Photo credit: Philipp Gladsome
SHELTER BOY
It’s easy to stick to what you know. But if we take a trip to Europe, there’s something stirring. Introducing the future of the German indie scene, making waves with their music.
“I’m a cheeky bastard from the Eastern part of Germany who’s trying to live the Britpop dream,” explains Leipzig-based artist Shelter Boy, talking about his sophomore album ‘Mercyland.’ “It’s pretty different from what I’ve done so far. I’m pretty proud of it.”
“I fucking love the UK, not from the political side. But all that comes with it, like music and fashion and football, I love all of that. It's fucking expensive to come over and play for us. But yeah, hopefully because I love it. I love festivals.”
Shelter Boy combines indie rock angst with sweet hip hop tones and is eager to get back out on stage touring his new music. He spoke about how with this new record, he’s been feeling lots of self-doubt around ticket sales and streaming numbers. “But yeah, I tried to get my hunger back. Like, I need to be back on stage again, to be honest, because that feels like ages ago. When everything is just on the internet, and you just see numbers, and that is all your reference for what you’re doing, that is not fucking it. That's not it, you know? And hopefully, the next few shows can bring a bit of colour back into life.”
But he’s still feeling positive about the future. “Even though there’s some stones in your way, like you fucking go for it because there's no other way than doing that.”
He also speaks about his recent teaming up with R&B artist Amilli on their single ‘Raincoats,’ and how the music video featured none other than baby goats. “That was like the best day of our lives. Having like, baby goats everywhere to put them in your arms. That was so cool. Yeah, it was really sweet.”
Photo credit: Janine Kuehn
POWER PLUSH
Just an hour away from Leipzig are Chemnitz four-piece Power Plush. Svenja (guitar, vocals), Anja (bass, vocals) and Mia (guitar, vocals) chat about what Power Plush means: “We always say we do like, power plush pop, that's our own genre. And it's also sometimes a little bit like rock music. It's all about telling people that there's a lot of strength in softness.”
The three of them were put in touch by a mutual friend in 2019, before Svenja introduced drummer Nino in 2020. Since then, they released their debut album ‘Coping Fantasies,’ in 2023 and tell us what it’s like to be women in music. “I think we're getting a lot of inspiration from other female and FLINTA* [LGBTQIA+] bands because to see women, queer people play live on stage is really a huge inspiration for us,” says Anja before telling us they look up to bands such as HAIM, Lime Garden and The Big Moon. “I sometimes forget that we are actually also role models for, or we can be role models for other people,” adds Mia.
Anja let out a big sigh, followed by laughter when we asked about Chemnitz. “Chemnitz is something else of a city, I would say. There are those right-wing people on the one side and people who want to create something beautiful in the city on the other side. If you want to consume culture and art in Chemnitz you really have to make it your own, so you have to create it. It's exhausting, but it really gives you a lot of chances to grow as an artist to really participate in creating the city.”
Power Plush come to life on stage, making their cosy, colourful, cotton wool filled fantasy a reality. When asking about their on stage get ups, Anja says “Svenja is our stylist, she knows all about the fashion.” Svenja modestly adds “No, I’m trying my best! It’s so much fun, it was just very convenient for me to buy all the show outfits for us.”
“I really like our new songs. We've been playing the album songs for a long time now. So, we're also all just looking forward to playing new songs live,” says Mia when asked about new music on the horizon. Anja mentions “Can't wait to show you all what we’re doing. We’re cooking!”
Photo credit: Christoph Eisenmenger
BILBAO
Heading to the north of the country, Hamburg’s BILBAO. “We are a very summery band. We have a fresh, light-hearted sound, trying to deliver good vibes and we are very energetic, so we love to stand on stage and take the audience on a journey,” says guitarist Robin.
“Jannes, our bass player, and me met like 15 years ago when we both moved to Hamburg, and we started studying musicology. We became friends instantly and through that we got to know all the other guys because they were playing in other bands in the same scene. Then one day, we decided that we should make our own little project. And that’s what BILBAO turned out to be.”
After releasing their debut album ‘Shake Well,’ in 2022, they’ve started 2024 well with relatable indie pop tune ‘Hip Kids,’ and dreamy emotional number ‘2002;’ a collab with Willow Parlo singer Noemi Bunk. “We take our inspiration from everywhere. Specifically, maybe bands like Bombay Bicycle Club, all those 2000s indie bands like The Killers and The Hives.”
Speaking about Hamburg, Robin adds “we have a very vivid music scene. We have the world famous Reeperbahn which is the party district here with a lot of live clubs and a lot of stages where you can perform. There’s a lot of opportunity to go to concerts and listen to great music here.”
Each artist’s music is in English, as opposed to their first language of German. When asked why, BILBAO said it’s not something they’d given much thought to: “We just decided that English is cooler. Growing up, it was always very strange to sing in German.”
For Shelter Boy and Power Plush, a lot of it is to do with the lyrics. “English is such a beautiful language,” starts Anja. “The lyrics we write are very emotional and to write in a different language than your mother tongue, you can push it a tiny bit away from yourself. It’s not that close to you.” However, Shelter Boy feels the opposite. “I grew up on English music and the whole culture but right now, I started writing in German because it’s much
easier to make my points really clear, like what I say in my mother language.”
easier to make my points really clear, like what I say in my mother language.”
In terms of the future of the German indie music scene, each had something a little bit different to add. Power Plush were unsure, but hopeful. “Sometimes I have the feeling that the German music scene is really close together, and in some cases, it’s not really eager to go somewhere else, but there are artists that really want to get people to get to know their music elsewhere,” starts Anja, with Svenja commenting “We would love for everyone to be famous internationally.” BILBAO agreed: “I would love to see it getting bigger, because there
a lot of great bands here.”
a lot of great bands here.”
TikTok is a huge tool for creators to promote their work, but it’s not always for the best as Shelter Boy says. “Another artist pops up every day and can be so fucking big within a week. I think the aspect of playing live and being like, a stage persona has something to do with being an artist, you know, I feel like, it's a bit sad that it's not too necessary these days. I feel like there has to be a point where it stops because it doesn't feel healthy.”
When asked who they’re listening to in the scene at the minute, Shelter Boy and Power Plush mentioned artists such as Philine Sonny, BROCKHOFF and Amilli, but also mentioned each other, which just shows the closeness and friendship tied to the German indie music scene.