Songlines mit Fabian Simon & The Moon Machine

Support: Malta Mina

What happens when the harmony infatuation of an Elliott Smith combines with Tropicalismo's lust for sonic madness and then appears in the mystical twilight of Twin Peaks? Voila: About the best-kept secret of the German indie scene, Fabian Simon & The Moon Machine.

The trio around jack-of-all-trades Fabian Simon winkingly calls their style "utopian Kraut-Folk" and that's exactly how it sounds: like a wild mélange of 60's psychedelia, classical chamber music and songwriting from Nick Drake to Syd Barrett. Spacious synths tussle with desert guitars while pig organs meet rumbling surf drums and ask for a tipsy waltz. Subtle, funny, poetic and always surprising.

This enigmatic mixture is carried by Fabian Simon's baritone voice. Sometimes with a brittle timbre, sometimes with impulsive emotion, it tells of love, death and the absurd in-between in beautiful wry images. Live, the band's delicate arrangements, unusual sounds and a palpable joy in experimentation make for an experience that is as touching as it is anarchic.

Support: Malta Mina
Malta Mina is the project of songwriter and singer Sebastian Witte. He writes pieces that tell of cosmic dreams, mysterious visions and great wanderlust. To give these songs a special, electronic sound, he teamed up with Cologne-based producer Felix Herzog. The result is a detailed, sometimes melancholic sound. Sebastian has created spun and stirring music with Malta Mina, which he presents live with passion.