German band kicks off SEA tour in Hanoi

For the fans: Germany’s Isolation Berlin will begin their Southeast Asia tour on November 1 in Hanoi. Photo Christian Faustus

The four-member group consist of vocalist and guitarist Tobias Bamborschke; guitarist and keyboard player Max Bauer; bass guitarist David Specht and percussionist Simeon Coster. They will perform in Hanoi, the central province of Hue; the central city of Da Nang and HCM City from November 1 to 11.

The band’s Southeast Asia tour will reach Malaysia from November 12 to 17 and the Philippines from November 18 to 25.

"This is the first time we have performed so far from Germany," said Coster at a press conference held on October 29 at the Goethe Institute in Hanoi. "We are happy to perform in Vietnam. I think performing in a distant place like Vietnam is very special. It will inspire us.”

In Vietnam, the band will perform 12 songs as an overview of their musical genres. The songs include melancholy Alles Grau (Everything is Grey), which was written by Bamborschke six years ago.

"The year I wrote this song was very bad," said Bamborschke. "Everything meant nothing but finally I found belief in life.”

"Not all of our songs convey such messages. When audiences listen to the songs they will know that they are meaningful to us. The most important thing is to tell an emotional story not a message."

Singer and songwriter Bamborschke travelled as a child from Cologne to Berlin. There he found himself in a big city where he felt invisible. He used to sing in English but soon felt he could not express himself in the foreign language.

Guitarist Bauer started playing piano and guitar at 8 years old and always dreamed of becoming a musician in a band. His dream came true when he met Bamborschke in 2011 in Berlin. They founded Isolation Berlin just two weeks later.

Since their debut Und aus den Wolkentropft die Zeit in 2016, the band have achieved just about everything that young musicians could dream of. They have received glowing reviews and attracted a huge fan base.

With their latest album Vergifte Dich, released at the beginning of the year on the prestigious Berlin indie label Staatsakt, they climbed to #30 in the charts.

Isolation Berlin will also stage an open-air performance at Ly Thai To Statue at 8.30pm on November 3 as part of the German Festival.