Starter List: AnnenMayKantereit

AKA: My Obsession With German Bands

I’ve enjoyed creating starter lists on Threads. It’s a great way to not only introduce something new to the avid listening music community growing on the platform, it’s also a way to share some of my deeper cut favorites with those already familiar with the band/artist I’m sharing with that starter list.

Today, though, is all about a recent music obsession of mine: AnnenMayKantereit from Cologne, Germany. Many of you may be familiar with their covers of American hits like Tom’s Diner, Roxanne, and Toxic, but I’ve gone ALL IN and I’m a fan of the songs sung in their native tongue.

While they are incredible musicians, my obsession is firmly attached to Henning May’s incredible vocals. You have to listen to understand, I think. They resonate deep in your gut, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t speak a lick of German. The voice, the music, transcend language.

The three members, Christopher Annen, Henning May, and Severin Kantereit, are school friends who began busking over ten years ago. They rotate bass players every few years, but the core three have remained together as they’ve reached a state of incredible popularity in their home country and abroad. Their shows draw thousands of attendees and sell out in a flash.

They’re not indie, really, but they are relatively unknown in the USA, so I feel no shame in sharing a band that isn’t struggling. Not that I ever feel much shame for whatever I love to hear and share. LOL.

It was not easy to whittle this starter list down to ten songs. In fact, I didn’t. I allowed myself twelve to share their greatness! You can listen using Spotify or Apple Music. Find the links below.

I hope you’ll tell me what you think. I get such joy from sharing music, especially when I truly love the band/artist. And I FREAKING love AMK.

Apple Music Playlist:
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/starter-list-annenmaykantereit/pl.u-38oWXd5uYDGyzRm

Spotify Playlist: