Do true romantics still exist in these severe and cynical times? The Swiss Larissa Iceglass and the Brit William Maybelline could be the answer to this question. With their dark wave band project Lebanon Hanover, they give the alienated world the cold shoulder. Fascinated by the beauty of Art Nouveau aesthetics, the coasts of Great Britain, nocturnal forests, and the urbanity of Berlin, this duo creates a pulsating sound of synths, deep basslines, and programmed rhythms. Singer Larissa Iceglass’s delicate yet haunting vocals penetrate the ear and catapult the listener to a place between nostalgia and reality. An escape from everyday life. An ode to sadness. With this, Lebanon Hanover proves: »Sadness Is Rebellion.«

What paths can you take to express what’s inside you? The 26-year-old singer-songwriter Rosa Anschütz packs her everyday observations and questions into poetic and poignant lyrics. Prose that sticks with you thanks to Rosa’s unforgettable voice. Admonishing, haunting, wafting. The utterly analog composition of the album »Interior«, announced for winter 2024, gives her voice the leading role on a journey through various genres and themes such as heartbreak, family dramas, beauty, and spirituality. »I’ve been losing the faith to see«, sings the artist on the track »By Gaining Many Somethings«. A melancholy, warming search between reflection and observation – inside and out.

Sextile are »ready to rage« on the About Pop stage. Emerging from the underground scene in Los Angeles in 2015, this band powerhouse knows how to sweep the audience off their feet. No wonder, given their driving sound mix of post-punk and electronic rock. Following the release of their debut album and another EP, Sextile took a break in October 2019 after the tragic death of a band member. In 2023, they beamed themselves back to the surface. Their album »Push«, released in September, lives up to its name. Thanks to the (even) higher BPMS, this record is a real serotonin booster that illuminates the difference between dance music, gabber, and trans.

As the son of Turkish parents and migrant workers, he is still where he grew up – in his hometown of Moabit. He has been writing lyrics for ten years and transforming them into anti-capitalist German rap for almost two years. He criticizes the white German majority society – without pointing a finger, but with a lot of anger in his belly. The sound is trappy and modern. New Wave. On his EP »Gast«, he transforms the voices of his generation into music, between hope, pain, and false promises of hospitality. Apsilon represents the defiance of a young generation within a dysfunctional society and, simultaneously, shows the will to change something – socially and in music.

Calling Uche Yara a newcomer almost feels wrong: The exceptional Austrian talent was already playing live gigs for significant festivals and bands such as Bilderbuch, Parcels, and The Rolling Stones even before she released her first hit song, »www she hot« – an indie rock banger that can easily hold its own with Yves Tumor, Jean Dawson and other international greats. The singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter in her early 20s, doesn’t want to be pinned down. Her musical spectrum ranges from psychedelic rock to tango to R&B groove and much more. Her deep, powerful voice and presence on stage make Uche Yara a mesmerizing live act.

Sofie Royer gives the term »jack of all trades« a new dimension. There is almost no artistic discipline in which the musician and composer are inactive. She sings, writes, and produces her tracks. She loves poetry and reality television from the early 1980s and is passionate about medieval performances and opera and ballet traditions in her home city of Vienna. The title of her album »Harlequin«, released in 2022, seems to combine all of these influences. Sofie Royer succeeds in creating a theatrical and musical montage of strange characters, folkloric settings, and mysterious chronologies.

Berlin musician Charlotte Brandi knows: »Cultural renewal is not born out of comfort.« With her second studio album, »An den Alptraum«, released in 2023, she released her first German-language long-player and work produced entirely with FLINTA’s involvement. For Brandi, this was a conscious decision for the overdue paradigm shift in the music world. Consistent feminist process optimization. She sings about the simultaneity of things. Her lyrics deal with men, women, fear, money, death, and the contribution to the revolution. Brandi presents a diverse musical spectrum in her songs, from a capella choirs to art-pop anthems with a scratchy voice. Serious, razor-sharp, and self-deprecating, the singer addresses current social discourses and proves her ability to capture musically and lyrically what is otherwise difficult to grasp.

»If you don’t like the index finger, you must put up with the middle finger.« The duo Augn make cabaret-style spoken word post-punk and wear stocking masks, and even this attempt at an accurate band description will likely make them shrug their shoulders in disdain. The fact is, Augn is painfully honest. They don’t want to please anyone; they criticize everyone: Beyoncé, Falco, the Berlin hipster bubble, students, the Junge Union. It’s criticism of social criticism. The nasty irony of the ever-ironic digital zeitgeist. Unpleasant as shit. That’s what songs like »Deutschrap ist tot«, »Falcos Tochter« and »Vintage« are supposed to be. Sophisticated, without claiming to live up to any expectations. That’s what concertgoers have to put up with.

They just wanted to jam together again during the lockdown – the result is Station 17’s eleventh album, »Oui Bitte«. Quite unexpectedly, between the pool and the trout pond. The story of this band project begins in Hamburg in 1988. Isolated from the public, disabled people live together in residential groups—the idea of making music together with non-disabled people developed in residential group 17. Station 17’s ever-changing line-up has always skilfully skirted the rigid genre boundaries. Their musical spectrum ranges from heavy metal, jazz, rock, electro, and house to experimental art.

The Stuttgart band Atomic Lobster shows how lively the Stuttgart music scene is. Ella Estrella Tischa (guitar/vocals), Daniel Herrmann (bass/vocals), and Armando Bleher (drums) create a skillful fusion of grunge, soul, and trip-hop with their music. Inspired by artists such as Radiohead and PJ Harvey, they musically live out their nostalgia for the 90s without losing their desire for new sound experiments and melodies. Atomic Lobster brings this infectious sound to the About Pop stage. The trio’s debut album will also be released in May 2024.