Schal Sick Brass Band

Schal Sick Brass Band
Schal Sick Brass Band

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Neither German nor brass band

The Schael 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).

Schael Sick Brass Band started off as a large brass band on the "Schael Sick", the "wrong side" of Cologne without 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 Schael 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 waldzither.

The cosmopolitan combo likes to invite international guests to contribute their musical traditions. Sounds from Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece or North Africa blend together and form new inventive combinations. Among Schael 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 multikulti community, where before the Iranian singer Maryam Akhondy and Ivanka Ivanova from Bulgaria had inspired the "world music theatre" (Sueddeutsche Zeitung).

Schael Sick Brass Band have always remained faithful to their motto "Think global blow local" and today they are a well-known institution in Germany's world music scene. Cologne still forms their background, but in spite of all local patriotism the Schael 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 Schael Sick Brass Band does not give in to musical dogma. They are always different, always new.