Jennifer Rostock

An alternative rock outfit based in Berlin, Jennifer Rostock channels a punk-infused pop approach that echoes the Neue Deutsche Welle movement of the early 1980s. At the heart of the group stand vocalist Jennifer Weist and keyboardist Johannes "Joe" Walter-Müller, both originally from the Baltic island of Usedom near the Polish border. Acquainted since childhood, the pair relocated to Berlin in 2006 upon completing school with the aim of advancing their musical opportunities, then completed the lineup by adding guitarist Alex Voigt, bassist Christoph Deckert, and drummer Christopher "Baku" Kohl. Throughout 2007 the band began performing regularly in Berlin, secured a contract with Warner Music Group, and issued its first recording, the Ich Will Hier Raus EP, near the end of that year. Their debut album, Ins Offene Messer, followed in 2008. The lead single "Kopf Oder Zahl" attracted notice by finishing fifth in the Bundesvision Song Contest and earning rotation on MTV's German outlet. Der Film appeared in 2009 and entered the national Top 20, while the third studio album, Mit Haut und Haar, reached number four on the German charts in 2011. Jennifer Rostock developed a strong following as a live act across Europe and preserved one of those performances on the 2012 release Live in Berlin. Their fourth studio effort, Schlaflos, surfaced in 2014 and peaked at number two on the German sales chart, a ranking matched by Genau in Diesem Ton in 2016. September 2017 brought a tongue-in-cheek compilation of signature tracks titled The Worst of Jennifer Rostock. Two months later the group disclosed plans for a 2018 concert tour before entering a subsequent hiatus.