My workweek was a tad bit annoying, loads of little items to take care of and plenty of derailing of my own priorities by others, leading to a Friday where i felt like it wasn’t fun. As such i took the next best thingy to get my head clear and that would be getting blasted by mu-sick.
Luckily my favorite haunt down at the harbor was having just another Rock’n’Roll Friday full of bands & mu-sick off the beaten track and unknown to me. But the outlook of Synth Punk, Nintendo Core and Nature Hardcore was just too tempting to resist!
On the subway down to the City i was thinking “who the heck would go and see these bands” and thought of a small turnout. Boy, i was wrong. From my normal circuit there was only Thomas (but he is anyway having a season ticket like myself) and rest was young folks, most of them with eager dancing feet.
Katzenschlacht from sunny Münster (location of the Anabaptist rebellion, self-proclaimed bicycle capital and supposedly a Großstadt) kicked off, a guy and a girl behind plenty of synth equipment.
Plus holding on to Guitar and Bass.
Katzenschlacht (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 14.08.2026)
(c) gehkacken.de 2026
Their sound triggered early 80s memories and ventured between kids harmonies, yelled vocals and quite interesting soundscapes. And the songs itself where brief.
In short they offered a refreshing take on something i had not heard ever since visiting some of the ZickZack evenings at the Markthalle in early 80s. Think Geniale Dilletanten.
I suggest you check them out for yourself, they had the front row already dancing and got plenty of applause for their completely honest and innocent set. Quite a surprise for the start.
Next Kostenfalle from Hamburg, another Duo. Two guys, Bass and Synthie, Sequencer and other electronics, albeit not that much as with Katzenschlacht.
Kostenfalle (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 14.08.2026)
(c) gehkacken.de 2026
Their sound turned out as extremely danceable with the Bass providing a low fuzz drive and then plenty of electronic beats. Again it took me back to the early 80s and the Markthalle – if there would have been drums involved it could have been 03.06.1981.
They had more than the front row frantically dancing and got most likely the biggest share of applause. Also for me they worked well, both in terms of drive and using the electronics to create soundscapes.
I’d recommend you check them out, their live performance though to me feels way better than the recorded & released output (no clue why, maybe again my stupid mu-sick-all receptors in me brain).
Where both Katzenschlacht and Kostenfalle rooted in electronic music, Raubwürger (Great Grey Shrike) took it into Hardcore (sans Bass).
And a simple theme: Nature. And their mantra is simple:
Three eccentric characters from Scharhörn are championing nature with brutal environmental hardcore. Ornithology is not a hobby (but a mindset!), a way of breathing, living, fighting. For nature, for freedom, for truth, and for birds!
Raubwürger (Hafenklang, Hamburg, 14.08.2026)
(c) gehkacken.de 2026
They unfortunately had to face a slightly more empty upstairs at the Hafenklang, i guess that was because their sound somewhat did not fit the other two bands exactly.
For me it all made sense, up to and including taking binoculars along when having a walk in nature (too see all the birds close up and in their beauty).
Bang! Heavy stuff and sure thing, due to the virtue of a hard hitting drummer, fast forward. They are more than worth checking out, go and see them!
The cover for their download only LP is just class and worth a showcase:
And remember, the great grey shrike is a large and predatory songbird!
I achieved what i wanted: Got out, got my ears blasted with something new and had fun all along the way. And got to learn where all the young folks hide and that their approach to Punk, Hardcore and alike seems much more open & wide than the oldpunk circuit.
But, as my favorite booker ensured me, we old farts generate much more bar turnover.
Prost!
