"There he is - The Hammer!"

The city of Bochum has already produced many anthems and hits. As of now, 17-year-old Marlon Hammer continues this tradition, lacing handmade singer-songwriter compositions with raw grunge guitars on his first EP "Bochum 2". The debut EP of the young singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist will be released on 23.09.2022 via energie.

The local hero quoted in the EP title (of course, including the zip code, just no longer with four digits) is just one of many, many references and inspirations that Marlon Hammer has absorbed and processed since his beginnings as a street musician a few years ago: Queen and Pink Floyd, Oasis and White Stripes, also a lot of hip-hop and even really largesized pop are listed by the young songwriter, who was already discovered in 2019 in the pedestrian zone of Bochum.

Equipped with a correspondingly large number of music and film references, he can also quite well capture his own style in a rough coordinate system: " Piano and chord sequences à la Billy Joel, one of my absolute favorite artists, also sometimes come together with Nirvana - because that's totally so my sound," says Marlon, who in the same breath cites "Grönemeyer" as a rough keystone. Per birthplace automatically in the tradition of the latter ("Bochum" is sung here constantly somewhere. In schools, in clubs, it's always being sung."), the topic of word choice/lyrics is an extremely important element for the almost five decades younger Bochumer.

His flow can also be considered the main actor of the opening track "24/7": "du musst zeitreisen können – oder so ähnlich“(you must be able to time travel - or something like that), he speculates over the massive guitar. "Ich glaub den shit den nennt man Liebe auf den allerersten Blick in dein Profil“, (I believe that shit, is called love at the very first glance in your profile) it continues about this digitally-distant form of modern/remote Love, which only exists on the screen, in the feed and in the timeline (and in one's own heart). Higher is the tempo of "Aufgewacht": In the verses, almost spoken word, narrative miniatures about lived day and night dreams, his tendency to lush grunge and indie guitar walls comes through again here as he simply takes his dreams into his own hands. Shortly before the end, "Hinter den Mauern" combines poetic images with fable constellations. He also ends this track with a question and at the very end with „Kennt ihr das?“ (Do you know this?) he once again assures himself of his mental health: hectic and driven between „Religion und Politik und wie der ganze Schwachsinn heißt“ (religion and politics and what all the bullshit is called), Marlon demands an answer to this question: „Kennt ihr das – oder bin ich ein Psychopath? (Do you know this - or am I a psychopath?).

"I started making street music really young - and the funny thing is: to this day, the street is the place where I get most excited," Marlon confesses about his beginnings in the pedestrian zone, where he first (very successfully) earned his pocket money and then was actually discovered at the age of 14. Since then, he has worked intensively on his vision and his sound - and has recently been able to thrill audiences on much larger stages without getting too excited.

That Marlon Hammer has absolutely no problem being located in the tradition of Herbert Grönemeyer is proven by the title of his first EP - "Bochum 2". The singer/songwriter, born in 2004, finds it simply fitting, after all it's about the "new generation of someone who thinks about his lyrics." The title idea came from renowned producer Moses Schneider (AnnenMayKantereit, Tocotronic, Beatsteaks, among others), with whom Marlon always brings new facets into the game on the four songs of the debut EP, deliberately making it sound "handmade and very raw." One thing is certain: a fresh wind has arisen in Bochum.