Mike Litt in conversation with Love Machine

How's it going, Düsseldorf?

Our podcast "Alle Rhein" for culture in times of Corona. What Mike Litt wants to know: How did the talk guests perceive the surreal times? What has changed for them? What projects are they working on now?
In episode 22, Mike talks to singer Marcel and guitarist Felix from the band Love Machine.

Some great bands that have written or continue to write pop history come from Düsseldorf: Kraftwerk, Die Toten Hosen... to name just a few. The band of the hour? Love Machine!

On their new album "Düsseldorf - Tokyo", Love Machine tell the story of a grubby and crazy Düsseldorf. The hometown becomes the setting for stories about addiction and crashing, as well as those about sobering up and friendship. "Everything experienced first-hand in the local field of tension between mundanity and trash," says the album info. The band around singer Marcel Rösche delivers a personal inventory and bows deeply to the "wondrous city on the Rhine".

Love Machine combine the feeling of "now" with all kinds of different sounds from the past. It never sounds "retro"! Always surprising and fresh. Although the cover of "Düsseldorf - Tokyo" features a number of Japanese characters, the lyrics are mainly in German. It could be summarized as "oddball rock music with German lyrics". The honest photos of Düsseldorf that characterize the album artwork were taken by Düsseldorf photographer Markus Luigs.

One picture remains: At night on Worringer Platz, Düsseldorf glows in neon light! In an interview with Mike Litt, singer Marcel and guitarist Felix explain why this is the case, why Düsseldorf's old town is a mythical place and why it became the birthplace of the band.

Our host

Mike Litt was born in the US state of Virginia and lived in Bochum for many years. The globetrotter usually works in Cologne but lives with his family in the beautiful Düsseltal district of Düsseldorf. He is a radio presenter (1Live, WDR 2, DLF Nova), a DJ with Mayday festival experience and an author (‘The loneliest DJ in the world’). For our podcast, he holds fascinating conversations with other people from Düsseldorf’s cultural scene.

Photos
Cover photo: © Photo: Markus Luigs
Mike Litt: © [email protected]
Music / Sound: Christian Moster / Mike Litt