Having a late lunch this Friday and a set from Drens, recorded at the 2022 Crossroads Festival in Bonn in March 16, 2022 – and preserved for posterity by WDR.
Surfpunk from Dortmund, Germany compliments of Drens who are Fabian Livrée, Arno Augustin and Patrick Uitz-Blickling.
While you’re trying to sort out what surf has to do with Germany -let Wikipedia fill you in:
Fabian Livrée and Arno Augustin have been making music together since their youth. Playing live they were supported by Patrick Uitz-Blickling at the bass. 2017 they officially founded the band Drens. In the same year, while originally searching for a drummer, they met fellow sound design student Joël Brüning who would soon fill in the gap.
In January 2018 they released their first single Wilhelm Be Gone with a corresponding music video. More singles followed before their first compilation Sunny Side Up was released in 2019. At this point the band had already played over a hundred live shows in Germany, supporting well-known artists like The Murlocs, Van Holzen and Hi! Spencer.
Also in 2019 they won second place of the pop NRW-Preis (a highly paid musical prize sponsored by German county North Rhine-Westphalia) in the category Best Newcomer.
Drens define their music as Surfpunk which is less about the sport and more about the attitude. To quote Fabian on this: „I think in surfpunk there is also a bit of being an outsider.“ „That it’s okay not to be perfect and not to belong everywhere. And even with that somehow you’re not alone.“
During their live shows the band members wear swimming trunks with the bandlogo printed on the leg. During the early stages the trunks were red, since Holy Demon they are black. The band themselves call them Drenspants.
Besides the sound of the band has also changed with the debut album. Until then Drens consciously paired happy sounding music with serious lyrics, whereas on Holy Demon the rock and grunge influences are much stronger and the seriousness of the lyrics is transported much clearer.
The band does not have a classic lead singer since Fabian and Arno (and up to 2022 also Joël) sing and play the guitar. Additionally Fabian and Joël used to switch places at the drums.
The name of the band is an insider of the members and will therefore not be explained.
Okay – you got all that? Good – now press play and jump in – Saturday is just around the corner.
