Music – Berlin – Musicians Campino and Marteria are enthusiastic local patriots – culture

Berlin (AP) – They have long been mutual fans – and privately they are great friends: Campino (59), singer of the Düsseldorf punk rock icons Die Toten Hosen, and Marteria (39), German rap star from Rostock. At least local patriotic feelings for their home towns and regions are not at all embarrassing, as the two musicians said in an interview with the German Press Agency on the new double single “Scheiss Wessis”/”Scheiss-Ossis” (March 25).

“As a human being you can be proud of things you have created or achieved – but not of where you were born. It’s a big coincidence,” Marteria said fundamentally about patriotism. But being close to home is something else: “I always felt that as a child from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – Rostock-Lichtenhagen and so on – I had to defend myself. That’s still the case today. This city has developed really well.” That’s why he always felt a need “to say: Hello, I’m from Rostock. That’s how pride in the people and a development arise, you develop this love for your homeland.”

Campino agreed: “It’s interesting that we both have very local patriotic roots for different reasons. With the Toten Hosen, we also stand for Düsseldorf in a special way and are happy when the garbage collectors say “Hello guys…” to us in the morning. say hello. Then we know that everything is still right here. It’s also easier for me to talk about my hometown than about Germany.”

Both artists, however, also find a lot of good things about their state. “Germany is a country worth living in – you’ll find plenty of people here who are cool and creative,” said Campino. “And there is a good, self-critical examination of things. Sure, we have a lot of idiots here, but what country can’t boast them?” For Marteria, “it’s of course a huge thing – especially for people from the new federal states – to live in a democratic society, to have freedom. Democracy is always worth fighting for, it’s something wonderful.”

Despite their age difference, Campino and Marteria have much more in common than what separates them. Differences in origin are “things that we found mutually exciting,” said the singer. And with music, the boundaries are fluid anyway. For Marteria, the spirit and attitude of punk and hip-hop are “very close together”. Campino also immediately thinks of examples, such as the British band The Clash. “This shows that the movements have a lot to do with each other.”