Buntspecht

The six-piece Viennese band Buntspecht embraces the absurdity of existence - and you can hear it. Musically, they refuse to be boxed in: indie pop blended with Wienerlied, gypsy jazz, funk, bossa nova, folk and klezmer. It sounds more logical than it appears on paper.

Formed in Vienna in 2016, the band recorded their debut album in a garden shed in 2018. With Unter den Masken, they scored a hit in 2019 that marked their major breakthrough, followed by a nomination for the Amadeus Award - Austria's most prestigious music prize. Since then, they have regularly charted high in the Austrian charts.

At first listen it sounds like cheerful dance music, but the melancholy in the voices reveals a philosophical edge. Frontman Lukas Klein sings about the less carefree sides of existence with a deeply soulful, distinctive voice. At the same time, tracks like Party im Schnitzelhaus and Sexy Fieber from the album Konstrukt 5 offer plenty of lightness - and it is precisely this alternation that makes the band so elusive.

On 17 April, Buntspecht comes to De Helling with new music on the horizon for 2027.