The Schäl Sick Brass Band started out as an alternative, multi-culti Carnival band in Cologne over 10 years ago. In the cultural capital of the Rhineland - the "Mediterranean stronghold of Germany" - an abundance of musical treasures exist. Immigrants and visitors from all over the world have left their mark on the city and have turned it into a colorful, melting pot of sounds. This is the best environment for musical adventures somewhere between Greece and Cologne-Nippes; between Nigeria and Little-Istanbul in the Eigelstein quarter of Cologne!
One of the many "migrants" to the Rhine metropolis is Raimund Kroboth, who came to Cologne from Bavaria in 1977. He made his musical home on the right side of the Rhine, which is called the "Schäl Sick" in the Cologne dialect and literally means "wrong side." "Wrong" because it has neither the cathedral nor the city center, and because it is a puritanical, protestant enclave in the cheerful, catholic Rhineland. He took advantage of the "license to be foolish" - asscribed to the "Schäl Sick" by the people of Cologne - to found the Schäl Sick Brass Band with a colorful group of likeminded musicians. From then on, he has been winning over audiences with unusual ideas, innovative sounds and an untamed love for the "true music of home"!
With the help of a diverse array of guests - like the German-Nigerian rapper Ade Odukoya of Brothers Keepers, Kristi Stassinopoulou, a Greek singer from Athens, blue-harp virtuoso Eric Zeiler; and pedal steel guitarist Steve Bohn - a very individual and intoxicating world music cocktail has been mixed once again. And it's been made unique by adding just the right combination of brass band sound, and rock and jazz elements. Iwanka Iwanova from Bulgaria, Mehrdad Hedayati from Iran, and Marcellus Seng from the "South City" of Cologne are on hand again to perfom the vocals. The "musical world theatre" (Süddeutsche Zeitung) rides on the breeze of delightfully fresh and versatile "collective-blowing" in the spirit of "think global : blow local", supported by a rhythm section consisting of tuba, drums, percussion and guitar or Waldzither, that "grooves like hell" (Gitarre & Bass).
Musical styles from rock, funk, hip-hop and rap, to folk, marching band and jazz are combined. Cuban, Greek, Latin, Afro and Middle Eastern sounds and rhythms are just as much a part of the band's repertoire as Bohemian-Bavarian ones. During the concerts the corresponding instruments from all over the world are played - tavil, kanjira, dhol, dolki, omele, sekere, gangan, thereminvox and many more.
Because the band never chooses just one perspective - which they have proven by their selection of musicians, instruments and musical styles - there is also room for melancholic and poetic moods.
A festive highlight and an acoustic delight for the globalized generation of music lovers!
"Pleasure" is the keyword that is heard when the Schäl Sick Brass Band is described. Listening to the band is like enjoying a culinary treat which combines diverse specialties into a unique work of art.
Schäl Sick Brass Band