Brace is what you don’t want your average flight attend to hear saying. On a flight to Japan, for instance. Where Team Poule will be going next week. If you have a line or two drop about that, please feel free to do so. Credentials on the right sidebar. Brace is also the title of Copenhagener Sekuoia’s latest gem. On board for this one – the track – is Mr Marc Roland, the prominent singer of fellow Danish dynamites Kentaur. A match up that couldn’t possibly end up sounding anymore smooth than this, a fair dose of synth and pop balanced out with a hint to general funkiness. Brace is out now on Berlin label Humming Records. Team Poule says, it’s all about stacking them up right.

Did you know that on the Swedish-Finnish border there is a golf club that has 9 holes in Sweden, and another 9 in Finland? Now, I’m sure there is a major pun here somewhere. Anyway, connecting the countries of the North – much like a golf course – are Ja Ja Ja and this week they bring out some big guns to Germany again. On the ticket for Hamburg and Berlin are Norway’s Ary, Denmark’s Shy Shy Shy and Sweden’s Erik Jonasson. With Ary sitting an the more electronic and synth end of the pop spectrum and Erik Jonasson on the rather crooning end, Shy Shy Shy are firmly nestled in the middle. Their catchy melodies and driving vibe have been turning heads all year and they added Roskilde and Dockville to their references this summer.

Catch the three of them at Hamburg’s Molotow on Wednesday, August 31, and in Berlin’s Musik Und Frieden, September 1. Attached below then, are Shy Shy Shy’s latest piece, Soft & Hard off their new EP. Team Poule says, pure happiness.

Did you know, that if Micheal Phelps was a country, he would rank number 35 on the all-time olympic gold medal list, ahead of 97 other nations. However, in no other discipline could one athlete accumulate as many medals in a single Olympic tournament. Try winning 23 gold medals running Olympic marathons. Still, what a guy. Swimmers, eh. And cheers to post-Olympic traumas, turning on the TV waiting for equestrian, table tennis or rhythmic gymnastics to come on.

Anyway, where were we. Ah yes, legendary German producer A Thousand Vows – who by the way ranks between Uruguay, Chile and Panama in terms of medals won at the Rio 2016 Olympic games – has a new single out. So Old was produced while he travelled Europe, then sent across the pond for vocals by Californian duo Dos Feeliz and finally mastered by Mr. Nick Carden. So Old is out now on a transparent 7 inch via Gold Robot. Team Poule says, never gets old.

It’s August, Can you feel the sun? Asks Calabrian musician HAN. A blurry fuzzy goodness of a summer track that takes you right down the shore, full on vacay mode. And speaking of sun and taking a quick vacation: Team Poule will be off to Japan next month for an extended trip of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. If you want to say Hi or have a hot tip on where to find fire ramen or slick soft drinks, hit us up. Would be a charm. In the meantime, push play for HAN and gaze. The single is out now on Mission Street. Team Poule says, mmh can’t wait!

A sunny – and much less grey than indicated above – tenth edition of Hamburgs MS Dockville festival celebrated the big ones last weekend: Foals, Bastille, Milky Chance, Aurora, Crystal Fighters, Hinds, Ry X, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Kakkmaddafakka and tons more shared the two major stages Schots over three days. A line up of evergreens really. Greens then are a point worth emphasizing because the festival traditionally takes place on the river island of Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, a vast green archipelago nestled in the southern part of the city, also hosting large parts of the harbour and maritime industry. The major stages are only half the fun though because, doesn’t it always feel a bit too routine and a bit too choreographed inside that metal scaffolding? So, naturally, the smaller stages are the places that make the Poule’s plumage tickle. [continue reading…]