German music in review: 2017 - Goethe-Institut Canada

Pop 2017 Of Political Disasters and Poetasters

Andreas Dorau Photo (detail): © Gabriele Summen Does a politically charged year like 2017 leave its mark on pop music? The answer is a decisive jein, yes and no: last year’s pop lyrics ran the gamut from escapist calendar mottos to point-blank social criticism.

Electronic Music 2017 Difficult Times and Free Sounds

Errorsmith Photo (detail): © Camille Blake Tropical drums, Berlin hedonism and plaintive pleas – in 2017 electronic music in Germany showed itself once more to be pleasantly multifaceted - and the community to be politically aware and socially involved. Thomas Venker looks back over the year.

New Music 2017 A Critical Voice that Gives Us Food for Thought

<i>Codec Error</i> by Alexander Schubert Photo (detail): © Ralf Brunner All over the world democratic systems are losing out to authoritarian despots. Jarring tones seem to be de rigueur. So what about contemporary music? Can it act as a kind of counterbalance? It could. And it should. Where has it managed this and where is it still bogged down in repetition? Find out in this review of the year 2017.

Jazz 2017 Taking a stand

Angelika Niescier, winner of the Albert Mangelsdorff Prize in 2017 Photo (detail): Arne Reimer The more recognition federal and state policymakers show for the creative output of the German jazz scene, the more jazz musicians engage in public discourse about issues of wider social import. Public recognition breeds confidence within the scene: German jazz musicians not only weighed in on a number of public issues in 2017, they even took a combative stand that got some of those debates going in the first place.