Sebastian Sturm ADD

Review & Photos: Sebastian Sturm & Exile Airline in Hamburg, Germany 11/9/2012

11/10/2012 by Gardy Stein

Sebastian Sturm & Exile Airline @ Ramba Zamba Festival

in Hamburg, Germany @ Klubsen 11/9/2012

★ PHOTO GALLERY

Germany, Hamburg, Klubsen: Ramba Zamba Festival! An evening including four acts and many surprises. Arriving at the location early, visitors were able to witness an unexpected performance by the Northern Shanty-Choir "Hopfen & Malz". Consisting of about 40 men and women aged 40 and older, they warmed up with evergreens such as "Sierra Madre del Sur" and "Bier her".

Sebastian Sturm & Exile Airline entered the stage at 10pm. Starting off with the wakeup-call Real Strength, Sebastian made clear at once that for him, conscious lyrics are as important as good music. Before the second song Join In started, the singer gave a warm welcome to everybody present (approximately 200 people in front of the stage, others still arriving). The crowd started to catch the vibes slowly, and by the next song Invitation, the bigger part of them moved along with the music. During this extremely danceable piece, Sebastian introduced the bass-player, Christian Golz, who in turn made the speakers vibrate with his solo. The sound of the band had by that time completely unfolded its magic. Full and rich and supple, Exile Airline transported the richness of original 70s sound on instruments like the Organ Korg CX 3. 

The dancing vibe was kept up by Don’t Look Back, while the beginning of the next song had everybody looking at the keyboarder. Joonas Lorenz, the most recent addition to the band (touring with them starting this summer), played a beautiful intro on a melodica! The attention level thus raised high, the piece Wasteland was favourably received by the listeners. In fact, along with the first two songs, this track allowed a glimpse on the upcoming album planned for release in late 2013 (surprise, surprise!). Definitely something to look forward to!

During the next song Get Going, Sebastian himself picked up his guitar and rocked the stage - after all this is the title track of the present album! Moving on to the rebellious and critical Burn The Money, the band was now in full swing. A dedication to all the Roots Reggae Lovers, Free Man by Freddy McKay was the first cover song of the night. Sebastian took the chance to introduce Philip Breidenbach, who not only played the lead guitar, but also backed up Sebastian throughout the songs with his clear and harmonic voice. Joonas was also presented, playing a formidable solo. Have you ever seen a keyboarder running, dancing, hugging the keys while playing? Well, he does just that.

The next song Life Is A Journey was announced as a tribute to one of the big heroes of the band, Clinton Fearon. This song saw the introduction of Samuel Reissen on drums and Moses Christoph, who mastered the trifold challenge of guitar, percussion and backing vocals. One Moment In Peace, the title track of Sturm’s second album, was up next, followed directly by Be Righteous, closing the cycle of conscious music started off with the first note. The band left the stage, but no way the crowd, by that time numbering around 350, would let them disappear. Shouts of "Zugabe" (we want more) made the artist come back for the Twinkle Brothers song Since I Throw The Comb Away. After playing the first note of the song, suddenly everybody on stage froze. Almost 30 seconds of immobility collapsed when the crowd cheered wildly once again. As would be expected in Reggae, the bass and the drums were the first to break the silence and lead to an uplifting finish that left the audience elated. Exile Airline had positively exhausted themselves, playing a magnificent concert that was a pleasure hearing, watching, experiencing…

The charismatic singer Sebastian Sturm (who resembles the young Bob Marley at times by both his voice and his physical appearance) had been able to touch his audience with a 75 minute performance, including those people who certainly came to the festival to see different artists (e.g. Tanga Elektra or Che Sudaka, who picked up on the vibes and brought the evening to a grand finish). This storm is not over!