Listening to their sound you would swear that The Ramones were collaborating with Coldplay
Walking through the bustle of Santa Monica Pier, dodging tourists and trying to get to the end of Route 66, you see many street performers along the way. Nothing new to Santa Monica, street performers range from celebrity impersonators, face painters, and of course aspiring musicians. Most are run of the mill and will make just enough money to support themselves another day.
In June of this year, something different filled the pier in a sound I have never heard before. That sound was Denmantau, a five-piece band that has been in the United States less than a year. Starting off in Hamburg, Germany, the group has been playing together for approximately 12 years, including touring internationally (most recently in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe).
Listening to their sound you would swear that The Ramones were collaborating with Coldplay. Lead singer Paul Weber describes the band’s sound as something out of a Quinten Tarantino movie. “We have a big influence of American bands,” Weber stated in a 2013 press release. Weber is right with his assessment. In my many travels to the Pier, I have never seen a crowd as large gather to watch a performance. Turns out, Denmantau are more than your normal “street performers.”
Denmantau performing live at Santa Monica Pier in June 2015.
In addition to releasing numerous EP’s, Denmantau won the Local Heroes Europe Award in 2013. The event was a European-wide contest which ultimately led to Denmantau being crowned the winner. Not bad for an indie band that isn’t signed to a major record label. Their 2013 performance in the finals of the competition is below.
“If an indie band is looking to get noticed, they came to the right city,” said Clayton Jordan, a publicist in Los Angeles. “Not only are there plenty of record labels, there are a ton or artists looking to collaborate. Most artists are found by other artists and then brought to the record label after.” If Jordan is correct, it is only going to take one notable musician to listen to Denmantau before you see them releasing something on a major label.
Thankfully I was able to record part of their performance which I provided for you below. Like them or not, Denmantau will soon be heard across the nation once the medici effect kicks in.
