Dyko spreading the cultural love: German electro-pop group performs on campus
Place: London, Ontario
Event: At the invitation of the Goethe-Institut Toronto, the Frankfurt duo DYKO visited the University of Western Ontario with a combination concert and workshop.
Ever have the feeling there’s not enough German electro-pop music in your life?
For those looking for their cultural fix from the country that boasts Kraftwerk, Oktoberfest and Heidi Klum, new wave synthesizer-pop group Dyko will be performing this afternoon at Conron Hall.
“For us it’s pretty unique,” says Melitta Adamson, chair of the department of modern languages and literatures, on the idea of bringing an electric pop band to campus. The department of modern languages and literatures, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institute – a German cultural institute with international reach – is hosting the German group currently on its “Alles in Ordnung?” North American tour. “The Goethe-Institute is doing all kinds of interesting and new things now to promote German culture,” Adamson says. “They’ve had some very interesting initiatives this year in particular and I think some of them will work really well in getting our students interested in taking German, pursuing German and getting more immersed in German culture in ways that we wouldn’t be able to produce before.”
Self-proclaimed as “one of the busiest independent German bands in the international arena,” Dyko has played in over 40 concerts in Russia, Israel, Spain, Serbia, Singapore, China, Ireland, Turkey and the Netherlands in the past year. Their single, “elektro lelber,” was released worldwide this past April. The duo, comprised of Australian-born John Barrie Dyke and German native Christofer Jost, share a profound appreciation of German culture and new wave, synth-pop music. According to their MySpace: “Dyko see themselves as German electronic cultural ambassadors.” Adamson agrees Dyko is a fitting group to promote German culture worldwide.” [Dyke] learned German from watching language videos from the 1970s, so he would have [an] understanding of what a German student is going through,” she says, adding the band’s limited use of lyrics will make translating easier for students.
This afternoon’s event offers audiences more than just a healthy dose of electronic beats. Dyko has offered to answer audience questions after the concert, followed by a workshop about how to write, rhyme and perform in German. “It will be a lot more interactive than if you go to a concert normally, where you are somewhere far away in the audience. So there will be a lot more immediacy there, which will make it more interesting for people,” Adamson says.
Event: At the invitation of the Goethe-Institut Toronto, the Frankfurt duo DYKO visited the University of Western Ontario with a combination concert and workshop.
Ever have the feeling there’s not enough German electro-pop music in your life?
For those looking for their cultural fix from the country that boasts Kraftwerk, Oktoberfest and Heidi Klum, new wave synthesizer-pop group Dyko will be performing this afternoon at Conron Hall.
“For us it’s pretty unique,” says Melitta Adamson, chair of the department of modern languages and literatures, on the idea of bringing an electric pop band to campus. The department of modern languages and literatures, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institute – a German cultural institute with international reach – is hosting the German group currently on its “Alles in Ordnung?” North American tour. “The Goethe-Institute is doing all kinds of interesting and new things now to promote German culture,” Adamson says. “They’ve had some very interesting initiatives this year in particular and I think some of them will work really well in getting our students interested in taking German, pursuing German and getting more immersed in German culture in ways that we wouldn’t be able to produce before.”
Self-proclaimed as “one of the busiest independent German bands in the international arena,” Dyko has played in over 40 concerts in Russia, Israel, Spain, Serbia, Singapore, China, Ireland, Turkey and the Netherlands in the past year. Their single, “elektro lelber,” was released worldwide this past April. The duo, comprised of Australian-born John Barrie Dyke and German native Christofer Jost, share a profound appreciation of German culture and new wave, synth-pop music. According to their MySpace: “Dyko see themselves as German electronic cultural ambassadors.” Adamson agrees Dyko is a fitting group to promote German culture worldwide.” [Dyke] learned German from watching language videos from the 1970s, so he would have [an] understanding of what a German student is going through,” she says, adding the band’s limited use of lyrics will make translating easier for students.
This afternoon’s event offers audiences more than just a healthy dose of electronic beats. Dyko has offered to answer audience questions after the concert, followed by a workshop about how to write, rhyme and perform in German. “It will be a lot more interactive than if you go to a concert normally, where you are somewhere far away in the audience. So there will be a lot more immediacy there, which will make it more interesting for people,” Adamson says.
by Carly Conway, UWO Gazette, November 2008
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