IndieRE #95 by Radio Helsinki Graz, Austria
Short Text:
Welcome to IndieRE #95! This episode is your passport to the rich tapestry of Austrian indie music. From whimsical humor to rebellious spirits, our playlist spans genres like punk, electro, and hip hop. Each track encapsulates the diverse sounds that define Austria’s indie scene. No need for elaborate intros – just let the music guide you through the unmistakable Austrian «Schmäh.» Immerse yourself in this sonic journey, experiencing the essence of Austrian indie vibes across various styles. Bussi und Baba!
Playlist
01: Felix Kramer – Deine Gründe (03:19 // Wie schön das Leben is, Phat Penguin Records 2023)
02: Anda Morts – Deine Nummer (02:53 // Single, MOM I MADE IT 2023)
03: Bipolar Feminin – Sie reden so laut (02:27 // Ein fragiles System, Buback Tonträger 2023)
04: Wiener Planquadrat – Ein weites Feld (06:01 // Single, Iptamenos Discos 2023)
05: Endless Wellness – Hand im Gesicht (03:18 // Single, Ink Music 2023)
06: Spilif – I Quit (02:12 // irgendetwas das du liebst, unserallereins 2023)
07: Die Buben im Pelz – Die Wüdn (04:06 // Verwandler, Konkord 2023)
08: Sigrid Horn, Julia Lacherstorfer – morgen (04:26 // Paradies, Bader Molden Recordings 2023)
09: Euroteuro – W.S.D.S. (03:10 // Volume III, Siluh Records 2023)
10: Granada – Ottakring (04:45 // Live auf den Kasematten, RCA Local 2023)
Featured artists
Felix Kramer
https://www.felixkramer.at/
https://www.instagram.com/felixkramerwien/
released on
Phat Penguin Records
https://www.phatpenguin.at/
Anda Morts
https://linktr.ee/andamorts
https://www.instagram.com/anda_morts
released on
MOM I MADE IT
https://momimadeit.net/artists/anda-morts
https://www.instagram.com/momimadeitrec/
Bipolar Feminin
https://linktr.ee/bipolarfeminin
https://www.instagram.com/bipolar.feminin/
Wiener Planquadrat
https://www.instagram.com/wienerplanquadrat/
released on
Iptamenos Discos
https://iptamenosdiscos.bandcamp.com/merch
Endless Wellness
https://www.instagram.com/endlesswellnesshallo/
https://linktr.ee/endlesswellnesshallo
released on
Ink Music
https://www.instagram.com/inkmusic/
Spilif
https://www.instagram.com/spilifsound/
released on
unserallereins
https://musik.unserallerlink.com/spilif/ichbleibhier
Die Buben im Pelz
https://www.instagram.com/diebubenimpelz/
https://linktr.ee/diebubenimpelz
released on Konkord
https://www.instagram.com/konkordrecords/
https://konkord.bandcamp.com/
Sigrid Horn, Julia Lacherstorfer
https://www.instagram.com/_sigrid_horn/
https://www.instagram.com/julia_lacherstorfer/
released on
Bader Molden Recordings
https://www.badermolden.com/
Euroteuro
https://www.instagram.com/euroteuro/
https://linktr.ee/euroteuro
released on Siluh Records
https://www.instagram.com/siluh.records/
https://laden.siluh.com/
Granada
https://www.instagram.com/jetztspieltsgranada/
https://www.granadamusik.com/
————
Full Text:
Hello and welcome to a new edition of IndieRE, the independent Radio Exchange Programme that brings you the freshest and coolest indie songs and subcultural music from a different European country every week. Today, transmitting for Radio Helsinki from Graz, Austria, it’s your host Lilly Vanilli with episode #95.
You can tune in not only in Austria but also with our radio friends in Spain, Croatia, Ireland, Germany, France, Slovenia, and Hungary. I wish you all a fantastic and happy new year as we dive into the Austrian edition and present you with our tunes.
For the first episode of Radio Helsinki in the new year, I’ve decided to showcase songs exclusively sung in Germany or most of them in Austrian German – a language that nobody outside our small country understands, not even our colleagues from Germany, and sometimes, not even ourselves.
Oder: Verstehts ihr mi?
—
We’re kicking off the brand new year with a positive message.
Viennese songwriter Felix Kramer has titled his third album, «Oh wie schön das Leben is» (Oh, How Beautiful Life Is). One might sense a hint of cynicism or at least irony, but he means it sincerely. The broad grin on Felix’ face on the album cover is as genuine as the pink cotton candy he holds in front of the Prater, the famous amousement park in Vienna. This album is a declaration of love for life, acknowledging its dark sides and abysses as well.
Felix is singing about things that truly occupy and interest him and he doesn’t negate the dark sides or tensions of life but incorporates them directly into the heart of his songs without weighing them down. His Viennese humor lends these songs a lightness that suits them exceptionally well, as he maintains a natural approach to it. The Viennese accent is unmistakable but not overstylized or deliberately turned toward Austrian pop clichés.
We are now going to listen to the title track of the album, released on Phat Penguin Records.
Felix sings about drunk and too wet kisses, missing his own bed, staying too long at the party and then vomiting in the subway, ugly hostels, fights with hooligans, making smalltalk with his grandma, laughing at bad jokes, a too firm handshake And the smell of the swimming pool toilet – these are just a few things that make Felix Felix say: oh, wie schön das leben is – oh how beautiful life is.
—
Now, moving on to another youngster in Austria’s indie scene – Anda Morts.
Being authentic and not being an asshole is important to me,» says musician Anda Morts, hailing from Linz in upper austria and embodying indie punk without artificial attitude. What the 25-year-old sings about gives his audience a sense of his state of mind. In the midst of the phase between 20 and 30, he is often characterized by questioning, feeling trapped, being a bit uninspired, angry, or really disillusioned, and of course, sometimes just not feeling ok.
Anda Morts captures the self-reflection of his mid-twenties directly on paper in a small book. He plays guitar, sings what comes to mind, and the words fall into place. Initially in English, he switched to his mother tongue, German, after just one single.
The musician primarily draws inspiration from punk rock, the genre that brought him to music. «I thought music is for everyone, punk rock riffs are simple, I can do that too.»
In a somewhat punk fashion, Anda Morts has a preference for nicknames. The artist’s name is derived half from his first name Andreas because his grandma always called him Anda. The other half, Morts, is the word ‘Strom’ (electricity) spelled backwards – inspired by a beer wagon on the Linz Danube beach whose flag was once hung upside down.
Since March 2023, Anda Morts has been signed with the Viennese label MOM I MADE IT and we are going to listen to his latest release – DEINE NUMMER – your number.
—–
Up next is Bipolar Feminin – bipolar feminine.
In the past, a condition marked by severe mood swings, now known as bipolar disorder, was eferred to as manic depression. Artists like Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, and the Pixies have explored the mentally taxing «mixed episodes» of this illness in their songs.
Following a similar path, but with a rougher edge, Bipolar Feminin from Ebensee in the Salzkammergut region hit hard with their debut album, ein fragiles System – A Fragile System.» The band’s hometown is known not just for the beautiful Traunsee, the Traunlake, but also for its occasionally excessive Carnival celebrations. Manic! Unfortunately, it must be noted that the region often experiences weeks of gloomy weather fronts and life-draining fog clinging to the mountain slopes. Depressive…
Released on the Hamburg-based label Buback Tonträger, their album «A Fragile System» tackles topics like mansplaining and intense emotions. In the song «Sie Reden so laut,» the bands singer Leni Ulrich confronts self-absorbed, supposedly sensitive guys in the nightlife with lines like «To me, that’s way too emotional,» responding with an angry «Don’t get me wrong. I could just vomit.»
What makes Bipolar Feminin and their album endearing is the contrast between their expressive verbal outbursts and music that rarely ventures into the red testosterone zone. Instead, it opts for a lethargic, shuffling, and shaky delivery – a fragile system, indeed, depicted through mixed episodes.
We are now going to listen to their song Sie Reden So Laut – They are Speaking So Loud
—–
As we transition to the next track, I have to confess something: as I speak to you, once again, I find myself behind schedule in producing this show. This happens from time to time, I have to admit…
But perhaps that’s my Austrian way of thinking and feeling – echoing the sentiment of the famous Austrian Einstein, who once stated: time is relative, isn’t it? These are the questions that the Austrian DJ/producer duo Wiener Planquadrat ponder in their latest single, «Ein Weites Feld» – questioning whether time is merely a human construct.
Now, let’s dive into this powerful single that brings together a fusion of sounds from dark disco, electro, acid, and house. Showcasing a diverse range of analogue sounds and synths, the track constructs a euphoric and futuristic atmosphere. It features striking percussion that adds a sense of weight to the track, along with vocals that blur the line between human and robot. The song continuously builds up energy giving the listener the sensation of breaking free from the atmosphere and launching into space, as if floating away in zero gravity.
Here is „ein weites Feld“ – A Broad Field
—–
Moving on to Endless Wellness,
a a four-member band from Vienna with an almost obscene blend of poetry, slang, and comforting irony, all while expressing a cry against a societal system marked by failing climate policies and dismal prospects.
Instead of civilized wallpaper harmony and rounded edges, there’s «Fuzz-Folk» for the ears, or singer-songwriter punk, or perhaps just uncomfortable indie-pop?
Endless Wellness excels at letting go of inhibitions and just being honest. Honest in the rough guitar play, honest in the deliberately simple music video, and last but not least, honest in the songwriting, which, with obscure vocabulary, talks about a universal theme: the great challenge of growing into one’s own body. The result is a song about shame that doesn’t sound so ashamed.
On some days, I want to live And on others, I’d rather not – Maybe I’ll become a long-distance steward And I’ll never get off the plane – in Psychology Today, they said Highly sensitive people are constantly checking their heartbeat And I’m constantly checking my heartbeat.
This is Endless Wellness – Hand im Gesicht
—
Moving on to Spilif and some Hip Hop Tunes
Rapper Spilif, born in 1989 in Innsbruck, discovered her love for spoken and written words during German class. For over 10 years, the Austrian artist has consistently crafted philosophical, reconciliatory, self-reflective, and socially critical lyrics. Since 2018, she has been presenting her work as a rapper on various festival and club stages.
For Spilif, Hip-Hop is not just a genre but a way of life. Consequently, she views the current rap zeitgeist critically: «The chart-dominating rappers have been spreading the same message for what feels like an eternity – I’m just bored. However, the millions of kids streaming it don’t seem to be. The role model function in the realm of art is, of course, debatable. We need to steer the genre, and especially young fans, away from the idea that cars, jewelry, designer clothing, or click numbers are the goals to be achieved. It must be inner peace – and that is not attained through Gucci.»
Therefore, Spilif offers a wonderful counterproposal to the current status quo in German Hip-Hop, simply because she is not afraid to address her own setbacks in songs. We can’t wait to continue following this rapper’s musical scavenger hunt and are now going to listen to the song „i quit“.
—-
New York and Vienna are sisters in spirit, noble and morbid at the same time, radiant and sinister. One is driven by a speedball of heroin and cocaine, the other by white wine galore. While Death, as they say, is a Viennese, New Yorks most famous sons name is Lewis Allen Reed, and his most famous record prominently features an artfully designed banana.
Deeply impressed by the great songwriter Reed and his mindblowing musical monuments full of erratic off-kilter beauty, the Viennese band Die Buben im Pelz – the Boys in Fur – set to work.
After their cover album of the velvet underground + nico in 2015, they are now moving on to Transformer or Verwandler, probably the most iconic record from Lou Reed’s extensive catalog after leaving the Velvet Underground. Although ‘Verwandler’ is not a one-to-one transfer of the original album, it is once again a worthy tribute to the master’s works. In the Buben version of ‘Walk On The Wild Side’, the broadest Austrian slang guides you along Vienna’s Danube Canal, drifting like an outsider with the urge to transform.
Here are the Buben im Pelz with „die Wüdn“!
—-
The songwriter SIGRID HORN, originally from Lower Austria and now based in Vienna, is an artist that is able to make the most from very little and to transform tranquility into an all-encompassing force.
«Paradies» is a music album created to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the referendum on the Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant which was completed in the 1970s but faced strong public opposition. In a 1978 referendum, 50.47% voted against its commissioning, making Zwentendorf the world’s only fully constructed nuclear plant never put into operation due to a democratic decision.
The central theme of the album, much like the location itself, weaves together memories, hopes, fears, and various curious stories.
Some songs attempt to lift heads from the sand, warning of impending disaster and directing attention to our responsibility and the environment. Others delve into the years of tedious limbo when the power plant was maintained but couldn’t be commissioned. The songs guide us from the past into the present, concluding with the track «Morgen» (Tomorrow), that we are now going to listen to.
Together with fellow musician Julia Lacherstorfer Sigrid Horn sings in a brought Austrian dialect about the future and what has to happen to even have one –
„wann ma mougan sein wulln miass ma reagieren“ – if we want to still be tomorrow we have to react now!
—-
In November 2023, the third studio album of the Vienna patchwork project Euroteuro was released. Following «Volume I & II,» here comes «Volume III.» Even more voluminous!
They’ve been in the business for a few years now, but always in varying formations. While Euroteuro has had fluctuating members in the past, today they take the stage as a duo. Peter T and KMT perform casually and uninhibited, witty and tender at the same time. At the release party on November 17th at the Vienna Tagada Club, the latest songs were showcased and immediately put to the dance test. The audience was quickly captivated and infected, both by the music and the eccentric acrobatics presented by the artists during their performance. The interplay of visuals and sounds created a familial space, a sense of connection, and a feeling of childlike wonder.
A feeling that has made its way from the concert to vinyl. The dadaistic undertone that Euroteuro has maintained since the beginning continues on the third album, laying the foundation for that special sense of closeness.
«Volume III» is like Alice in Wonderland, taking a bite of the cake and growing larger until she hits her head on the ceiling. It’s more melancholic than its predecessors, sounding gentler and more straightforward, not in a negative sense, more like a well-matured wine.
You hear musicians who have found each other and yet continue to experiment, who go with the times and yet remain true to themselves. They offer variety in mood and vocals, from the deep Peter T to the cheeky KMT alias Katarina Maria Trenk, from German to English to French to Viennese dialect. A band that was never boring and surely never will be. If you can, definitely catch them live.
And now enjoy their track WSDS – wos sull do sein?
—-
We are approaching the finish line and thus the last track of the 95th edition of Indiere, our independent radio exchange – and now it gets wonderfully Austrian once more with the Band Granada.
Almost like a beautiful tradition, the band performs annually on the Graz Kasematten, an open-air stage located on the Grazer Schlossberg, our castle hill, in front of hundreds of fans. From this, a live album has emerged – Granada live auf den Kassematten.
In our final song of the show, you will hear the atmosphere here in Graz and a song by Granada that takes us to Vienna. As the lead singer of the band says: it is so beautiful here in Graz, but there are also other beautiful places, such as the 16th district in Vienna – Ottakring, a Multicultural hotspot and social focal point, Where the bitter tastes so much sweeter than anywhere in Vienna.
And so it is time for me, yours truly lilly vanilli, to say goodbye. you have just listended to a braodcast from you community Radio Helsinki in Graz in Austria, hope you enjoyed it!
And don’t forget to tune in again next week as we will listen to our amigos and amigas from Spain and our friends at EMA!
And as alwys: remember to support your subcultural music scene wherever you may be.
Bussi und Baba!!
Produced by Radio Helsinki from Graz in Austria
Prepared by Lilly Jagl
FEATURED SONG #95
TITLE:
INDR FEATURED SONG #95: Felix Kramer – Deine Gründe
TEXT FROM THE FEATURED SONG (SAME AS THE JINGLE TEXT):
TEXT:
This is your community Radio Helsinki from Graz, Austria, and we are thrilled to present our featured song of the week – Felix Kramer with ‘Deine Gründe’ (Your Reasons). It’s a clever exploration of linear life choices and conformity to capitalism among seemingly rebellious hipsters in the media industry. Kramer sings with a mix of sadness and genuine empathy, avoiding cheap mockery and expressing compassion for the inner struggles that life imposes. Whether pondering the human desire for control in an unpredictable world, he’s always reflecting on himself too.
This is Felix Kramer and ‘Deine Gründe’.
ARTIST – SONG (ALBUM, LABEL, YEAR):
Felix Kramer – Deine Gründe (Das Leben is schön / Phat Penguin Records / 2023)
https://www.felixkramer.at/
https://www.instagram.com/felixkramerwien/
RADIO, COUNTRY, SELECTOR:
Radio Helsinki Graz, Austria, Lilly Jagl
