The video for STURMVÖGEL can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNFxcNfmCmo
Actually, this record was supposed to be released at the end of January 2022, but shortly before completion, bandleader, singer, and guitarist Torben Möller-Meissner pulled the emergency brake, halted production, and had the tapes erased. The material was deemed too depressive and dark during the worst of the Corona times.
"The album named AHOI was supposed to be a positive signal from the start, conveying a sense of new beginnings, strength, and hope. None of that ultimately came true, and the only positive thing was the Corona tests."
So they started over, wrote new songs, and above all, invested significantly more time to create a lyrically cohesive overall concept that followed the original idea. AHOI is now an album with 15 maritime songs about the sea, harbor, seafaring, love, new beginnings, farewells, longing & storms, and it has become a big and positive album. It is close to the pulse of the times, is opinion and expression, and as timeless as the music itself. AHOI is anchored in the here and now without ignoring the where from and where to. The initial intuition was thus fulfilled in the second attempt. The affinity for seafaring was practically ingrained in Hafensänger Torben, as there are some real sailors in his maternal family tree.
Together with Benno Kupsa, the old companion (ex-drummer, ex-bassist, producer of PAULI), they locked themselves away for 2 weeks in the renowned Hamburg Clouds Hill Studio ("No more individual recordings, because we couldn't meet due to contact restrictions, and band meetings were held on screen via Zoom") and unleashed concentrated band energy in tried-and-true Rock'n'Roll live recordings.
This Hamburg ska-punk institution simply manages to garnish driving offbeats with captivating melodies and bring a positive vibe with charm and a cheeky grin to the forefront.
The cover features St. Pauli doorman legend Onkel Hotte, known to many from various Astra cult advertisements, as he rides his bike from the landing stage into the Elbe (Caution: life-threatening. Not recommended for imitation). In the title track, reinterpreted as a rising Rudeboy submarine, escapism can hardly be realized more beautifully in a society that is failing itself, only to be directly countered in the following track. Typical North German.
This fresh breeze will be released on 24.2.23 on the label SBÄM, as a CD, 12" vinyl, limited CD and LP box set, download, and streaming on all common channels.
Tour dates:
23.02.2023 (GER) Berlin, SO36
24.02.2023 (GER) Essen, Don't Panic
25.02.2023 (GER) Hamburg, Markthalle
24.03.2023 (GER) Weinheim, Café Central
25.03.2023 (GER) Cologne, Live Music Hall
21.04.2023 (GER) Göttingen, Musa
22.04.2023 (GER) Unterwaldhausen, Querbeat Festival
29.04.2023 (AUT) Vienna, Arena
30.04.2023 (GER) Coesfeld, Punk In Den Mai
04.05.2023 (GER) Deutzen, Rock Am Kuhteich
19.05.2023 (GER) Kassel, Goldgrube
20.05.2023 (GER) Bielefeld, Leinenweber Markt
02.06.2023 (GER) Karlsruhe, AKK Sommer Festival
09.06.2023 (GER) Auhausen-Dornstadt, Wudzdog
30.6.-2-7.23 (GER) Seligenstadt, Rock Am Main Open Air
30.6.-2.7.23 (GER) Hünxe, Ruhrpott Rodeo
29.07.2023 (GER) Montabaur, SUBWOOD Festival
20.08.2023 (GER) Karben, Karben Open Air
25.08.2023 (GER) Hameln, Paddy Rock Open Air
26.08.2023 (GER) Hamburg, Damage Done
6.-7.10.23 (GER) Menden, Hardcore Hills
09.12.2023 (AUT) Vienna, Arena
16.12.2023 (GER) Hamburg, Uebel & Gefährlich
