17 Hippies

17 Hippies

17 Hippies are a group from Berlin, Germany, active since 1995. They play mainly acoustic music and combine folk and pop with a range of other folk-derived styles, including klezmer and Gypsy influences. The group is known for an energetic performance style and for working with a changing but sizeable lineup centred on Berlin-based musicians.

Origins and early years

The group forms in Berlin in 1995. The original lineup includes Christopher Blenkinsop, Carsten Wegener, Lutz “Lüül” Ulbrich, Kristin “Kiki” Sauer and Reinhard “Koma” Lüderitz. They begin using the name 17 Hippies later that year. Blenkinsop, who is from Manila in the Philippines, plays bouzouki, ukulele and vocals; Wegener plays bass; Ulbrich plays banjo and guitar; Sauer plays accordion and sings; and Lüderitz plays bagpipes.

In 1996 they start organising a series of free concerts called Hippie Haus Tanz, or Hippie House Dance. Antje Henkel, Elmar Gutmann and Ulrike “Rike” Lau join at this stage on clarinet, trumpet and cello. Henry Notroff and Dirk Trageser are added in 1997, playing clarinet and guitar and vocals. Their early live recordings and rehearsal sessions are assembled on their first CD, Rock'n'Roll 13.

Recordings, touring and label work

In 1998 they perform at SXSW in Austin, Texas, then tour Texas and Louisiana. Later that year Uwe Langer joins on trombone, and the group performs in Paris for the first time. They then establish their own record label and release their second CD, Wer ist das?, in 1999. A compilation of their first two CDs, Berlin Style, is later issued by the French label Buda Musique and also appears in Italy.

Volker “Kruisko” Rettmann joins on accordion, and Kerstin Kaernbach later joins on violin. The group’s first radio hit is “Marlène”, which appears on the French album Sirba. Their first studio album, Ifni, is released in 2004, followed by extensive touring across Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Morocco and France. Daniel Friederichs joins on violin and becomes the final member of the current lineup listed for the group.

Film, theatre and international performances

17 Hippies are closely associated with the soundtrack to the 2002 German film Halbe Treppe, released in English as Grill Point. In 2001 they write the score for the film and also appear in a cameo role. They later compose music for the stage production Kasimir and Karoline, staged at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 2006.

Their second studio album, Heimlich, is released in 2007 in Europe and North America. That year they tour the United States for the first time, playing Chicago, New York, Washington and Bloomington, and also perform at the Olympia in Paris in December. In 2008 their earlier albums are released in the UK by Propper Records, and they tour the US again. They also play festivals in Germany, France, the UK, Switzerland, Greece, Spain and Algeria.

Lineup

The group’s listed members include Carsten Wegener, Lutz “Lüül” Ulbrich, Christopher Blenkinsop, Kiki Sauer, Rike Lau, Elmar Gutmann, Antje Henkel, Henry Notroff, Dirk Trageser, Uwe Langer, Volker “Kruisko” Rettmann, Kerstin Kaernbach, Daniel Friedrichs, Daniel Cordes, Romain Vicente, Knut Hagedorn, Paul Brody and Benjamin Ostarek.