That’s What They Said about the Danish Night

Andreas Weitkämper, Head of A&R Warner:
I was just at the venue Docks seeing Nahiba’s gig  – it was brilliant, but I simply had to hurry over here to hear Kellermensch. So I get to hear some Danish music tonight. Kellermensch? They are huge already and they can be really… big – their attitude, their looks, the way they conquer the stage – the singer’s voice – their dynamic. It is complex music and then with that voice on top of it.

Joachim Braun, A&R Manager, Sony Music:
Joachim Braun, A&R Manager, Sony Music:
Well, I only saw Kellermensch tonight at the Danish showcase, but I’ve also just seen the Broken Beats tonight, and obviously I also know Ginger Ninja. What I’d like to say is that generally speaking there are an incredible number of good bands – and very diverse bands from Denmark when you take into account the size of the country. As for Kellermensch – they were amazingly good – in the borderland of Faith No More and The Hives – it’s both modern and with a sense of history to it. And then there are some unique personalities in the band. The singer obviously, but also the bass player – an extraordinary show.

Yan Mangels, booker, FKP Skorpio:

Yan Mangels outside Indra. (Photo: Henrik Friis).

I used to be skeptical about an all-Danish night at Reeperbahn – for instance last year’s line-up. Tonight, however, I think it worked – except that in the future you might want to consider having the showcase on Friday instead – a lot of industry people have already gone home. But I saw some great new acts that have convinced me that there really is a lot of talent in your country. I was particularly impressed by Kellermensch whom I also tried to get to see at this year’s SPOT, but in vain – I couldn’t get in. They are really distinct with their gothic element and their metal element. It’s a combination that I believe has great chance of becoming popular in Germany.

Stephan Thanscheidt, booker, Scorpio Festivals (Hurricane, Rolling Stone Weekend, Highfield, GreenfIeld (ch))

For me Thee Attacks were the high point tonight. I simply like their style. I listen to so much music every day, but they just stand out. I also sense that your scene is growing and moving up – the level is high and close to international. I’ve previously booked Dúné for the Highfield Festival, but there is room for more bands. All in all I enjoyed the evening. It was very well organized.

Andrea Heuer, booker, Headquater Entertainment, Berlin (Thee Attacks are among the bands she works with).
A Danish night like this one is a good idea. Many music business people have showed up and the venue is completely full, so it doesn’t feel like a showcase thing but actually like regular live gigs. Well, Danish music is also considered to be hot right now as is the case with Scandinavian music in general.  Listening to Scandinavian music is hip right now – at least Swedish, Norwegian and Danish music. I just saw a poster with Tina Dickow, who is on her way down here. She is going to play two nights in a row at Fliegende Bauten – and that’s a pretty big venue (and both nights have been sold out, ed.).

Torsten Mewes, Head of Marketing & Communication, Believe Digital.
The growing interest in Danish music in Germany has a lot to do with image, and that is due the high level of quality that Danes have demonstrated the last few years. In other words what comes from Denmark is hot. If you work in the media business and you receive some music from, say, an Italian band, it is a lot harder for them to generate an interest. For our own part we have recently given the Danish band Waldo & Marsha a prize in collaboration with the Ermegenza Festival. We selected them among 90 acts, but they really stood out with their creativity. And then they are just so young and unspoiled – when I wanted to get in touch with them, they gave me the phone number of one of their parents!! (The prize consists of digital distribution of the band when they have enough material as well as 10,000 Euros worth of marketing and promotion).

Eva de Wall, international exploitation manager in Germany for Sony Danmark
There are a lot of Danish bands that play down here and get lots of attention in the magazine press, etc. Personally I worked with Kashmir and Junior Senior in Germany six-seven years ago, the same period when The Raveonettes created the hype around them – it was at that time that the wave started, and it has developed in an impressive manner since then. Today there are numerous examples – I work with Kashmir, Outlandish, Ginger Ninja, and Fallulah, but take someone like Aura. She has had two big single hits making it to number one down here just within the last year!

Bjørn Pfarr, head of booking, Reeperbahn Festival
Yes there is a quite a large representation at the festival, but the reason for this is the quality of the music – otherwise it wouldn’t be here. Even though you and other organizers recommend bands, we are the ones who approve it. So  in other words we have OK ‘ed The Broken Beats, Marie Fisker, etc. for the festival lineup. And as is the case with the acts that played tonight, they definitely fit our profile and ambition to present upcoming acts. That’s what our festival is for. Last year we also had top acts like The Editors, but it took too much focus away from what we want with the festival, and at the same time and it took way too much energy from the organization that we would have liked to put into the launching of all the other music.

Stefan Juhlin, co-founder of Pitch and Smith, booker, agent (a.o. Oh No Ono and Choir Of Young Believers).
In your case I think a national night like SPOT On Denmark is the right way. Of course music matters more than nationality, but I’ll give you an example: If you are offered a band from Poland and one from Denmark, I’m quite sure I know which one the German music business would check out first – the Danish band! And one more thing: It’s a great little package that you present here. Take the Swedes for instance – they always bring a couple of weird acts. When you’re trying to attract music business people, the goods have to be in perfect order, and yours are.