Schal Sick Brass Band – Tschupun

Neither German nor brass band
The Schäl Sick Brass Band regard themselves as craftsmen carefully taking the pick of the bunch of various musical traditions that can be found in the multicultural city of Cologne. For 15 years now the band has been taking their audience on excursions to all continents. Their pack includes tunes from the Balkans, afrobeats, oriental groove, Scandinavian themes and an extra portion of jazz, their compass being the consistent way of interpreting traditional elements – “humorous, but never disrespectful” (blue rhythm, summer 06).

Schäl Sick Brass Band started off as a large brass band on the „Schäl Sick“, the „wrong side“ of Cologne – without the famous cathedral, without great shopping malls, but with authentic working-class areas. This is where Raimund Kroboth, a great lover of world music, found a fertile soil for founding the Schäl Sick Brass Band. Today they are anything but a classical brass band. Kroboth, a native Bavarian and educated jazz guitarist, has assembled a band of international, virtuoso musicians that have two things in common: flexibility in style and musical daring.

Today, Udo Moll (trumpet), Annette Maye (clarinet), Matti Muche (trombone) and Joachim Gellert (tuba) form the exquisite blow section. Polish drummer Mirek Pyschny lays the foundation for unorthodox world music experiments and the boss usually plays the Bohemian waldzither and occasionally cracks on his 60s Telecaster.

The cosmopolitan combo likes to invite international guests to contribute their characteristic musical traditions. Sounds from Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece or North Africa blend together and form new inventive combinations. Among Schäl Sick Brass Band’s special guests have been the virtuosos of DuOud as well as Egyptian singer Mohamed Mounir. Recently singer Anna Lindblom has been adding a Nordic touch to the multimusic community, where before the Iranian singer Maryam Akhondy and Ivanka Ivanova from Bulgaria had inspired the “world music theatre” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).

Schäl Sick Brass Band have always remained faithful to their motto „Think global – blow local“ and today they are a well-known quantity in Germany’s world music scene. Cologne still forms their background, but in spite of all local patriotism the Schäl Sick Brass Band have grown their musical roots elsewhere – all around the world. This does not only reflect in their multicultural utopia and the stylistic inventiveness, but also in their frequent international cooperations. But with all stylistic variations and musical ideas one thing never changes: the Schäl Sick Brass Band does not give in to musical dogma. They rather are: always different, always new.

1. Introduction
2. Ghole Pamtscha
3. Mame Kiya
4. Tamin Qualbak Ya Habibi
5. Cologne Zwiefacher
6. Jodlerin From Teheran
7. Alpine Maryam
8. Surinam
9. Fire Inna Dancehall
10. Malka Moma
11. Neda
12. Westindie
13. Tschupun
14. Anschab
15. Energisch
16. Ravina

[p1][p2]