For everyone who loves the sound, the distinctive voice and the free feeling that Ennio conveys, these artists could also be worth a new discovery.
Mayberg
“I write songs and record them at home,” Mayberg introduces himself on his Spotify account – and that describes it pretty well. Although the singer is no longer an unknown name in the German-speaking indie bubble, his tracks still feel like an insider tip. He impatiently releases demo versions of songs he has just finished directly via Instagram or TikTok, corresponding exactly to the lifestyle of his generation – fast, spontaneous and just not following the norms. The 23-year-old, whose real name is Luis Raue, also captures the zeitgeist with his texts. Mayberg sings in his track “The New Style of My Generation”: “It’s nice that you ask / But I’ll only come / If it’s worth it” – and thus describes the omnipresent desire to experience something productive among Gen Z.
“It’s nice that you asked / But I’ll only come / If it’s worth it / That’s the new style of my generation”
Special recommendation: “Vienna”, “/sympathetic” and “cry for help”
Dominik Hartz
When you listen to a track by Dominik Hartz, you just have to grin. No matter how cruelly early and long the winter arrives – the singer brings with it the soft soundtrack of a weightless summer. Songs like “SHE WANT THIS YOU WANT THAT” and “Skinny Bitch” have – with immediate effect – the same effect as a good dose of vitamin D. The Schleswig-Holstein native, who moved to Berlin to study acting, is somewhere between indie -Pop and hip hop. Every now and then a powerful house beat gets lost under his vocals. The 26-year-old most recently released his EP F*CK YOU, with which he went on tour in Germany in October 2023.
Special recommendation: “Blink twice”, “alone together” and “love yourself, fucked up”
Kasi
“I come to the park with tetra packs and red wine / Give her a kiss and my ticker twenty marks,” sings Kasi in the title track of his debut album SUMMER NIGHT, describing the baseline of his musical repertoire quite well. Immersed in indie pop, rap and pop punk, the Frankfurt native moves lyrically between a summery feeling of freedom and oppressive heartache. With his song “maybe in a year,” which was released in January 2023, the artist has now surpassed 5.5 million Spotify streams. Together with his friend and producer Antonius, Kasi fires out one energetic track after the other and gradually makes his way into the hearts of the music world.
“I come to the park with tetra packs and red wine / Give her a kiss and my ticker twenty marks”
Special recommendation: “enrolled,” “maybe in a year,” and “summer night.”
Dilla
When the title of the debut album is based on the quote “I think, therefore I am” by the French philosopher René Descartes, you expect seriousness personified – but not with Dilla. The musician, who studied music in Freiburg, doesn’t take herself too seriously – but prefers to present herself with a playful wink. Their songs transcend somewhere between synth-pop, techno, hits and indie and give you the necessary mate-wake kick. In 2021, Dilla released “photosynthesis”, the summer hit of the following year, in collaboration with her roommate and good friend Emi x – there was no escaping the song in clubs, on road trips and house parties. The singer released her debut record, ALSO BIN ICH, in October 2023. The producer’s accompanying music videos are loud – 80s vibes with brightly colored blouses, wild hairstyles and warm colors.
Special recommendation: “under her dress” and “No matter (what happens)”
Catlix
Main station, Baumwall, St. Pauli and Sternschanze – anyone who knows their way around Hamburg already knows that this is the U3 route. Anyone who is familiar with the German-speaking indie bubble, on the other hand, knows that Katlix’s debut EP, which was released on November 17, 2023, travels through the said stations and bears the name of the subway. When you’re not stuck underground among tons of strangers, the singer’s music invites you to be alone. With a glass of red wine on the balcony you can then sing along to lyrics like “Now you’re calling, come fuck off / I don’t think I need this” while giving the Situationship the middle finger into the night sky. The smoky voice of the Hamburg musician forms the perfect soundtrack.
“Now you call, come fuck off / I don’t think I need this / Your look like an arrow and it hits me / But I realize too late, it’s poisonous”
Special recommendation: “What you need (St. Pauli)”, “115 days” and “Missed Calls”