KNIFEFIGHT!

KNIFEFIGHT! is a Folk/Punk/Black Metal group from Cologne and Leipzig, Germany. We play our own version of traditional music, influenced by punk rock energy, good times and poetry. Knifefight! is about folk songs, friendship and good times. Our music is influenced by old-time songs, murder ballads, story-telling and upbeat punk tunes. We play traditional songs and our own songs. The lyrics cover topics such as anger, forgiveness, heartbreak, the apocalypse and death. We play and have played in the streets, in living rooms, on stages, in theaters, cinemas and anywhere you want us to play. In 2008, Ben and Simon, two friends who had met a year before at a Folk show in Belgium, started messing around with a few traditional Folk songs which they would occasionally play for friends. In addition to the traditional tunes they would throw in a few covers of punk classics, stripped down to an acoustic guitar, two vocals and an occasional tin whistle. Soon they started writing their own material. Band history: The idea of starting a band came after they spontaneously hit the open stage at a summer festival, which turned out to be a lot of fun. The rest is history, one could say, yet the story of Knifefight! developed further. After playing multiple shows all over Germany, they decided to record four songs for their debut 7” release in 2010, entitled AFTER THE WAKE. For this project they had asked their friend and fellow musician Maria to accompany them on violin on the recording. While Maria’s performance was initially intended as a guest appearance, she became a full member of the band as the chemistry was just perfect. Many fun shows followed, from bars and cinemas to large stages, basements and living rooms. They shared stages with acoustic artists such as ANNEN-MAY-KANTEREIT, AUSTIN LUCAS, BROOK PRIDEMORE, DES ARK, THE REAL MCKENZIES, COWBOY POETRY, SINK FRANATRA!, BLACK RIBBON, BORGAARD, RADIKAL SATAN, as well as with many bands from the DIY hardcore and hip hop scene such as ANTILOPEN GANG, LES TRUCS, PLANKS, GLASSES, BIRDS IN ROW, LIGHT BEARER, TRAINWRECK and countless more. The stripped-down approach continued to define the sound of the band and in January 2011 they were joined by their old friend and partner-in-crime Marc on 5-string banjo for a weekend tour of Zeeland, NL. Marc also became a full member and his banjo added a great technical and melodic element to the music, plus his jokes would make sure that the band no one would end up depressed while on the road. After a series of enjoyable shows the band finished writing enough material for their first full-length release. They packed up the van with all the acoustic instruments they could get a hold of and headed for the South of France to record. After roughly ten days of recording, which proved to be demanding both physically and emotionally, they had managed to create a high-quality DIY recording of 13 songs which would form what became the album “THE BLACKENED RYE”. The record was mixed and mastered at The Atomic Garden Studios in the San Francisco Bay Area in California and self-released in August 2012. The band toured more extensively from 2012 until today and managed to make a lot of new friends and to heighten their profile in the process. In 2013, they released a split 7″ with their good friend and outstanding Canadian singer-songwriter OLDSEED. Knifefight’s music wants to build a link between traditional songwriting, punk energy and topics originated in love, death, freedom and radical politics. to be continued… Four DIY punks from Germany and the Netherlands who play Folk songs. http://knifefightfolk.wordpress.com https://twitter.com/knifefightfolk