Rock, pop, punk, indie and strong lyrics that easily bridge the gap between the personal and the political: Madsen have been an integral part of the German music landscape for many years.
The band is founded by the three brothers Johannes (guitar, vocals and lyrics), Sebastian (guitar and vocals) and Sascha Madsen (drums) - and Folkert Jahnke (keyboard until 2009) and Niko Maurer (bass) have to admit that the family name of the three simply makes a 1-a band name. In the 1990s, the Madsen members were already playing in groups such as Ganz Klar!, the hard rock band Alice's Gun as well as the crossover project Hoerstuatz in their home state of Lower Saxony.
With the first record deal, things take a steep upward turn
The decision to make one band out of two and to commit to one musical direction, namely indie rock with German lyrics, proves to be a wise one: in the mid-2000s, things suddenly take off for Madsen. Amazingly quickly, the boys from Wendland sign a deal with Universal, which sets the ball rolling. At the beginning of 2005 the first single "Die Perfektion" went straight into the German charts. The same goes for the following debut album, simply titled "Madsen", which only just misses the Top 20.
From now on, the stages become steadily bigger in line with the number of fans and Madsen tickets sell like hot cakes. Highly praised by colleagues and music journalists, including Tomte singer Thees Uhlmann, the band plays its way into the hearts of thousands of lovers of German-language rock music.
Madsen deliver - for almost two decades
After their debut, Madsen have been releasing one album after the next with beautiful regularity: from the second record "Goodbye Logik" (2006) to the grandiose punk album "Na gut dann nicht" (2020), every one of the seven albums released during this period reached the Top 10.
Madsen do not have one big super hit. Instead, their repertoire is made up of countless great songs - songs that rock, that touch and that encourage you to sing along. "Du schreibst Geschichte", "Nachtbaden", "Lass die Liebe regieren", "Sommerferien", "Kapitän" and "Rückenwind" are such songs. Great melodies, lyrics you can identify with and a sound that is sometimes louder, sometimes quieter, sometimes harder, sometimes softer, but always sounds like Madsen - that's what fans love about this unique German rock band.
On stage Madsen are in their element
In 2013 Madsen are coming up with something very special: Under the motto "5 Albums - 5 Nights", they will play five concerts in Hamburg, each of which will be dedicated to one of their albums released up to that point. Of course, the whole thing is recorded - for eternity and for the anniversary album "10 Years Madsen Live", which contains the best moments of the concert marathon. In the same year, the band can even be admired in the cinema, playing themselves in the music comedy "Systemfehler - Wenn Inge tanzt".
And then, of course, there are Madsen's terrific live shows, which are just unbelievable fun from start to finish. Since Folkert Jahnke left, keyboardist Lisa Nicklisch (also known from "Lisa Who") has been supporting the band. At their shows, Madsen go full throttle while the audience dances, sings and jumps until they are drenched in sweat and overjoyed. The joy of playing is clearly visible in the Wendlanders. Madsen make music out of passion and obviously enjoy being on stage and having a huge party together with the fans.
Since 2004, Madsen have evolved with every album and yet managed to stay true to themselves effortlessly. Without a doubt, this will continue in the future - with songs that will stick in the ear canals forever and concerts that will thrill and carry away the crowd.
