Young German pop band Mateo demonstrated that music is a universal language, when the musicians interacted with students studying their very own language in India and Pakistan, through tunes and in topics as international as music itself on everyday life, nature, friendship, freedom and, even break-ups. Though only passing by Chennai for a night, singing only German songs originally composed by lead vocalist Jan-Philipp Schneider, the band from Bautzen in East Germany sparked off audience interest in the tunes, though the lyrics were perhaps not entirely understood.
To the band’s unreleased song “Ich Laufe” (German for ‘I ran’), the audience learnt parts on the spot, which were recorded right away for the band’s promotional music video. To a high-adrenaline dance song, “Beweg dich” (‘Move yourself’), Jan-Philipp demonstrated what the song prompted people to do, by hopping on his seat, hands firmly pounding out tunes on the keyboard as he sang.
“In all the months I’ve spent in Chennai, I’ve heard the loudest screams tonight! In learning the German language, music is exactly what’s missing. It does a lot to help you feel the culture, come closer to it and communicate,” said Helmut Schippert, director of the Goethe Institut in Chennai, who ended the concert singing the memorable lyrics “Es ist vorbei, vorbei, vorbei…” after which he said in his best teacher’s voice on stage: “That means ‘it’s over, over, over.’”
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Learning, has just started, it seems.