Folkclub Igel – Band Attwenger: “We never followed fashion”

When it comes to Attwenger’s band, opinions vary. Some people say that if you know one song melodically, you know them all. Others talk about it as disruptive, loud, and new. The truth is that 32 years after its founding, the company is still finding its audience. That was also the case Saturday at Eagle Folk Club.

Even band member Markus Binder says: “I often ask myself: Why are we still around? Why are we relevant?” He replied: “We’ve never followed fads. Pop acts have always seemed a bit silly to us. We have often been accused of: They act like they don’t belong. It wasn’t even work.

Between Dada and social criticism

Composed of Markus Bender (percussion) and Hans Peter Faulkner (accordion), Attwenger offers a wild, incomparable mix of minimalist folk, punk, electronics and lyrics between Dada and social criticism. Her texts are linguistically playful, often critical, and have already been compared to Thomas Bernhard. Any harmony with trends is stubbornly rejected.

Some see Attwenger as the most recognizable band between Linz and beyond, others have never heard of it or have actually forgotten about it, says the band. That’s why they made “Drum” in 2021, their ninth studio album, a late Boomer production, and 15 new songs with everything to go with it. The album sings about what he sees like this and what you see like that, what a sinful creature he is, that happiness has become work and the father gets angry for a long time, that people are far away but unfortunately not farther, which doesn’t matter at all, followed by rhyming conversations and songs about credit and debt. Moreover, the point is that reality is very real and that a little bit of it can lead to a lot of good.

Cup for Marcus Bender

Markus Binder recently created one of the most bizarre soundtracks of the year with his music for his partner Jessica Hausner’s art house drama “Club Zero.” The 60-year-old, from Upper Austria, won Best Original Score at the European Film Awards. This award will be awarded on December 9 in Berlin. Explaining the selection of Bender’s score, the jury said: “What distinguishes this score is its originality. It is not intentionally sophisticated and overly sophisticated, but produces a raw and distinctive sound.”