On This Track: German Voices #2
Five releases about inner struggles, human behavior, the present moment and the choice between silence and resistance.
German-language music can make private feelings visible and turn political frustration into a shared experience. For the second edition of On This Track: German Voices 2, five releases approach these ideas from very different directions. Alice Stark gives inner turmoil a dark, botanical imagery on “Schwarze Orchideen”. Mittekill reflects on the traces our actions leave behind with “Die Schlaufe”, while Sa(i)dLikeMe brings the present moment and infinity together on “jetzt&unendlichkeit”. SOKO METTIGEL confront the pressure to stay silent in the face of the political rightward shift, and PASCOW answer the idea of a national “we” with a loud celebration of solidarity. Together, these songs consider what it means to face ourselves, our surroundings and the choices we make.
Alice Stark - “Schwarze Orchideen”
Some struggles remain invisible to everyone except the person experiencing them. In “Schwarze Orchideen”, Alice Stark gives an internal crisis a physical form: thoughts take root, grow into poisonous plants and gradually leave less and less room to breathe. The song's imagery of sealed eyes, a panic room beneath the skin and a silent fall captures the loneliness of being overwhelmed without necessarily showing it. The mind becomes a space that is slowly taken over, until even breathing seems difficult. What makes the metaphor so striking is that the threat grows from within. There is no obvious outside force to fight, no simple way to remove what has taken root. The song's underlying cry for help gives these images their emotional weight. Rather than presenting distress as something that can be neatly resolved, Stark makes it tangible and difficult to ignore. “Schwarze Orchideen” speaks to the gap between how someone appears to the world and what they may be struggling with privately. Sometimes finding words for that experience is the first step towards making it visible.
🎧 Stream “Schwarze Orchideen” by Alice Stark on Apple Music
Mittekill - “Die Schlaufe”
Human actions don't necessarily end when the moment has passed. Their consequences can remain in circulation, like CO₂ in the atmosphere or satellites in the thermosphere. Mittekill's “Die Schlaufe” uses these images to reflect on the persistence of what we do and the patterns we continue to repeat. The track is described as a melancholic, almost hypnotic piece, built around a simple construction. Its loop-like concept fits the song's central idea: repetition can become familiar, but it can also keep us trapped. Recognizing a pattern doesn't automatically mean knowing how to escape it. For around two decades, Friedrich Greiling, the artist behind Mittekill, has moved between house, ambient, electropunk and chanson, resisting a fixed musical identity. “Die Schlaufe” is the first single from his upcoming tenth studio album, "Junge Junge Junge", due November 6 via Rookie Records. The song's idea reaches beyond individual habits. Environmental damage, political decisions and personal choices can all leave traces long after their origins have been forgotten. A loop can be difficult to break precisely because it keeps returning. Mittekill turns that thought into a reflection on responsibility and the things we set in motion without always considering where they might lead.
🎧 Stream “Die Schlaufe” by Mittekill on Apple Music
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Sa(i)dLikeMe – “jetzt&unendlichkeit”
The present moment is all we have, yet it rarely feels like enough. On “jetzt&unendlichkeit”, Sa(i)dLikeMe brings that tension to the dancefloor. A club-ready beat meets warm vocals and a catchy hook, giving the track an inviting, melodic quality. There is a distinct summer-night feeling to the song: the kind of atmosphere where the hours seem to stretch out, the music keeps moving and the thought of tomorrow can wait a little longer. The title brings two opposing ideas together. “Jetzt” is immediate, something tangible that exists only in the moment, while “Unendlichkeit” reaches towards something without an ending. Against the steady pulse of the beat, that contrast becomes less abstract. It is about wanting to hold on to a feeling, a connection or a night that you wish could last just a little longer. Within this selection, “jetzt&unendlichkeit” offers a different perspective. Rather than focusing on inner turmoil or direct political resistance, Sa(i)dLikeMe turns towards the relationship between presence and possibility. The combination of danceable energy, warm vocals and an accessible hook gives that idea a sense of lightness. The song doesn't need to resolve the tension between now and forever. For a few minutes, it lets both exist at once.
🎧 Stream “jetzt&unendlichkeit” by Sa(i)dLikeMe on YouTube
SOKO METTIGEL - “Im Wendekreis”
Silence isn't always neutral. Sometimes people keep quiet because they fear what might happen if they speak. SOKO METTIGEL's “Im Wendekreis” addresses this familiar form of conformity in the context of Germany's political rightward shift, asking whether fear of professional or personal consequences is making more people look away. The song's accompanying video turns its message into a collective statement. Friends, bands, promoters, sound technicians, fans, fanzine journalists, DJs and forensic biologist Dr. Mark Benecke come together to make the case for continuing to speak up. Rather than presenting resistance as the responsibility of a single voice, the video shows a community willing to take a position together. Musically, the Hamburg band draws on fast, direct Deutschpunk, with roots in the sound of the 1980s. The approach is rough and largely unadorned, with small melodies cutting through the energy. The band describes its attitude as angry but not frustrated: anger can still lead to action, while frustration risks leaving people stuck. “Im Wendekreis” is the first single from the forthcoming mini-album "Modus Überleben", due December 4 via Träge Alte Tonträger. Its message is straightforward: when the political atmosphere changes, remaining silent is still a choice. The song asks what happens when too many people decide that keeping quiet is easier.
🎧 Stream “Im Wendekreis” by SOKO METTIGEL on Apple Music
PASCOW - “Und wir so”
The word “we” can create a sense of belonging, but it can also be used to decide who belongs and who doesn't. On “Und wir so”, PASCOW push back against the national “we” invoked by politicians, offering instead a community of people who refuse to leave the world to those they oppose. Musically, the single takes a bright, unpolished pop-punk approach. Its sunny energy contrasts with the clarity of its political message, turning resistance into something immediate and communal rather than simply bleak. The track is a short, catchy refusal, delivered with the spirit of a collective middle finger. Background vocals from Nadine Nevermore of N.T.Ä. add another voice to the song, reinforcing its idea of solidarity. This isn't just an individual expressing anger; it is a shared response to a political climate that demands a particular definition of belonging. “Und wir so” is the first single from PASCOW's upcoming album of the same name, due March 5, 2027, via Kidnap/Rookie. The song doesn't need elaborate musical gestures to make its point. Its energy comes from the contrast between the narrow version of national identity it rejects and the broader community it celebrates. Resistance, in this case, doesn't have to mean giving up joy. PASCOW turn defiance into a song people can sing together, insisting that the world is still worth fighting for.
🎧 Stream “Und wir so” by PASCOW on Apple Music
More Than Just Songs
It's not always easy to know what to do with everything that's going on around us. Sometimes we keep things to ourselves because we don't know how to explain them. Sometimes we see something wrong and hope someone else will speak up. And sometimes we get so caught up in our own lives that we stop thinking about what our actions mean for other people. These aren't big theories. They're things most of us have probably experienced in one way or another. Maybe that's why music can get so close to the truth. It doesn't have to spell everything out or tell us how to feel. It can be uncomfortable, comforting, angry or full of life - sometimes all at once. We won't agree on everything, and a song won't suddenly make us better people. But if it makes us stop for a moment, question something we've taken for granted or feel a little less alone, then it's already done something worth listening to.
Keep discovering independent music with our other On This Track, Three Track Week and Artist Features.
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