Minami Deutsch [南ドイツ] are a Japanese Krautrock band from Tokyo, Japan, founded in 2014 by frontman Miula. The four musicians—Kyotaro Miula (guitar, vocals, synthesizer, and more), Riki Hidaka (guitar), Keita Ise (bass), and Kosei Terunuma (drums)—call themselves repetition freaks, and you can hear that in their songs. They describe their music as a mixture of Psychedelic Rock and Minimal Techno and their band name Minami Deutsch, which translates into ›South Germany‹, reflects their enthusiasm and obsession for Krautrock.
On the 29th of May, we were able to witness Minami Deutsch’s passion for the genre first hand at the Berlin venue Lido. As support band for the evening, the Japanese were joined by the six-piece Berlin band Go Mahhh, who are also clearly enthusiastic about the musical roots Krautrock provides.
With Go Mahhh, you quickly notice their passion for music and especially for Krautrock, although they describe themselves as ›Kneipen-Psych‹ (pub psych). The band quickly won over the crowd and were able to convince the fans of Minami Deutsch easily. While most of the audience was dancing and partying, others relaxed to the tunes of Lido’s seating spaces, letting the opening act setting the mood.
After a short changeover, the evening continued with Minami Deutsch. As soon as the four musicians had started playing, the Lido was packed right up to the bar at the rear end of the venue. As expected, the good atmosphere did not change yet only intensified. As with the previous band, Go Mahhh, people danced, celebrated, and listened to the music in a laid-back atmosphere.
Minami Deutsch’s songs may have a typical length of around five to seven minutes on record, but for the benefit of their fans, the band played their songs a little longer live. Repetitions of riffs and beats abounded in the best Krautrock manner and never allowed even for a second of boredom. Sophisticated minimal shifts in sound shuffled up the repetitive sound, creating an interesting and enjoyable music for the live audience.
The musicians play with love and passion for their music and the joy of life, thriving on stage with the style they picked to carry over into today’s contemporary scene. Krautrock has no specific guideline on how to play the genre, allowing it to be very experimental regardless of being played with physical instruments or with the use of synthesizers or other digital types of music. And Minami Deutsch certainly know how to take that to their advantage.
The four musicians definitely harmonize and quickly adapt to the ideas and changes of the other members live. Frontman Kyotaro Miula was clearly in the foreground, demonstrating his skills and love of experimental music on the guitar.
Following the musician, who calls himself ›Johnn‹ on social media, the influence of John Lennon of The Beatles becomes apparent. John Lennon himself also experimented with different sounds and used sound shifts as well as repetitions of melodies and sounds in his music. Yet never did you get the impression that Miura copies his idol, allowing his own creativity to unfold.
Time and again, Kyotaro Miula led the other members through the evening without overshadowing their individual skills and impulses. You might expect a frontman to be positioned in the center of the stage, but in order to connect to all his bandmates equally. Instead, bassist Keita Ise became another focal point of the performance, standing out with his passionate performance. Completely one with the music and his bass, he moved fluently to the groove and thrilled the audience.
As an encore and the golden finale of the evening, Minami Deutsch played the ten minutes long song Tunnel, which intensified gradually, making the audience feel as if they were in an endless highway tunnel and taking them on a last psychedelic trip—completely without drugs. One last time, Minami Deutsch drew on the full potential of the concert, leaving the listeners with everything they could have wished for.
Minami Deutsch manage to revive an old favorite genre in their own way and if there was any doubt before, this evening proved that they have a dedicated audience and have the potential for great success also outside of Japan. Go check them out, they are absolutely fantastic—especially live!
