Interview: Gebretter

Kölle’s finest hardcore punks, GEBRETTER, are back to shake the foundations of the underground scene. Following the raw energy of their 2023 debut Trendshitter, the quintet has returned with Pint Peddla, a sophomore record that is a political punch and a love letter to bicycle culture and the chaotic charm of Cologne.

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Hello, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. How have you been? 

Cheers! We are all fine and ticking along well with our daily life. Also rehearsing new songs, planning gigs or just having a good old laugh. I hope you are well, too? 

Your debut album, Trendshitter, made a significant impact on the underground scene in 2023. What was the primary catalyst for writing the new 12″, Pint Peddla, and how did the reception of your debut shape your approach to this new material? 

Well, Trendshitter was the start to a hopefully long and bright future for Gebretter.. We love to make music together and already are thinking of a new 7” release. After successfully recording our debut on just one weekend, we did the same with Pint Peddla and hired our mate’s studio for 2 Days and recorded it live. 79Sound has our full trust and we let him fiddle out the sound, after a few feedback sessions, we were done. 

The first album was a 100%DIY release, but luckily we spoke to Scene Police officer Dennis and he released the album on Scene Police Rec. together with Engineer Rec. and Daemon Tonträger. This helped us massively with the promo and got the album out there not just in the Cologne bay area. 

The first single off the new record is “3. Grades.” What made this specific track the perfect introduction to the next chapter of the band? 

It is a song that anyone can relate to, as we have all had a sore throat, a wounded knee or some sort of pain experience and this is exactly what the song is about. Pain that forms you, your personality and your life. Be it good, bad or Gebretter. The style is not our fastest and not our slowest song, an ideal intro to our crazy circus show, fuelled by beer, wine or mate. #schuerfwundensurfverein (that could roughly be translated to “wounded knee wakeboard force”). 

The title track, “Pint Peddla,” serves as an anthem for bicycle culture, equating riding with freedom, defiance, and survival. How did the concept of the “apocalyptic bicycle” become such a central theme for this record? 

Said in very simple words, we all love to ride a bike and in any style. We all commute on bikes and try to ride as much as possible, well and then you have all sorts of regulations and disturbances you have to overcome. Sometimes riding a bike is like a game of Street Fighter on an arcade. Keep it simple, grab your daily jeans gear and hit the tarmac, woods or ramps, fast, slow or just however you want to. We have not developed a Jan Ullrich midlife crisis love for bikes, but have been riding ever since. 

Tracks like “Porzellan Syndrom” take a satirical, razor-sharp aim at armies and militarization, while “Hecke” tackles the everyday absurdities of legality. How do you balance between serious political protest and nihilistic wit in your songwriting? 

We try to have some seriousness in all songs, but our singer is quite a character and can not just walk through life telling you how shit it is. There is so much BS out there, and he tackles with an occasional spliff and a good laugh. A laugh a day, keeps the doctors and demons away. That is pretty much mirrored in his songs. And also talking at rehearsals about the day to day stuff inspires his songwriting. 

The vocals switch between English, German, and Kölsch. How does utilizing your local Cologne dialect change the emotional delivery or the impact of the message compared to standard German or English? 

That is up to the listener, yes it surely limits the access to all lyrics, but is is never so dialected, that one cannot grab the punch line. If someone does not understand it, they are always invited to contact us to clarify. The Koelsch parts reflect our city heritage and we have relatives and friends speaking pure Koelsch. Our singer just loves dialects in general, grew up here, but is half scouse, too. So his English is a mix of all with a slight northern twang in there. Another nice conglomerate of cultures. 

As I’ve heard, you come from incredibly diverse musical backgrounds spanning Trip-Hop, Indie, Breakcore, and Jungle Punk. How do these disparate influences coalesce into the driving, riff-heavy hardcore sound of Gebretter? 

Punk Rock is the roots of all our different influences. All of us were into HC and Punk before drifting out into other spheres. Surely that influences our songs now, im what way, we hope the Gebretter way. Most songs are written by our powerhouse on the drums and then we all (german saying): Put our mustard on it. 

Pint Peddla has a clear and powerful sound while retaining its raw, DIY edge. Did you approach the recording or production process differently this time around compared to Trendshitter?

Nope, we did exactly what we did on Trendshitter. 

The rhythm section is a massive part. How much of the actual songwriting is driven by the rhythm section rather than the guitar riffs? 

And as said before: Most songs are written by our powerhouse on the drums and then everyone adds his stuff. But our Bassist will turn up with a song, then it is thorn through our beat grinder and after a couple rehearsals our singer can spit out his menace to the song. 

We know bands like Turbonegro influenced the vibe of the title track, and there are obvious nods to 80s US Hardcore throughout your work. Who were the specific artists, records, or even non-musical figures that you found yourselves looking to while composing the new 12″? 

Turbonegro, Half Man Half Biscuit, Gorilla Biscuits, Slapshot, The Edelweißpiraten, 

Given the raw energy of the new material, are there any songs from Pint Peddla that have proven particularly challenging, or incredibly exciting, to adapt for the live set? 

I think the ballad of Goodbye has been the most challenging song. It has deep lyrics about losing people and quite an unusual beat. Our singer changed the lyrics live once, after losing a good mate. But we love challenges and come up with solutions. Cheers to all. 

You are deeply rooted in the “Ursuppe” (primordial soup) of the Cologne subculture. How does the current state of the local scene influence your music, and how do you see yourselves fitting into its legacy? 

It seems like there is a rise in new bands, after a longer stretch of self made beats and sitting at home doing your thing. This makes us very happy and a lot of old band from back in the days are playing again. There is a new straight edge HC scene evolved here in Cologne and they are very active. To a point, were gigs are overlapping again and brings back a late 90ies 2000 vibe.

The more the merrier. 

So we think we fit in anywhere just give us a chance and let us look into a future full of good music. 

With Pint Peddla dropping soon via Engineer Records and Scene Police, what does the rest of the year look like for Gebretter? Are there extensive touring plans, or are you already compiling ideas for the next release? 

We will be playing some gigs, but no real tour is planned. Many KIds, lots of time consuming jobs. We will be playing in several German cities and hoping to get to England soon. All in all, it is not as easy anymore to find time with 5 different characters in the band, but we try as hard as we can. And always working on new songs, releases, social media and mech. 

That’s it. Thank you for your time. Is there anything you would like to say to our readers? 

Thanks a million for interviewing us. We are happy for any support via Bandcamp and will reinvest all in new stuff from us. Come and support us at shows and have a laugh in these very trying times. Keep the Antifa spirit alive, be loud and don’t let anyone grind you down.