DER MODERNE MAN

In the organizer's words:

One of the hottest bands of the Neue Deutsche Welle (at a time when this was not yet a dirty word, but a term for a real turning point in German music culture) is finally returning to the stage after successful performances to mark the band's 40th anniversary. The first performance since 1982 took place in May 2019 at Hamburg's Hafenklang, which was completely sold out after just one week.

Founded at the end of the 1970s by singer Ziggy XY and guitarist Eckart Kurtz aka E.K.T., the band from Hanover quickly became one of the most important formations of the New German Wave, which had not yet become a dirty word at the time, with their experimental, German-language wave sounds. Radio DJ legend John Peel and the music magazine Sounds were among the early supporters of the band, who released two singles and mini-albums as well as their two longplayers "80 Tage Auf See" (1980) and "Unmodern" (1982) on the cult label No Fun until their break-up in 1984.

After the terrific reunion success, Mattus (vocals), EKT (guitar), Felix (drums) and Jenzzz (bass) agreed that this was not to be the last appearance. The old joy of playing was back and the fans celebrated it properly - not least because the band had pretty much all the hits from their extensive catalog in their luggage.

Since the end of 2024, Der Moderne Man has been supported on drums by Falko Kienitz and the band is currently working on a brand new album. The EP "45 Jahre Auf See", which features a re-recording of four of the band's classics, was released in November 2024 as a kind of harbinger. "Der Unbekannte", "Licht Und Dunkelheit" and "Vergesslichkeit" are from the debut album "80 Tage Auf See", while "Sinnloz" is from the same period but is available here for the first time as a studio version. In addition, the Hamburg label Tapete Records will release a retrospective of all of Der Moderne Man's recordings up to 1983 in spring 2025, spread across three releases ("80 Tage Auf See", "Unmodern" and "Jugend Forscht").

Gang Of Four meets Joy Division, paired with the typical German bulkiness of the 80s that John Peel loved so much about the band.