Tocotronic

Tocotronic is one of the most successful and influential German-speaking rock bands of the last few decades. They were founded in 1993 in Hamburg by Dirk von Lowtzow (guitar and vocals), Jan Müller (bass), and Arne Zank (drums). Their debut album "Digital ist besser" was released in 1995 and combines powerful yet simple guitar rock with lyrics full of slogans that quickly became catchphrases, such as "I want to be part of a youth movement." With their subsequent albums "Nach der verlorenen Zeit" (1995) and "Wir kommen um uns zu beschweren" (1996), Tocotronic made the leap from small clubs to large venues; on their fourth album "Es ist egal, aber" (1997), they enriched their vigorous guitar rock for the first time with harmonica and strings.

In the following years, their music became increasingly opulent. On "K.O.O.K." (1999), they played a dark, metal-influenced rock; the "white album" from 2002 is a richly orchestrated, colorfully enigmatic record where realism and fantasy reconcile with each other. Since "Pure Vernunft darf niemals siegen" (2005), Rick McPhail has been a permanent member of the band as a second guitarist, and his feedback-laden playing has since shaped the sound of Tocotronic. In the next phase of their work, they explore the self-contradictions of our existence in an ever more refined musical and lyrical manner, addressing the irreconcilable dialectic of necessity and desire.

"Kapitulation" (2007) is undoubtedly a major work of German-language pop music in the new millennium; like no other band of their generation, Tocotronic is now able to connect political statements and philosophical reflections with explorations of the self and the surrounding world, and they have also found a completely unique musical language. "Kapitulation" marks the beginning of a phase of work that will later be referred to as the Berlin Trilogy, which also includes the albums "Schall und Wahn" from 2010 and "Wie wir leben wollen" from 2013.

With the "red album" (2015), the band goes through a new shedding, and their music becomes simpler and more direct again; on "Die Unendlichkeit" (2018), autofictional motifs are introduced. In April 2020, the piece "Hoffnung" is released, addressing the experiences of loneliness and isolation during the Corona crisis—and the hope that "a little piece of lyrics and music helps against isolation." "Hoffnung" is also included on Tocotronic's thirteenth album, "Nie Wieder Krieg," which was released in September 2021; all songs on it deal with the longing for hope and healing, with the desire not to be hurt, misunderstood, and isolated anymore. The autofictional aspect that characterized "Die Unendlichkeit" reconnects here with Tocotronic's typical art of elevating the everyday to the transcendental.

This art is further refined on their fourteenth album "Golden Years," set to be released in 2025. It speaks of the journeys that lie behind and those that are still to come, while the songs also express a longing for home and security, the passage of time, and the trust in the future that only love can foster. "Golden Years" is equally intimate and political; for those who know Tocotronic, it will feel familiar yet entirely new.

For unlike any other German band, they have created a body of work over decades—a work in the whole and good sense of the word: a work characterized by artistic development and a lived life, a work of music and songs that unfold, respond to each other, and question one another; a work in which leitmotifs remain recognizable, continually varied and renewed, and repeatedly interrogated regarding how they fit into the changing present.

"Golden Years" deals with aging, the happiness of maturity, and the fear of death, but above all, it is about the incessant restarting from the spirit of self-reflection, about the utopias of resurrection and endless becoming. It showcases a band that understands how to renew itself while simultaneously remaining true to itself: recognizable in change. Perhaps this explains why Tocotronic's music, even after all this time and especially in our uncomfortable present, continues to provide so much joy and comfort.

Current album: "Golden Years" (2025), Epic Records
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