German electro-pop emerging from Bavaria

Bavaria in Germany is well known as the home of BMW and yodeling. But now a new sound is emerging from the area – electro-pop. Munich-based band Claire have been together since 2012, and their first LP, ‘The Great Escape’, is causing something of a stir with its eclectic mix of tracks.

Florian Kiermaier, one of the band members, said: “It includes tracks which are more indie, others are more electronic, lots of bass, then there are some real pop ballads – there is lots of different music on the album.”

Fellow musician Josie-Claire Bürkle agreed: “We most certainly had the freedom to try things out, to just do what we fancied doing.”

Florian Kiermaier explained that it was a process of finding their own sound: “It was amazing to see how many different instrumental arrangements we could come up with, but in the end it is Josie’s singing that glues it all together. And that was the signal that told us we could just try lots of different things, and it would still all sound like Claire.”

Having a hit record is a dream come true but the band still have a few more wishes as Josie-Claire Bürkle revealed: “We’ve got a few festivals coming up and we’re looking forward to that, so we’re really hoping for good weather.”

Fridolin Achten added: “And a good German football team at the World Cup! That would be cool.”

After successful shows in the US and the UK, the band is touring Germany and Switzerland this summer. Their album ‘The Great Escape’ is available now.