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The “Russendisko” author Wladimir Kaminer goes on a search in a three-part series on 3 Sat. Do Germany, Switzerland and Austria have a specific sound?
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Stuttgart – An interesting question: How does a country sound? But is there an interesting answer, other than “polyphonic”, “chaotic”, “contradictory” or “more and more like the Spotify Top 10”? The writer Wladimir Kaminer, who moved to Germany from Russia more than three decades ago, dared to put it to the test. For three quarters of an hour each, he wants to give us an understanding of how Germany, Switzerland and Austria sound today on the culture channel 3 Sat.
Kaminer, born in 1967, became known in 2000 with the collection of stories “Russendisko”, used to work as a DJ and party organizer and still likes to DJ today. His approach to music and musicians is almost boomingly enthusiastic, friendly and curious. He likes almost everything, and if something doesn’t knock him out with joy, he glows with benevolence that the music in question suits others better than he does. In any case, that’s how the jovial sweetheart he portrays in front of the camera ticks. And he gives no reason to suspect that the dissimulation is too great.
gossip and clowning
In the opening episode “Kaminer inside: How does Germany sound?” – all three episodes will be broadcast on 3 Sat on Saturday from 8.15 p.m. – the great enthusiast meets the hit veteran Heino, Klaus Meine from the Scorpions, the singer, who has long since become a phenomenon of his own kind and songwriter Mark Forster, Katrin Höpker, who offers participatory concerts, and the organist Iveta Apkalna in the Elbphilharmonie. Which would already answer the basic question. There is no such thing as a country sound that can be boiled down to crisp short theses. Anyone who expects music-philosophical analyzes is wrong here, but those who like Kaminer’s mixture of chatter and clowning are spot on.
It is best seen as a colourful, occasional music magazine, as a talk show – which is why the other two episodes are more interesting than the German one. The musicians presented there are probably not even known in this country – like the Neue Wiener Concert Schrammeln and Tini Kainrath. Or knows them, like Dieter Meier from the electropop duo Yello, but doesn’t hear from them as often as from Heino.
Inside Kaminer: How does Germany sound? 3 Sat, Saturday, 8:15 p.m. Already available in the ZDF media library.
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