Madsen is a German rock band that hails from
Priesseck, a section of
Clenze
Clenze is a municipality in the district Lüchow-Dannenberg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km northwest of Salzwedel, and 25 km east of Uelzen.
The Polabian name of Clenze is ''Klǫcka'' (spelled ''Cloontzka' ...
in the
Wendland
The Wendland is a region in Germany on the borders of the present states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Its heart is the Hanoverian Wendland in the county of Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony.
In ...
. Three of the members are brothers with the surname Madsen, hence the band's name.
Their music combines elements of pop, rock, indie and punk together with lyrics in German. They released their self-titled debut album in 2005 and reached No. 23 on the German music charts. In 2006, they released their second album, ''Goodbye Logik''. ''Frieden im Krieg'' was released in 2008 and ''Labyrinth'' in 2010.
History
The Madsen brothers began playing music at an early age. Towards the end of the 1990s, they had already been in two bands: ''Alice's Gun'' and ''Hoerstuatz''. One group based itself upon the
hard rock genre, while the other experimented with
hip hop music and crossover elements. In 2004, the band wanted to further develop their music and lyrics and choose to change their name to ''Madsen''. They sent their demos to
Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
, which listened and signed Madsen to a contract at the end of 2004.
The band played many local and regional shows and became local heroes of a sort in the Wendlands area. After playing before predominantly small audiences in 2004, the band – through publicity generated by Universal Music – received the opportunity to play before larger audiences. They have since performed in several open-air music festivals, and have made appearances on
MTV and various radio stations. In April and June 2005, Madsen's first two singles appeared, and in May 2005 their self-titled debut album was released. The album peaked at No. 23 on the German Charts and No. 39 on the Austrian Charts.
In 2005, the band performed in many German music festivals, including: Rock im Park,
Rock am Ring,
Highfield, and Hurricane. In June 2006 Madsen performed at the
Nova Rock
The Nova Rock Festival, also just Nova Rock, is an Austrian rock festival that has existed since 2005 and takes place each year in June. It is located in Burgenland, the easternmost federal state of Austria, near Nickelsdorf and the Hungarian a ...
music festival, which has boasted such performers as
Audioslave
Audioslave was an American rock supergroup formed in Glendale, California, in 2001. The four-piece band consisted of Soundgarden's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell with Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello (lead guitar) ...
,
System of a Down
System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...
,
Green Day,
Metallica, and
Guns N' Roses.
Madsen spent much of late 2005 and early 2006 in the recording studio. In August 2006, they released their second album ''
Goodbye Logik'' which reached No. 8 on German charts and No. 18 on the Austrian Charts.
In March 2008, the third album
Frieden im Krieg (''Peace in war'') was released.
They performed at Nova Rock 2009, along with such acts as Metallica,
Faith No More and
Nine Inch Nails.
They played their first concert in the United States on 16 October 2011 as a part of the
Goethe Institute
The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...
's "Do Deutsch" project. They played their first stop in
Boston, Massachusetts.
Music
Madsen's music contains elements of
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, and includes sequences ranging from quiet reflection to passionate displays of emotion. Many fans say the band's lyrics are insightful and well-developed, as they reflect a wide variety of themes and subjects —- including "you, me, the world, the sky, hell, heaven, and everything else." Madsen's upbeat songs and passionate vocals are said to be a major factor in their relative success in Germany.
Madsen's style of music reminds some of a former popular German group,
Tocotronic
Tocotronic is a German rock band founded in 1993 (see 1993 in music). Similar to Blumfeld or Die Sterne they are considered a part of the Hamburger Schule (''Hamburg School'') movement. They are influential for bands such as Wir sind Helde ...
, and many music critics see the band as a new hope for the German music market.
Political views
While the band has not taken any specific positions on political issues, they are known for their
anti-racist
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
views. The band members can be seen wearing
anti-fascist T-shirts with slogans such as "Nazis Raus" ("Nazis get out"). They also starred in the DVD film "
Kein Bock auf Nazis" ("No room for Nazis") along with other prominent German bands such as
Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte (; ) is a German rock band from Berlin. The band has released 14 studio albums. The group consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B and bass player Rodrigo González. All three write and perform their songs.
History Ea ...
, ZSK,
Beatsteaks and
Wir sind Helden.
Members
Image:Madsen Sebastian Madsen 2008 01.jpg, Sebastian Madsen: vocals and guitar
Image:Madsen Johannes Madsen 2008 02.jpg, Johannes Madsen: guitar
Image:Madsen Sascha Madsen 2008 01.jpg, Sascha Madsen: percussion
Image:Madsen Folkert Jahnke 2008 01.jpg, Folkert Jahnke: keyboards
Image:Madsen Niko Maurer 2008 02.jpg, Niko Maurer: bass guitar
Discography
* ''Madsen'' (2005)
* ''Goodbye Logik'' (2006)
* ''Frieden im Krieg'' (2008)
* ''Labyrinth'' (2010)
* ''Wo es beginnt'' (2012)
* ''Kompass'' (2015)
* ''Lichtjahre'' (2018)
* ''Na Gut Dann Nicht'' (2020)
External links
*
Interview with MADSEN onwww.grundfunk.net
References
{{Authority control
German punk rock groups
Musical groups established in 2004
Participants in the Bundesvision Song Contest