Jennifer Rostock

Jennifer Rostock
Jennifer Rostock in 2016
Jennifer Rostock in 2016
Background information
OriginBerlin, Germany
GenresRock, alternative rock, punk rock, electropop
Years active2007–present
LabelsWarner Music
MembersJennifer Weist
Johannes "Joe" Walter
Alex Voigt
Christoph Deckert
Christopher "Baku" Kohl
Websitehttp://www.jenniferrostock.de

Jennifer Rostock is a German rock band. They formed in 2007 out of Berlin and first rose to fame in 2008 for their performance in the German talent competition "The Bundesvision Song Contest"

History

[edit]

Jennifer Weist (born 3 December 1986)[1] and Johannes "Joe" Walter-Müller are both natives of the German Baltic island Usedom, where they first met in kindergarten. Walter-Müller started to take music lessons as a five-year-old; he initially learned the violin, later he started to play the piano. At the age of 13, he met Weist again when she was singing at a karaoke show, and he invited her to join his school band. They experimented with different genres such as rock, pop, and swing. In the beginning they sang in English, later in German, and they eventually wrote their own songs. In 2004, both founded the band Aerials.[1]

They met Werner Krumme, who later became their record producer, during a songwriting workshop in Rostock.[2] After both finished high school (Gymnasium) in the summer of 2006, they moved to Berlin to pursue a career in music. There they also met their future band members Alex, Christoph, and Baku.[3]

The band's name was originally based on a misunderstanding. Employees at the Planet Roc recording studios in Berlin repeatedly addressed notes for them to "Jennifer Rostock".[4] Weist later explained: "Jennifer was directed at me, and Rostock, because they remembered we are from the coast, and Rostock was probably the only town the studio guys knew up there." This working title was eventually embraced by the band and became their official name.[3]

Guitarist Alex, lead vocalist Jennifer Weist in the background

In 2007, the group gave their first concerts as Jennifer Rostock and they signed a recording contract with Warner Music.[3] They mainly performed in the Berlin club scene and played as opening acts for the British bands Chikinki and Gallows.[2] In October, Jennifer Rostock released the EP Ich will hier raus as a vinyl record and they first receiving radio airplay by local stations in Berlin. In February 2008, their first single, "Kopf oder Zahl", was placed in rotation by MTV Germany. They competed with that song at the Bundesvision Song Contest, a German television show based on the Eurovision Song Contest, and came in fifth.[5] Jennifer Rostock’s debut album, Ins offene Messer, was released the following day and reached number 31 in the German album charts.[6]

They released two additional singles from their debut album, "Feuer" and "Himalaya". In June, Jennifer Rostock performed at MTV Campus Invasion in Jena, which was broadcast live by MTV, and they played at music festivals and concerts throughout Germany; they also had several shows in Austria and Switzerland. In October, they performed their song "Himalaya" at the tour premiere of German rock musician Udo Lindenberg in Rostock.[7]

On 15 November 2017, the band announced via Facebook to go on hiatus after their planned tour for 2018.[8] On 13 May 2018, they played their last show in the sold out Columbiahalle in Berlin.[9]

Music

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Jennifer Rostock's line-up consists of lead vocalist Jennifer Weist, keyboardist Johannes "Joe" Walter-Müller, guitarist Alex, bassist Christoph, and drummer Baku.[1] The group's unconventional German lyrics are collectively written by Weist and Walter-Müller who also compose and arrange the songs.[3] Although difficult to categorise, Jennifer Rostock are sometimes compared to the Neue Deutsche Welle, especially due to their first single, "Kopf oder Zahl", and its similarities to the German 1980's band Ideal. The German newspaper die tageszeitung described their music as "between glam punk, electropop and Berlin-rock".[10] They have also been described as mixing alternative rock with punk and electro.[11]

Discography

[edit]
Jennifer Rostock Live 2015
Jennifer Weist Live in Munich 2015
Alex Voigt
Jennifer Rostock performing in July 2017

Albums

[edit]
Year Title Peak positions
GER
[6]
AUT
[12]
SWI
[13]
2008 Ins Offene Messer
  • First studio album
  • Released: 15 February 2008
  • Format: CD
31
Ins Offene Messer - Jetzt Noch Besser
  • Re-Release
  • Released: 28 November 2008
  • Format: CD + DVD
2009 Der Film
  • Second studio album
  • Released: 10 July 2009
  • Format: CD
13 18 63
2011 Mit Haut und Haar
  • Third studio album
  • Released: 29 July 2011
  • Format: CD
4 7 58
2012 Live in Berlin
  • Live album
  • Released: 10 August 2012
  • Format: CD + DVD
3 13
2014 Schlaflos
  • Fourth studio album
  • Released: 17 January 2014
  • Format: CD
2 5 40
2016 Genau in diesem Ton[14]
  • Fifth studio album
  • Released: 9 September 2016
  • Format: CD
2 4 31
2017 Worst of Jennifer Rostock
  • Compilation album
  • Released: 29 September 2017
  • Format: CD
6 11 69
2018 Jennifer Rostock bleibt. (Live 2018)
  • Live album
  • Released: 21 September 2018
  • Format: CD
2 11

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak positions Album
GER
[15]
AUT
[12]
SWI
[13]
2008 "Kopf oder Zahl" 48 69 Ins offene Messer
"Feuer" 24
"Himalaya" 85
2009 "Du willst mir an die Wäsche" 34 70 Der Film
"Es tut wieder weh" 48 New Moon (Soundtrack)
2010 "Irgendwo anders" Der Film
2011 "Mein Mikrofon" 49 Mit Haut und Haar
"Ich kann nicht mehr" 60
2011 "Du willst mir an die Wäsche (feat. Sido)" Live in Berlin
2013 "Ein Schmerz und eine Kehle" Schlaflos
"Phantombild"
2014 "K.B.A.G."
"Du nimmst mir die Angst"
"Schlaflos"
"Kaleidoskop" 66 Kaleidoskop EP
2016 "Irgendwas ist immer" Genau in diesem Ton
"Wir sind alle nicht von hier"
"Uns gehört die Nacht"
"Wir waren hier"
"Hengstin"
2017 "Deiche"
"Alles cool" Worst of Jennifer Rostock
"Haarspray"
"Die guten alten Zeiten"

EPs

[edit]
  • 2007: Ich Will Hier Raus
  • 2014: Kaleidoskop

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Jennifer Rostock. FanLexikon.de. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  2. ^ a b Jennifer Rostock (Biographie). laut.de. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  3. ^ a b c d Usedomer Band rockt beim Bundesvision Song Contest für M-V Archived 26 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine. MVregio. 12 December 2007. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  4. ^ Jennifer Rostock Bandinfo & Biographie. booni.de. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  5. ^ Die Sieger des BuViSoCo: Subway To Sally Archived 18 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine. MTV.de. 15 February 2008. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  6. ^ a b Chartverfolgung / Jennifer Rostock / Longplay Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Musicline.de. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  7. ^ dpa. Udo Lindenberg begeistert in Rostock. DerWesten. 7 October 2007. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  8. ^ "Jennifer Rostock - Beiträge". Facebook. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Jennifer Rostock in Berlin 2018 - Was Fans wissen müssen - Berlin Aktuell - Berliner Morgenpost". Berliner Morgenpost. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  10. ^ Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - Jennifer Rostock. die tageszeitung. 17 December 2007. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  11. ^ "Jennifer Rostock rock on". Deutsche Welle (DW). 10 September 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  12. ^ a b Discographie Jennifer Rostock. austriancharts.at. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
  13. ^ a b Discographie Jennifer Rostock. hitparade.ch. Accessed 12 December 2008. (in German)
  14. ^ "News | Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH". www.sonymusic.de. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016.
  15. ^ Chartverfolgung / Jennifer Rostock / Single Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Musicline.de. Accessed 10 December 2008. (in German)
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