German Pop - Lokomotor

"We want to celebrate eternal hope, non-coerced freedom and dangerous love." That's the band's motto as touted on their website. Lokomotor is a band with a message. "We want to offer people hope and show that, together, we can accomplish something," say the five band members, who are also involved in Church-based community and social projects.

They're not a Christian band in the strict sense, but they do aim to foster confidence and optimism in people. Lokomotor's members are involved in social issues and have worked with Greenpeace and on projects aiming to stop the use of nuclear energy. But even for those less interested in the message of the band's lyrics, Lokomotor has a lot to offer. 

The band cites indie and alternative music as their greatest influences - bands like Arcade Fire and Coldplay. You can definitely hear it in their music, too, but Lokomotor's songs are also full of surprises. The group experiments with unusual instruments, sounds, choruses and unexpected harmonic twists - and through it all, you can clearly hear that four of the five band members had years of classical training on the piano.

With a palpable passion for musical detail, the songs reveal something new even when listened to for the tenth time. Along with the classic instruments of a rock band, they'll feature unusual sounds like accordion or chimes.

Lokomotor participated in Pop Camp 2011, a training ground for up-and-coming musicians wanting to learn more about performance, the music business and how to hone their musical talents.

Author: Matthias Klaus / als
Editor: Rick Fulker