Creative, coulourful and global: The Popular Music scene of the Rhein-Main area

The miscellaneous and colourful Rhein-Main popular music scene corresponds with the cultural variety, the social structures and the origins of the population. Inventive labels and active music production studios are located here, just to mention the following: 3p in Frankfurt-Rödelheim specialises in German Soul and Hip Hop, In Frankfurt’s northend peacelounge recordings and its branches beatscience, localmedia and tonwert concentrate on Indian and electronic grooves, and last but not least Newstyle in Dreieich offers a qualified support for musicians, bands and promoters. Music cooperatives like VirusMusik e.V. and the Frauen Musik Büro are based in Frankfurt as well.

The young amateur scene grows and rehearses in disused bunkers and converted factory buildings. Young bands of all styles and colours are jazzing, grooving and rocking for all one's worth. Like everywhere the possibilities for newcomers to perform live are sparse. The clubs in the region offer gigs for the local pop scene every now and then but normally established domestic or international music acts make it to the stage. Among the numerous clubs in Hesse are Batschkapp, Nachtleben, Sinkkasten, das Bett and Brotfabrik in Frankfurt, Schlachthof in Wiesbaden, Scheuer in Idstein, Schanz in Mühlheim, Das Rind in Rüsselsheim, Wiener Hof in Offenbach, Culture-Club in Hanau, Centralstation und Bessunger Knabenschule in Darmstadt, and Musiktheater Rex in Lorsch/Rhein.

International top acts usually perform at the Frankfurter Festhalle, Jahrhunderthalle Hoechst or at the Alte Oper Frankfurt.

Music Melting Pot Rhein-Main

Surprisingly many world music oriented bands and projects are based in the region. Many eastern European, African, Latin-American and Cuban musicians live here, as well as artists from other parts of the world. They all induce their musical traditions into the melting pot of the Rhein Main pop scene. Some examples in Frankfurt may illustrate the regions’ particularities.

Alongside jazz, which is strongly embedded in the local scene, blues and rock, ethno-pop/ world music, electronic-dance/techno/house, comedy pop, classic & pop, literature & pop and avant-garde are some other typical music focal points.

The Frankfurt City Blues Band was formed in 1977 and still is regarded as an institution of urban Blues in Germany. The former FCBB guitar player Manfred Häder meanwhile formed his own band presenting blues with German lyrics, and was awarded by the Deutsche Schallplattenkritik in 2006.

The Rodgau Monotones - Hesse’s most famous band – made Hessian idiom combined with down to earth rock presentable. Alongside classic rock bands like the Flatsch successors ‘Die Groben Jungesellen’ nearly all sub styles are represented: indie-rock (Colourful Grey, Sushimob , Lada, Rosa Power Club u.a.), gothic/dark wave (Chamber, ASP u.a.), metal (Magnetorium, Metanatic , Livid Brew, Ira Tenax, Iresist u.a.), alternative (jaspernewton, Inversion, Marie Wonder u.a.) and punk (Killerlips, Life Exile, January, Into-Deestrew, e.a.)

Global Beats

The cosmopolitan, multicultural Frankfurt is the home of wolrd music labels like Christian Scholze’s well respected Network label or Lothar Krell’s Ethno-Pop label World Music Café. Nuzzcom promotes international world music artists and musikglobal e.V. presents concerts of world music artists.

In Frankfurt the highly praised Shantel’s Bucovina Club started and the German centre of Bollywood music settles here as well. 15 years ago the female ethno-funk band Kick La Luna was formed, and was in 2007 was joined by Brazilian singer and guitar player Zelia Fonsca. The quartet Mi Loco Tango, devoted to Asto Piazolla’s Argentinian Tango Nuevo, also stands for the musical originality and high profile of the world music bands of the area.

Techno, Comedy Pop and the Disciples of the Frankfurter Schule

Since the early 1990ies the Frankfurt area is the international centre of electronic dance music, especially techno. DJs and producers like Sven Väth, Marc Spoon (died in 2006) Talla 2XlC, Heinz Felder, Torsten Fenslau (1993 killed in an accident) represent this style.

Badesalz and the Bad Homburg based Duo Mundstuhl range highly in the national comedy pop league, the U-Bahnkontrollöre in tiefgefrorenen Frauenkleidern are justready to get there. Lesser known comedy pop-acts are Queens of Spleens, and Komet, DuOH. Since the 1970ies the Neue Frankfurter Schulorchester (formerly Frankfurter Kurorchester) managed to stay between all genres most of all thanks to cellist and bandleader Frank Wolff, who’s subversive and humorous mixture of chanson, classic and pop is unique in Germany. The Frankfurter Frühjahrskollektion’s live programme, set up by bandleader and piano player Markus Neumeyer and Sabine Fischmann shows a certain affinity.