In the Randomised Record series, I take us both on an adventure to (re)discover my record collection. Fate decides: whether it be that obscure grunge album I bought recently or that emo rap record from 2017. Nothing is safe from the hands of the randomiser! I will listen to the entire album and highlight my favourite song off of it here on the blog. Do I still enjoy my records as much as when I bought ‘em? Let’s find out. Today, episode 30: ‘Niveau Weshalb Warum’ (2015) by Deichkind.

Time to wrap up this series and what better way to do so than with a bunch of German hip-hop. The final episode of this Randomised Record series takes us to Hamburg, where we meet a somewhat surprising favourite act of mine: Deichkind. My enthusiasm surrounding this group started all the way back in 2013, when I was preparing myself to go to my first ever proper big festival: Sziget. The Germans were announced on the bill and after deciding to give ‘Leider geil’ (meaning something along the lines of ‘unfortunately nice’) a spin, I couldn’t have thought it would kick off this very odd fandom that I’m still happily upholding in 2025.

Just like yesterday’s album by The Parlotones, Deichkind also happened to be at the cradle of my record collection. Back when I didn’t have a record player yet, I occasionally bought CDs to play on my dad’s stereo. The German’s 2012 album ‘Befehl von ganz unten’ (featuring the aforementioned ‘Leider geil’) got welcomed in my collection very early on and certainly meant I had become quite the fan of this group. As I mentioned before here on the blog in 2023, I have quite a soft spot for German hip-hop. Deichkind, K.I.Z., Blumentopf. All have gotten my seal of approval in the past. The binding factor that connects all these groups is that none make stereotypical hip-hop as we know it. As we’ve established this month by sharing Mario Kartel, I’m not all too fussed about the serious stuff (never mind all the Lil Peep that’s in the playlist, whoops!) but instead tend to take a liking to the more alternative stuff, perhaps more light-minded and poppy, even. Add to the mix that I’ve got an interest in regional music (I’m quite the geography nerd) and it all explains my affection towards Deichkind. The fact that I speak a bit of German certainly makes understanding this music a lot easier, though that never stopped me from exploring music from all over the world (insert Finnish rap group Raptori’s banger ‘Oi Beibi’).

‘Niveau Weshalb Warum’ is the band’s sixth album and the second to be added to my record collection. I’ve made it a challenge to collect a copy of each of Deichkind’s albums and I’m nearly there! Except for the band’s latest releases ‘Wer Sagt Denn Das?’ (2019) and ‘Neues Vom Dauerzustand’ (2023), I’ve added each album to my collection. Listening to today’s album, which is one I probably know the best out of all of Deichkind’s albums, really reminds me that I should try and collect those final 2 albums, too.

Twice I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Deichkind live: back in 2013 at that Sziget Festival and two years later during Rock am Ring, the same festival where I saw another one of my beloved acts perform: K.I.Z.. Fast forward ten years and a bit more to the south of Germany, at Nürnberg’s Rock im Park, and I managed to catch the latter group once more. Last month, me and my mate tagged along some of our newly made German friends and I managed to impress them by singing along with some of my favourite K.I.Z.-tunes. They certainly didn’t see that one coming! Wait ’til me and my broken German take them to a Deichkind gig and I’ll be singing their socks off.

Well then, I think that’s where we should call it. It was a blast rediscovering my own record collection and sharing some memorable stories with you here on the weblog. I hope you enjoyed this tiny insight in my steadily growing record collection. I personally very much enjoyed recalling some long forgotten memories and playing records I hadn’t touched in literal years. Once again, I’m grateful for you checking out this weblog and reading the stories I’m blasting out on here. I know it might not seem like much, but I truly do appreciate you checking it out! In the end, I’m just some random dude sharing stories on the internet about music he finds interesting, and I’m happy you’re (hopefully) enjoying it as much as I do. Thanks again for checking out this Randomised Records series (I’ll promise to work on a better title for next year) and see you around on the blog!