They look like a typical boy band – young, handsome and all smiles despite a 24-hour journey and a whirlwind tour of Kolkata. They being the jazz band Jazzkomplott, who were in the city on the second stop of their Indian tour. The band plays instrumental jazz and is made up of Hendrik Krause (bass), Christian Lippert (lead), Clemens Litschko (drums), Konrad Litschko (keyboard) and Hannes Roessler (saxophone). They have been playing as a band since their teenage years and have been in the business of making music for a decade. Here's what the band had to say on music and more…
How didJazzkomplottcome about as a band?
We (Hannes and Konrad) were 12 years old and were students at a music school when we started the band as a project under the aegis of our music teacher. We played in the school for about three years and then branched out on our own. We were joined by the others. Our most recent addition is our bass guitarist Hendrik who joined the band a few days before our tour to India.
What is the theme behind your latest albumKantich Schon?
Well, the title of the album is a play on words and translates as something that is known but repackaged. This title also applies to our music. Although, we have been playing for several years we are constantly seeking to redevelop and redesign ourselves.
How about your albumGruppentherapie?
Gruppentherapie translates as group therapy and talks about our journey when we discovered ourselves as musicians. Also music is our therapy. Finally, we are a close-knit group of friends and being together as a band brings its share of tensions and joys and this tension and its subsequent release is captured in our album.
Is there an underlying theme or social message behind your compositions?
We are not a political band. Every band member composes songs and hence each song comes with its own set of influences, thoughts and feelings. There is a story behind each song. Also, given that we are an instrumental jazz band with no vocals, our music is subject to interpretation from the audience.
So who's the romantic in the group?
(Laughter all around). Definitely Hendrik. He even wrote a song called Am I Sensitive . It's about love and breakups. (Hendrik blushes).
You have two siblings in the group (Clemens and Konrad). Is there any siblingrivalry/tension?
Of course not. (Laughter erupts). Well, we are more friends than brothers. It's like having a friend that you've known forever in your band.
There's a bit of struggle especially during tours that the rest of the band finds amusing but it never lasts for more than 10 minutes!
You've been playing since you were teenagers. How do you handle your success and stay disciplined?
As a band, we've simply focussed on making good music and not on any particular marketing strategy. Everything else just happened along the way. When we meet to practice, it's not just as a band but more as a group of friends. In fact we always relax and chill out exchanging stories. We are interested and involved in each other's lives. We have different backgrounds and interests (Clemens and Hendrik are music students; Christian is in product marketing; Hannes is a medical student and Konrad is a journalist).
Your message foryoungistan?
Follow your passions, believe in them and don't give up. That's what we did and we're in India today!
