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MIC article: SEBASTIAN STURM at "Summerjam" 2012

08.07.2012

Interview with SEBASTIAN STURM at "Summerjam" 2012
in Cologne, Germany

After he was successful as a part of the band JINJIN, the German Reggae artist SEBASTIAN STURM is now touring with EXILE AIRLINE!
In the interview the sympathetic guys from Aachen told me about his album "Get Up And Get Going", his new band and his collaboration with JAHCOUSTIX:

Last autumn you released you third album "Get Up And Get Going".
And it contains a song, that you wrote for your daughter, and that you recorded together with one of your idols. Can you tell us about that?

Yes, itīs the song "Tear Down the Walls". It was written for my daughter. And then we had the connection to KIDDUS I, well known from the movie ROCKERS. And he was in Cologne in our studio. I gave him some songs and he chose that one, I donīt know why. Now when I listen to the song, he takes over the second verse and Iīm singing for my daughter and he seems like my old uncle singing for me, from generation to generation. This is interesting. I enjoyed that cooperation and Iīm really, really proud of that.

With the new album there also came a band for you. Can you tell us about EXILE AIRLINE?

Yes, it was a big chance. During the last few years I was touring with the JINJIN-Band, my own band. It was five years of joy and fantastic concerts and we did two album. But when we started to make the third album, I felt like: "Okay, maybe itīs just the same like the second one". So I start to work with some other guys. Philip Breitenbach for example, heīs the lead guitar player of my new band. So I decided: "Okay, come on, letīs put yourself together with some new fresh heads and use the different influences just to create some new own stuff or to do some experiments". And thatīs what I like with EXILE AIRLINE. These guys are really crazy, they can play jazz, they can play funk. So everything is possible. I donīt know what will happen with the next album. Right now we got a lot of concerts and itīs groovy. Letīs see, what the next album will bring.

You are born in Aachen, Germany. How did you get from Aachen to Reggae music?

Itīs nothing special. When I was 19, I started to listen to Bob Marley and so I got infected by Reggae. After that I changed everything.

In 2010 you recorded the song "Live Today" together with JAHCOUSTIX, who is perfoming at the SUMMERJAM, too. How was it for you to work with him?

I love that Bro! He helped me on my second album. He sings with me the song "invitation". It was a lot of fun to work with him. And then it was my time to feature his new album.
I liked that experiment with the acoustic style in the song "Live Today". We performed it on stage together only once, but Iīm looking forward to do it again.

Photo: Kati Rausch
Article: Kati Rausch

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