Die Damen und Herren Daffke (D)

The Ladies and Gentlemen Daffke – Finest chansons of the 1920s
For a long time, the old Barkas B-1000 (a truck from GDR-times) stood forgotten in an old barn in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. “The Ladies and Gentlemen Daffke” had a better idea: since 2021, the Barkas is touring Germany as the “Daffke – traveling stage” bringing the flair of the 1920s to every backyard and the edge of every meadow.

Four voices and a piano – “The Ladies and Gentlemen Daffke” tell stories about life, some loud, some quiet, always honest, always with passion and sometimes with a drop of rum.

Since the ensemble was founded in summer 2014, Friederike Kühl (vocals), Franziska Hiller (vocals), Dennis Kuhfeld (vocals), Markus Paul (vocals) and Ilan Bendahan Bitton (piano) have been forcefully interpreting the songs of Jewish and ostracized composers. They balance artfully at the interface between political song, operetta kitsch and movie hits bringing the musical melting pot of the 1920s to the boil once again. For the audience, the rumbling becomes audible and the ambivalence of the music of the Weimar Republic almost palpable.