Border control - Today I am relevant, tomorrow I am forgotten.

GRENZKONTROLLE announce their new EP "PIRATEN" with the single "NEUMARKT," set to be released on May 29, 2026, followed by the "HEUTE BIN ICH RELEVANT, MORGEN BIN ICH VERGESSEN" TOUR 2026 at the end of September. Tickets are available now at Krasser Stoff and all other advance ticket sales outlets. The four-member band from Cologne, GRENZKONTROLLE, navigates between post-punk, political art, and cultural collage. Their stance is as central as their music. Together, drummer Roza Rot, guitarist Kodia Funk, bassist Schuttland, and singer Don L. Gaspár Ali reflect on the present, make it audible, and strive to change it. The band aims to make the problems of the present visible and to create awareness of what is happening around us—with the goal of bringing people together and encouraging them not only to listen but also to take a stand and become active.

At the heart of the new EP "PIRATEN," which will be released on May 29, is a clear thematic stance: the title refers to the Edelweißpiraten—a Cologne resistance group during the Nazi era, made up of young people who actively opposed the regime and were executed for it. The EP consciously connects to significant political and historical events and translates them into a contemporary context. Their songs blend personal perspectives with societal observations, creating a space where individual experiences and collective memory intersect. Their first EP "EDELWEIẞ" hinted at this engagement—PIRATEN continues it consistently. Musically, the band navigates this tension, translating their "pressure on the chest" into a sound that combines energetic post-punk with funky elements.

With the first single "NEUMARKT," the band focuses on a central location in Cologne, which serves as an everyday traffic hub for many and reflects social reality. The starting point is the personal connection of singer Don L. Gaspár Ali to this place, which he has known since his school days. "I changed trains there every day to get to school. Back then, I felt like the people there were just older—today it seems like they are getting younger," he describes. Between memories and the present, a narrative emerges. The song processes these observations into a direct image of urban and societal change. Musically, this perspective condenses into a close connection between lyrics and instrumentation—raw, honest, and consciously reduced to the essentials. In the accompanying video by Felix Aaron, we see the band at the location described in the song. Entangled in absurd scenarios, the band's farewell resonates with the Cologne Neumarkt and its surroundings.

This summer, GRENZKONTROLLE will play at numerous festivals and as support for Sleaford Mods, before embarking on the "HEUTE BIN ICH RELEVANT, MORGEN BIN ICH VERGESSEN" TOUR 2026, which will take them across Germany at the end of September.