Parka is a three person German indie rock band. It consists of Martin "Fly“ Fliegenschmidt (guitar, singer), Gianni Dedola (bass), and Raphael Sbrzesny (drums). The group has played with these members since the end of 2006. Their first live performance with this lineup was in the beginning of 2007.
History The three musicians from Köln, Neuss, and Stuttgart met each other in the late summer of 2006 at the University of Music and Theatre Hamburg and formed the band.Ole Seelenmeyer, Interview: Parka - German Rock & Pop Award Winner 2007, Musiker-Magazin, 01/2008 (German)
As early as 2007, shortly after the band formed, they won the German Rock and Pop Prize, the Deutscher Rock & Pop Musikverband's (German Rock & Pop Music Association) junior competition.Gewinner des Deutschen Rock & Pop-Preises 2007 (German) In the period following, they recorded their first EP "Dein Leben beginnt" ("Your Life Begins") autonomously at Tinseltown Music in Köln and played over 150 live performances before they released their second EP "Granaten aus Licht" ("Grenades of Light") in 2009. Among other things, Parka played concerts with Silbermond, Revolverheld, and Die Happy.Biografie auf regioactive.de (German)
In 2011 Parka played support for Die Happy during their tour through Germany and in autumn released their first single of the album "Oben" ("Above") as EP with two additional songs and the music video for Oben. The video clip premiered on 7 October 2011 on MyVideo. On 20 January 2012 the second single release, "Eins" ("One"), followed. The video clip reached over 70,000 viewers on MyVideo in one week and subsequently was included on television broadcaster ProSieben's website.Videoclip Parka: Eins auf Prosieben.de (German)
The self recorded and produced debut album "Raus" ("Out") was published on 24 February 2012; the single "Wieder ich" ("Me again") on 1 June.„Wieder ich“ Neue Single kommt am 1.6. Band blog, 15 May 2012. Accessed on 6. October 2012 (German) In addition, the band released the live DVD "Belagerung der Stadt Rottweil" ("Siege of the City Rottweil") on 28 September 2012, which was recorded in a historical brewery hall in Rottweil.Live-DVD „Parka + Gäste - Belagerung der Stadt Rottweil“ ab 28.9. Band blog, 25 September 2012. Accessed on 6 October 2012 (German)
Music The singer and guitarist Martin Fliegenschmidt composed and wrote each of the band's songs. Parka plays to date music only in the German language, which they justify in their belief that one can say more between the lines in their native language, and that it's more important that people understand the lyrics than it is to reach many people.Interview von mp3.de mit Parka (German) The band classifies themselves, based on statements, to "a generation, which wants to set political and social statements, but without the classic image of the enemy."NetInfect, Parka: Das neue Video zu „Eins“ (German) In the text, the band generally takes on socially critical themes.
Discography 2007: Dein Leben beginnt (EP, Self-distributed) 2009: Granaten aus Licht (EP, Tinseltown Records) 2011: Oben (Single/EP, Bullet Records) 2012: Raus (Album, Bullet Records) 2012: Wieder Ich (Single, Bullet Records) 2012: Belagerung der Stadt Rottweil (Live DVD)
External links Official Website (German)
References