Germans and their Music

This post particularly presents an overview of music in Germany for the non-German music enthusiast, who has ever been a tad bit curious about the subject.

Germany has been my home for nearly a decade and a half. My introduction to German music, however, began in my original home in Akwa Ibom, southern Nigeria. It was transmitted on the radio every Sunday afternoon and packaged under a programme titled Music of the Masters.

The Masters were a plethora of European music composers from the Baroque period, the Classical and Romantic eras of European history. They originated from Italy, France, Poland, Germany and Austria (who are also Germans).

They may have emerged from various locations, but the German composers’ excellence singled them out for prominence. They included Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Händel, Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, etc. These men in collaboration with European masters from the aforementioned nations were key players in the Western classical music realm or Baroque music which came on the heels of the Renaissance period. They innovated and framed music theorization and formalism under-girding music presentation through features like tonality, music keys, harmonic organization, creation of vocal styles like opera, cantata, oratorio, etc. Their innovations have immeasurably impacted modern music traditions.

The expression of their compositions were however, restricted to instrumentalization, thereby marginalizing musical vocalization and invariably, an awareness or familiarity with the German language.

Even though the German language song was not aired on the radio, I was nonetheless acquainted with several artists and songs produced in Germany, albeit in English. They included the popular 1970s disco and funk Afro-Caribbean band, Boney M, founded by German producer, Frank Farian. Farian would also create the pop duo, Milli Vanilli in the late 1980s. Other English-speaking German acts include Alphaville, popular for the song “Forever Young” covered by Jay Z; Scorpions, Ayo, Nneka, Joanna Zimmer, Oceana Mahlmann, Modern Talking, Lou Bega, Tokio Hotel, No Angels, Captain Jack, Lena Meyer-Landrut, etc.

From all accounts, Germany is a key player in the development of music genres like the Classical (as earlier stated) and popular music, and remains one of the major music markets in the world. She, like some European countries has been a safe haven for American artists on sabbatical (Chaka Khan), and the reinvention of life’s trajectory (Donna Summer and Tina Turner).

Germany is a country where music is appreciated and supported, regardless of the artist’s heritage. Artistes of foreign or mixed ancestry in Germany include Lou Bega (Ugandan-Sicilian), Semino Rossi (Argentinian), Roberto Blanco (Cuban), Xavier Naidoo (Sri-Lankan- South African), Nneka (Nigerian), Ayo (Nigerian), Eko Fresh (Turkish), Bushido (Tunisian-German), etc.

It is salient to highlight the above due to the prevailing rhetoric of German racism. The German society may well possess conservative idiosyncrasies, however the German music stratosphere indicates a steady paradigm shift . And may I add that racism is not a German trait but an aspect of human nature. In my country Nigeria, it is designated as tribalism. As such, this is primarily a semantic issue where various terms are deployed for the description of the same behavioural pattern of hatred, prejudice and bigotry. We live in a love-deficient and hatred-prevalent world which would change when humanity collectively decides that enough is enough. So, please, leave the Germans in peace.

Life’s journey brought me to this country and despite the persistent stereotype of German racism, I chose to interrogate both sides of the narrative. Guess what? I met highly educated German racists, and white racist foreigners who believed that white-skin privilege made them superior and better. And I met the black-skinned racist or tribalist whose venom was primarily directed towards other blacks, and whites. It was Lucky Dube who once sang that “not all white people are my enemies and not all black people are my brethren”.

Stevie Wonder and Paul Mccartney’s song “Ebony and Ivory” also rings true when they note that “People are the same, wherever you go. There is good and bad in everyone…..” It is high time the collective accorded more energy towards an individual self-examination and self-purging before critiquing the next person. Remove the log of wood from your eyes, before you go ranting about the stick in another man’s eyes. I do believe that we would scale the hurdle of prejudice and judgement when we consciously realize and acknowledge the depth of retrogression and stagnation engendered.

Upon my arrival in Germany, I was mandated by the immigration law to learn the language for a smooth navigation of the society. The cost was covered by the so-called ‘racist’ German State. One of the language learning tools at the language school was music with the works of Herbert Grönemeyer and Jan Delay at the forefront. Both represent different music frameworks. I got familiar with Grönemeyer’s “Curry Würst” [Curried Sausage] which sparked the inquisitiveness to discover the German specialty. Unfortunately, my curry würst sampling was blighted by a bloating aftermath which hindered a subsequent experience. But Grönemeyer’s music was a consolation.

Grönemeyer and the curry würst (dw.de)

He belongs to the vintage stock of German popular music, alongside Udo Jürgens, Udo Lindenberg, and Peter Maffay. They can be credited for the modernization of German music.

Despite a turbulent and repeatedly unsuccessful career start with four consecutively failed albums from 1979 to 1983, he persevered and has since remained relevant and a tour de force on the German music landscape. The proud owner of one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices, when his song plays on the radio, without the announcer’s introduction, you instinctively know that it is him.

One of his most prominent songs “Männer” [Men] (1984), a fast tempo pop-rock number, dissects the world of men from a feminist point of view. He outlines the characteristics of men and their achievements, quite reminiscent of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s World”, but humanizes the subject through an indication of their vulnerability and need for affection. He thereby delivers men from the mental baggage and shackles of machismo and chauvinism imposed by the Establishment. At last, men are free to express their authentic selves and just breathe. But, I will stress based on observable evidence that many men relish the baggage, perhaps due to an ignorance of the false reality denoted by this albatross or the false sense of power conveyed. In any case, this song appears at a very critical moment in the 1980s, when feminist agitations loomed large and pervaded the collective imagination.

Jan Delay, on the other hand, has been on the scene since 2001. My awareness of Delay began with the song “Für Immer und Dich” [Forever and You]. His music symbolizes and reflects the effect of globalism emerging from a post-war Germany marked by a strong American presence. Following WW2, the American, British and French military maintained their military bases and presence in Germany. The impact of American political supremacy was not lost on the German sociocultural fabric. Musically, it translated into English language lyricism and the infusion and appropriation of American music elements into German music creations.

Delay serves us the Blues Brothers look (dw.com)

Delay sings in German, but defies genre categorization despite being labelled a rapper. His music repertoire conglomerates Hip-Hop (“Klar” [Clear]), Reggae/Dancehall (“Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann” [Somehow, Somewhere, Sometime], Dance-Pop (“O Johnny”), Pop-Rock (“Feuer” [Fire], “Liebe” [Love], Disco-Funk (“Disco”), “Lächeln” [Smile], etc.

Delay is a soul brother as his music repetitively pays homage to Black American music traditions. Delay represents the postmodern Generation X, Y, Z’s, penchant for americanized world views. They, without persuasion, wittingly embrace the hybridity or double consciousness embodied by the navigation of the German-American terrain. They get to preserve their German identity through the retention of their mother tongue, but explore and mimic American artistic styles through music and dance.

The American music palette is easily adapted due to the side-by-side existence of German and English. The latter is a very important linguistic side-chick that is offered from the elementary to the secondary levels of education. It is perceived as a part of the German culture, and as such not treated as foreign. The reason is far from being inexplicable because the English language despite various borrowings from languages like French, Arabic, etc, is an offspring of the German language. The playlists on German radio is majorly populated with English-language songs. The close proximity, notwithstanding, the Germans are patriotic citizens and cherish their language. And should you find any German who sings in English (for instance Lena Meyer-Landrut, Sarah Connor), it is purely a commercial strategy to gain access and acceptability beyond the German shores. But many German artistes are really quite satisfied and content with the confinement of their music to the German borders which consists of Germany, Austria, parts of Switzerland, parts of Belgium, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, etc.

The following is a condensed outlook of the German music scene which comprises of the Schlager and other cross-pollinated genres.

Schlager is a popular European music genre derived from the operetta ( a theatrical music form) which was prevalent in the early 20th century. Schlager’s popularity is traceable to the 1950s and is a staple in parties, clubs and parades. It would not be a miscalculation to qualify it as the German cultural music. In the course of time, the ballad format genre has evolved and intertwined with other genres like disco, as was the case in the 1970s and 80s. In recent decades, the genre has also enjoyed an alliance with the pop sound. Prominent Schlager singers include Andrea Berg, Heino, Helene Fischer, Rex Gildo, Roland Kaiser, Vanessa Mai, etc.

Within the popular music terrain are the likes of Howard Carpendale, Ich + Ich, Johannes Oerding, Lena Meyer-Landrut (winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with a strictly English catalogue), Mark Forster, Max Giesinger, Nena (the flagbearer of the “Neue Deutsche Welle” or new German waves of the 1970s, an offspring of British Punk and the New wave pop style), Sarah Connor (with a record 8 English and 2 German albums), Tim Bendzko, Xavier Kurt Naidoo, Yvonne Catterfeld, etc.

The Hip-Hop/Rap scene has artists like Bushido, Eko Fresh, Gzuz, Samra, Sido, etc on display. The Electro/Techno genre features the prominent DJ Paul van Dyk. The Punk scene boasts of Big Balls and the Great White Idiot as forerunners. While the Heavy Metal idiom has a long list of artistic creators like The Scorpions, Edguy, Iron Saviour, to name a few.

The representatives of the Rhythm & Blues genre include Ayo, Cassandra Steen, Nneka, etc. While the Reggae/Dancehall creators include Culcha Candela, Oceana Mahlmann, Seeed, etc.

These artists and their respective genres represent the multifariousness and diversity promoted by the German music domain which mirrors a society on the continuous quest towards a transcendence of historical impediments. And for the artiste who wishes to reach the pinnacle of music accomplishment through the conquest of the European music market, here is a word of advice, your efforts would be inconclusive without Germany on the list.