Son Goku was a German

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 ...

band who played a mix of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, and electronic sounds. The band was named after the Son Goku character in the '' Dragon Ball'' series. Son Goku's first and only album, ''Crashkurs'' (Crash course), was released in 2002 and reached a peak position of 15 on the

Media Control Charts Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass ...

. The group has since disbanded due to "dissension" amongst the members.

History

Origins

Son Goku was a side project of Thomas D of

Die Fantastischen Vier Die Fantastischen Vier (, "The Fantastic Four"), often shortened to Fanta 4, is a German hip hop band from Stuttgart. The members are Michael Schmidt (Smudo), Andreas Rieke, Thomas Dürr, ''janitor''), and Michi Beck. They were, together with ...

. The band originated from the M.A.R.S. (Moderne Anstalt Rigoroser Spakker, or ''Modern Institute of Adamant Spakkers''), a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of artists and musicians founded by Thomas D in 1998. Thomas D named the band after Son Goku, the protagonist of the '' Dragon Ball'' animated series, as the character embodied the band's philosophy; he stated he was "fascinated by Goku's naïveté and cheerfulness, yet, at the same time, a great warrior saving the world".

Music

Son Goku was formed with the "desire for a new form of expression and a fresh sound", resulting in a mix of hardcore punk, alternative, reggae, and electronic sounds. Established band members and access to their own recording studio at the M.A.R.S. commune allowed for experimentation with the genres. Son Goku's only single, "Alle für jeden", was released on 17 June 2002, followed by the album ''Crashkurs'' on 29 July 2002. Son Goku disbanded on or before 1 January 2003, due to 'dissension' amongst the members.

Band members

Thomas D

Thomas D is best known as a member of the German hip hop group Die Fantastischen Vier. He had also undertaken previous solo projects. Son Goku was the first in which he did not rap. Thomas D founded Son Goku with Bertil Mark and provided vocals and lyrics for the band. Or Born In 2014

Komi Togbonou

Komi Togbonou had played in the band Gajanaut and provided vocals and played

digeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

for

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...

, Die Fantastischen Vier und Thomas D in both studio and concert settings. Togbonou provided vocals and lyrics for Son Goku.

Bertil Mark

Bertil Mark was born in 1976 and had his first performance experience in a youth theater production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Mark had worked with other German bands including, among others,

5 Sterne Deluxe 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

and

Fettes Brot Fettes Brot () is a German hip hop group that formed in 1992. History Band name Fettes Brot means ''fat bread'' in German. "Fett" is a German slang term for "excellent" and brot is slang for "hash". The band took the name from a fan who ca ...

. Since 1999, Mark had been producing for his own studio, Haus Erika Productions, and for the M.A.R.S. commune. Mark was Son Goku's drummer and producer.

Axel Hilgenstöhler

Axel Hilgenstöhler was the guitarist of "Thumb" for 7 years and was involved in production and songwriting for

Clueso Thomas Hübner (born 9 April 1980), better known by his stage name Clueso (), is a German singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer. His first album, ''Text und Ton'', was released in 2001. Since then, he has released seven more albums, of which ...

, MC Lenny, Ferris MC, Tyree Cooper, Tyrone Rickets, Virginia Nasiamento and Africa Islam. Hilgenstöhler had also toured with bands such as

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Roll ...

, The Prodigy, Foo Fighters, and Bad Religion. Hilgenstöhler was a guitarist and producer for Son Goku

Jochen Hornung

Since 1999, Jochen Hornung has been a guitarist in several hardcore bands, most notably "

Beat Down Beat Down is a song by music producers Steve Aoki and Angger Dimas, featuring vocals from Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. The song was included on the re-release of Aoki's debut studio album, entitled '' Wonderland (Remixed)'', which was release ...

". Hornung has also been a columnist for ''Zap Magazine'', a concert presenter and run his own record label. Hornung met Thomas D through his work with Die Fantastischen Vier.

Paul J Greco

Born in 1966, Paul Greco toured worldwide as part of Chumbawamba from 1992 to 1999. Since 2000, Greco had been doing studio work in Germany with Clueso, Arj Snoek and Klaus Cornfield. Greco was the bassist for Son Goku.

Discography

''Crashkurs''

''Crashkurs'' (Crash course) is Son Goku's first and only studio album. The album took six months to prepare and, of the approximately 16 to 18 songs written, 14 were chosen. The album peaked at number 15 on the

(official German music charts) and 35 on Austrian charts.

"Alle für jeden"

"Alle für jeden" (Everyone for all) is Son Goku's first and only single. The single peaked at number 86 on the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Son Goku German musical groups German punk rock groups Musical groups established in 2002 2002 establishments in Germany