Selig

When Selig released their debut single "Sie hat geschrien" in 1994, it turned heads. A blend of grunge and rock with German lyrics - nobody had done that before. "I still remember how we used to sit in the Lehmitz and philosophize - that we had to blaze a trail for rock'n'roll, that we had to stand out and be exceptional," Jan Plewka recalls with a grin. "We set off with enormous confidence, nothing could touch us. We were the riders of the Apocalypse." The self-titled debut album, produced by Franz Plasa, soon brought the band their commercial breakthrough: constant rotation on music television, sold-out shows, and an Echo award.

What followed is a classic rock'n'roll story. With the far more psychedelic second album "Hier", the band was still revelling in the rockstar life - until their own success caught up with them. Shortly after the release of the third album "Blender", recorded in New York with a stronger lean toward pop, frontman Jan Plewka left the band after a falling-out. In 1999, Selig announced their split.

For nine years, Jan Plewka, guitarist Christian Neander, bassist Leo Schmidhals, and drummer Stephan "Stoppel" Eggert pursued other projects before announcing their comeback in 2008. Since then, Selig have been going stronger than ever: with "Und endlich unendlich" (2009, gold status), "Von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit" (2010), "Magma" (2013), and "Kashmir Karma" (2017), they have released four albums and landed in the German top 10 three times. They competed in the Bundesvision Song Contest, re-recorded songs from their back catalogue for "Die Besten (1994-2014)", and for the compilation "SELIG macht SELIG" invited musician friends including Wolfgang Niedecken, Johannes Oerding, and Olli Schulz to put their own spin on Selig songs.