Juli

Formed in 1999 as Sunnyglade, the German alt-rock outfit Juli began its career performing exclusively in English. Once original singer Miriam Adameit and drummer Martin Möller exited in 2001, Eva Briegel came aboard as lead vocalist; the remaining members—Simon Triebel, Marcel Römer, Andreas “Dedi” Herde, and Jonas Pfetzing—then opted to compose in German simply because they could craft stronger lyrics in their mother tongue. With Briegel now in place the group adopted the name Juli and started shaping material for its first album. Although the debut single “Perfekte Welle,” issued in June 2004, achieved moderate radio traction, stations pulled the track from airplay and video outlets following the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that December. Even so, the album Es Ist Juli earned favorable notices from both reviewers and listeners and ultimately surpassed half a million units sold. Together with similarly successful German-language releases from other domestic acts, Juli’s breakthrough prompted commentators to identify the band as part of an emerging scene they labeled “Deutsch Rock.” The follow-up Ein Neuer Tag arrived in 2006, and a live edition of that record surfaced the next year. After pausing for twelve months the musicians reconvened to cut their third album, In Love, which appeared in 2010 and included the singles “Elektrisches Gefühl” and “Immer wenn es dunkel wird.”