The Hamburger Schule (German for 'Hamburg School') is a music movement current in Germany during the 1980s and early 1990s. With some active bands and artists it is still present. It took up traditions of Neue Deutsche Welle and combined them with elements of indie rock, punk, grunge, experimental pop, and intellectual lyrics. It established new grounds for the use of German language in pop music. Introduction As the name indicates, the movement was initially carried by Hamburg based bands like , Kolossale Jugend, Ostzonensuppenwürfelmachenkrebs, Die Erde, Blumfeld, Selig, Tocotronic, Die Sterne, , and Die Goldenen Zitronen. Their music didn't necessarily sound similar, but was characterised by lyrics in German language (not a given in Germany) that gave voice to social criticism and were based on post-modern theory. Consequently, it was lauded by the leftist trade press (especially Spex magazine). The artists themselves didn't initially perceive these similarities to be particularly important and denied the existence of a homogeneous movement. However, social links and political cooperations suggest that it wasn't unreasonable to view it as that. Furthermore, it could be surmised that the term Hamburger Schule is a pun on the so-called Frankfurter Schule ('Frankfurt School') which is a school of neo-Marxist social theory, social research, and philosophy, centered at the Institute for Social Research (Institut für Sozialforschung) of the University of Frankfurt am Main in Germany. However, it seems more likely to be simply a clever knock at the need for legitimacy, by referencing the way all art movements are titled in German (e.g. Wiener Schule, Berliner Schule, Österreichische Schule, New Yorker Schule, etc.). Beginnings In the late 1980s, a new musical scene was emerging in Hamburg comprising a number of bands that sung in German but that had no record deals (with the exception of Die Antwort). To remedy this situation and to give the new style a platform, the record label L'Age D'Or was established in October 1988 by Carol von Rautenkranz and Pascal Fuhlbrügge. They signed contracts with many bands and published numerous albums. Many of the albums were produced by Chris von Rautenkranz, Carol's brother, in the Soundgarden recording studio in Hamburg. Another label that influenced the emerging genre was Alfred Hilsberg's What's So Funny About?, which published the first albums by Blumfeld, , and Die Erde. Another significant representative of Hamburger Schule was Andreas Mand. Soon, however, the Hamburger Schule was not restricted to