High Germany

High Germany – Power folk from East Westphalia

Sea-Shanties, gritty jigs and reels, cajun and bluegrass, foot-tapping dance tunes and playfulness. Folk music away from usual conventions with rich instruments and powerful a cappella singing are the trademarks of the six men from four nations that make up High Germany. Old rock numbers are also graciously folkled, purism is a foreign word for the boys from Emsufer.

“High Germany” is an old Irish folk song in which a young soldier in the early 18th century tries to persuade his bride to accompany him on an “adventure vacation” to southern Germany. He describes the trip in a rather flowery manner, but luckily she is clever, prefers to stay at home and wait for him with their unborn child, so the mercenary has to go to the (the Spanish succession) war alone

The legend says that “High Germany” was the first song that we could play together without any mistakes. Some claim that this is still the only song the band can play flawlessly today.

Ulli, Uwe and Jan, who met again sometime in 2004 for a beer and had their guitars with them purely by chance, found it exciting to bring Irish music back to Germany and thus to conjure up the past folk revival of the 60s and 70s. The name of the song seemed to fit spontaneously as a band name. Currently, after a few changes, there are six men from four countries who, in addition to Scottish, American and Irish songs, also mix Russian, Polish, French and (flat) German folk pieces into the repertoire. Even Gaelic is sung.

Sea shanties and ballads alternate with canzones, cajun and Russian narodnyye pesni, a cappella pieces with brisk jigs and reels. Purism is not the order of the day; what is fun is played. Old rock pieces are persecuted mercilessly, and a little blues in between should not be missing.

High Germany are:

Uwe Titz (Gütersloh) vocals, mandolin, Irish tenor banjo, Irish bouzouki, guitar

Waldemar Nowak (Gütersloh) Russian and Polish vocals, guitar, bass

Peter Kothe (Rietberg) vocals, fiddle

John Swinton (Gütersloh) vocals, bodhran

Jan Bobe (Gütersloh) vocals, tin whistles, mandolin

Ezequiel Franco-Lara, (Halle i. W. ) vocals, guitar, bass