KEIMZEIT. – „Primeln & Elefanten Tour 2025“
In the mid-90s, bands like the Talking Heads, Nirvana, or the legendary Wu-Tang Clan were all the rage. Punk and grunge ruled, the hip-hop and techno wave gained real momentum, and experimental bands like Portishead, Faithless, or The Prodigy explored new musical paths. The band Keimzeit didn’t care about any of this and surprised everyone in 1995 with the album “Primeln & Elefanten,” which, despite the zeitgeist, presented a sound more reminiscent of the natural instrumentation of the 70s and 80s. It just happened like that, without any real intention. The band swam with verve and love against the powerful tide of the currently trendy punky and electronic sound chaos.
“Primeln & Elefanten” – the fourth album by Keimzeit – was recorded in 1994 and released on April 18, 1995. The band will celebrate this 30-year album anniversary with an extensive tour in 2025. 16 songs were recorded, 14 of which at the Audioton Studio in Berlin, with the songs “Windstill” and “Schone nicht meine Nerven” recorded at another studio in Lütte. The producer of the album was Michael Beckmann. “For us, working on the album was paradise,” recalls Norbert Leisegang. “Everything was allowed, no one interfered with the band.” Thus, every creative idea was pursued and lived out. The band perfected their stylistic mix into a consistently coherent reflection of affection and partnership. The lyrics are sharply observed, life-like, and playful in tone, which is further emphasized by the musical blend of blues and chanson, jazz and folk, as well as waltz or Latin American elements. For many fans of the band, this album remains a masterpiece even today.
The style of the group from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s has been whimsically described by frontman Norbert Leisegang as “muesli pop” or “shaped by the hippie feeling.” “Primeln & Elefanten” illustrates quite well what he means by that. The songs are catchy and stick in your mind, they sweep you along and are fun. Experiments with South American rhythms from the predecessor album “Bunte Scherben” are continued in the title track “Primeln & Elefanten,” but bluesy and rocky sounds also come into play. Examples of this are songs like “Verlorengegangen.” A definitive outlier is the waltz and klezmer sounds found in “Schone nicht meine Nerven” and the cryptic “Die Achse.” With the instrumental piece “Lisa,” saxophonist Ralf Benschu contributed an instrumental track that is rather rare for Keimzeit.
The album is surrounded by plenty of quirky stories. Leisegang remembers: “A topic that was certainly hotly debated at the record company was the video shoot for the song ‘Windstill’ with what was probably the most expensive video company at the time, DORO. A company that nearly guaranteed playlists on VIVA and MTV. Unfortunately, at the already fixed time of the shoot, almost the entire band was on vacation, which led Ralf Benschu and me to show up alone for the shoot after a lot of back and forth. The mood at the record company was at an all-time low, and the atmospheric video shot on the Baltic Sea beach could not achieve the expected playlists afterward.” The band, however, took it all in stride. It wasn’t important…
This wonderful “easy-living feeling” is now intended to characterize the live program of the “Primeln & Elefanten” tour in 2025. Songs like the profound “Windstill,” “Donauangler,” “Näher mein Herz,” “Primeln & Elefanten,” “Mit dem Regen,” and “Gott will” – all beloved tracks of Keimzeit fans – will be celebrated in the program. Additionally, other well-known songs from the band that match the character and style of the mentioned titles will be included. This creates a concert atmosphere that will surely please not only dedicated Keimzeit fans.
“Primeln & Elefanten” thrives on diverse and playful songs that were indeed groundbreaking for the band. It contains numerous tracks that have shaped and continue to shape the German rock and singer-songwriter scene.
Doors open: 19:00
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
