Buntspecht

Austrian indie pop band sings with passion about the absurdism of life.

Sometimes you shouldn't try to understand everything in life. Sometimes you have to join hands with the absurdity of life and simply accept the chaos. At least, that is how the six-piece Buntspecht from Austria sees it. A conviction that permeates every facet of the band, because musically, too, they refuse to be pigeonholed. Indie pop mixed with a concoction of Wienerlied, gypsy jazz, funk, bossa nova, folk, and klezmer. And yes, it really sounds more logical than it sounds.

From recording their debut album in a garden shed in 2018 to a nomination for an Amadeus Award, Austria's most prestigious music prize: since their formation in Vienna in 2016, Buntspecht has grown into one of Austria's most prominent indie acts. With the song *Unter den Masken* , they scored a hit in 2019 that marked their major breakthrough. Since then, they have regularly hovered at the top of the Austrian charts.

At first listen, Buntspecht might sound like innocent, cheerful dance music perfect for letting loose with your hips, but the melancholy in the band members' voices betrays a philosophical edge lurking beneath the surface. With a deeply soulful, distinctive voice, frontman Lukas Klein sings about the less lighthearted sides of existence, as if he has been reincarnated on earth countless times. For the band, however, things don't have to be so serious. In songs like Party im Schnitzelhaus and Sexy Fieber from their latest album Konstrukt 5, there is plenty of room for lightness, and it is precisely this refreshing variation that makes the band so elusive.

New music is planned for 2027, with which Buntspecht will come to disrupt De Helling on April 17. In the best possible way.