The 17 Hippies were founded in 1995 in Berlin, but their home is often referred to as being Werder in Brandenberg by fans and I guess that must because they played there often in the early days.  I have seen them a few time, always In Potsdam and their performances are always joyous events.  The one striking thing about 17 Hippies is that there are rarely (if ever) 17 of them and the most certainly are not hippies!  I heard once that they got their name when they turned up at the Cambridge folk festival to perform, but still hadn't a proper name and the security guy on the gate called the organiser and told him that there were 17 hippies in a van that claim they are supposed to be playing!  Who know: a good story anyway.

I think the Wikipedia entry sums them up nicely: "a radically democratic collective of professionals and amateurs."  They are often classed as a bohemian rock band probably because of their origins and because much of their music is infused with influences from the region.  They are mainly acoustic although the odd electric guitar sneaks in on occasion.  One advantage of being an acoustic outfit is that for the last encore they usually leave the stage and snake their way through the audience while still playing and then settle in the middle and finish the set.  They are then usually out the front at the end to sell CDs, LPs, etc and are always ready for a chat.

Heimlich is the 8th studio album if you count the ambient and guitar ones.  I saw them performing the tour of it just after its release on my 50th birthday and it is still one of my favourites (once you get past the shock of the 1st track - it is interesting to contrast that with the version on the remix / re-recorded album, Metamorphosis).  Most songs are in German, but there are also some in French and English and in general they are pretty melodic.  Give it a go and see if the Heimlich is a well kept one or not!




open.qobuz.com/album/bt8hgfpgjo6zb