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Jochen Distelmeyer (c) Frank Zauritz
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Jochen Distelmeyer, born in 1967 in Bielefeld, has revolutionised the language of German pop music as the singer and songwriter of the band Blumfeld. Rich in discourse and educated, unbourgeois and at the same time bulky, he manages to merge the most various word materials – political punchlines, distorted quotes and apparent diary entries - into a highly energised language for poetry.
Distelmeyer’s lyrics triggered many years of exegesis, even among academics, and have been sampled even by such poets as Durs Grünbein. As the newspaper taz puts it, “Quotes from his songs have become part of pop’s DNA”.
After Blumfeld split up in 2007, Distelmeyer embarked on a solo career. In September 2009 his album Heavy was released. In 2014 the original line-up of Blumfeld did a tour to mark the 20th anniversary of their groundbreaking album L’état et moi, which once again showed how contemporary and powerful Distelmeyer’s songs still are.
In February 2015 Distelmeyer published his first novel, Otis. For Weltklang, however, the focus will not be on the novelist, but on Distelmeyer’s music and lyrics since the end of the 90s, which he will be presenting in a short, rare solo performance.
Publications (a selection): Albums: Blumfeld: Ich-Maschine (1992); Blumfeld: L’état et moi (1994); Blumfeld: Old Nobody (1999); Blumfeld: Testament der Angst (2001); Blumfeld: Jenseits von Jedem (2003); Blumfeld: Verbotene Früchte (2006); Jochen Distelmeyer: Heavy (2009)
Novel: Otis (2015, Rowohlt Verlag)