REEPERBAHN FESTIVAL 2024: PIP BLOM + SABABA 5 + KITE

19:40 Uhr – 20:25 Uhr PIP BLOM

21:25 Uhr – 22:15 Uhr SABABA 5

23:15 Uhr – 00:25 Uhr KITE

Initially created as a solo project by frontwoman PIP BLOM, the band of the same name has built up a reputation as an excellent live act in the Netherlands since the release of their debut album, “Boat” (2019). Now a trio with a changing lineup, the group play indie rock with legitimate slacker vibes from an overheated garage that regularly evoke Courtney Barnett and early Pavement. However, Pip Blom are never afraid of development or change, which is why they have always moved forward from a lo-fi project to a successful band project. On their latest album, “Bobbie” (2023), the EQs veer more towards electropop, dance-punk, and new wave, which logically also has an effect on the intensity of a Pip Blom concert. Indeed, testimonies have been outrageous: When vocals and guitars grow into snotty anthems and cups fly around, that’s just the beginning. After years, the group are finally celebrating their return to the stages of Reeperbahn in 2024. Don’t forget your helmets and fire extinguishers.

When the spring downpours subside, the temperatures constantly scratch the 20 °C (68 °F) mark, and the vibe calls for flip-flops, it’s high noon for SABABA 5. The quartet from Tel Aviv celebrate Arabic scales in summery grooves, brings the 70s into the present, and fuses Mediterranean psychedelic rock with funk and disco elements. The result is a laid-back sound for the hottest days of the year, when everything is set to sunshine and the sweet smell of grass wafts through the air. While the band collaborated with singer Shiran Tzfira on the artist’s 2022 debut EP, their own two albums released to date – “Sababa 5” (2022) and “Aspan” (2023) – are entirely self-penned in top creative form. This band has just as much to hide from the genre giants of Anatolian rock as it does from retro-affine muzika mizrahit or neo-psychedelic projects from Europe. Highly recommended for fans of Barış Manço, Altın Gün, and Erkin Koray.

KITE: Electronic sounds have always occupied a special place in Sweden’s colourful musical history. From the „Data Machine Music“ of art collective Fylkingen in the early 1950s to the history-making pop hits of ABBA and the hyper-commercialised EDM of the 2010s, countless musical developments began here before being exported around the world faster than Billy bookcases. But it’s been quite some time since a project from the north of Europe made its way onto the international music scene with such originality as synthpop duo Kite. The EPs released by Kite, with their ultra straightforward consecutive numbering titles, appear to be a coherent cycle of retro-futuristic soundscapes, at times referencing more wave music, then more electro or anthemic synth scores for sci-fi films not yet made. It is no coincidence that the duo is often mentioned as having a style reminiscent of icons such as Kraftwerk or Vangelis. This year’s performance with us is conceived as an audiovisual trip, featuring completely new material alongside the single „Don’t Take The Light Away“ released last year.