Hamburg and what they have recently arrived at in terms of targeted experimentalism and fusion of styles really defies any definition, which is further cemented via their live shows, which are more excessive happenings, parties and raves than anything else. Done up with their own costumes and props to inform conceptually intricate show elements inviting audience participation, Deichkind shows are reminiscent of children’s birthday parties aimed at adults.

 If I had to define the common denominator of Deichkind’s approach throughout the years, it would essentially punk rock even though it hardly ever manifests sonically.

A uniquely fantastic imaginative prototype of a band that was never designed for mass consumption yet has garnered mainstream success as it is so much more than the mere sum of its individual parts.