My life changed the moment I saw a bunch of German men in matching outfits singing and bobbing their heads in a music video.
I was introduced to Electric Callboy a couple years ago. A song called “We Got the Moves” was shown to me with a really weird music video. All the members of the band were wearing coordinating white shirts, pale yellow pants, rectangular glasses and ugly bowl cut wigs. All of them stood around, bobbing their heads like chickens, and next thing you know outsiders slowly walked by and reciprocated this bobbing head motion. It was a strange phenomenon, but I was mesmerized by these guys playing a heavy rock song in a backyard barbecue setting.
Hailing from Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, Electric Callboy is described as electro-metal, a mixture of electronic music and metal music, and formed in 2010. Formerly Eskimo Callboy, the band has grown a lot since their first name. Fans have addressed offensive content in old lyrics and their name, which led to the changing of their band name and their response to the comments.
The band is mostly known for their comedic songs, sexualized lyrics and music videos; but to me, they’re much more than that.
My obsession quickly went from casually listening to “We Got the Moves” to buying a physical copy of their newest album, Tekkno, and buying tickets twice for their U.S. tour.
Anytime I needed something to brighten my mood, I would guide myself to their music because their songs have such a pick-me-up feel to them. The comedy and sexual connotations in their music were apparent and catchy, but I never thought I would come across truly emotional songs. When I did, I was all that more in love with Electric Callboy.
“Prism” and “Mindreader” are two songs that have stuck out to me and brought out feelings I didn’t know this band was capable of pulling from me.
My interpretation of “Prism,” is that the subject has been knocked down and doesn’t know how to get back up. The lyrics of the song are someone talking to and reassuring the subject, empowering them once again.
The song begins with, “You are so special but so insecure with all the struggles you had to endure, you are a light caught in a prism.” Those three lines encapsulate the modern day young person, like myself, to a tee and knowing that I feel seen in this sense is an amazing feeling.
“Mindreader” is off of Tekkno and my personal favorite on the album. The idea is of that special someone that is knowingly toxic to you but you can’t get them off your mind. Granted, the general topic is a basic and used one, but the way the lyrics portray it is truly a piece of art in my opinion.
Not only is the song a work of art, but the music video is as well — literally. The video features singers Kevin Ratajczak and Nico Sallach and the imagery of the song comes from women with body paint and clothing to make them appear ghoulish and haunting. Throughout the video, they stand behind the singers, running their claws over their bodies in a powering way. While this is much different from Electric Callboy’s usual music videos, I feel it’s a very beautiful statement and visually shows the band’s diversity.
This is my official message to not judge a book by its cover, because I never would have thought a meme band would be my top three songs in my Spotify Wrapped at the end of last year. Foreign bands or artists aren’t as intimidating as they seem and you may be able to find your new favorite musicians among artists outside the U.S.
Follow Amanda Mourelatos on Twitter
