Brave beats

The slender man is bent over his soup in a corner of the hotel restaurant. His pork pie hat is pulled down to hide his eyes. Meet Sepalot. Real name: Sebastian Weiss.

The 37-year-old from Bavaria recently spent a month and a half promoting his latest solo album "Chasing Clouds," with DJ sets from one end of Germany to the other. His last stop was in Duisburg.

After over 10 years of touring with the band Blumentopf, one wonders where he finds the energy to keep up.

"Variation is the most important thing," said Weiss. "When you write something, it's great to get feedback straight away when you perform it. But, if I'm honest, I see myself more as a studio artist than a DJ out at night."

Without the boys

Weiss' day job is making the beats for one of Germany's most successful hip hop groups, Blumentopf (Flower Pot). The band from southern Germany has been around for well over a decade now, but Weiss' solo reputation has really only taken off in the last few years.

That has a lot to do with his ability to create unique sounds. For the Blumentopf song, "Die Bretter, die die Welt bedeuten," Weiss sampled skateboard sounds to create the beat. The new solo album also has plenty of tricks that hip hop connoisseurs will enjoy.

"That was always what tied me to this music. It wasn't the egos, it wasn't the rappers. It was the beat and the instrumentals," Weiss told Deutsche Welle.

Still, the songs on "Chasing Clouds" are almost completely devoid of any electronic influences. That was a conscious decision according to the artist.

A positive reaction

In Duisburg, Sepalot was the headline act at High 5, a temporary club set up in a closed-down movie cinema in downtown Duisburg.

Sarah, in the audience, follows Sepalot's career closely. "He likes a fusion of different styles. It's not your average hip hop, that's for sure," she said. Max, also from Duisburg, is a convert too. "He's a cool German hip hop artist with a bit of a brain. His songs can get you thinking, or sometimes, they're just a good laugh."

Sepalot's DJ set this Friday night varies from old school hip hop to songs from his new album. Occasionally, he confuses the dance floor completely with a track no one seems to know. But, he keeps his eyes on his laptop and turntables and doesn't seem too bothered.

Doing it differently

Having just become a father, it was quite a challenge to get "Chasing Clouds" done on time, Weiss admitted. In the middle of it all, he also managed to produce a mini-album called "Beat Konducta Bavaria" in just three weeks. The CD, which is free to download online, contains traditional Bavarian music set to modern day hip hop beats.

"There's no point being over-arty," he explained. "If the basic idea is good, then leave it as it is. And if it's average, then sometimes it's better to throw the idea away, instead of working on it for ages."

Uncompromising, devoted to the music, down to earth: that's Sepalot. Whether "Chasing Clouds" gets him the credit he deserves - that will be seen in the record sales over the next months. One thing is for sure though: Sebastian Weiss won't be too worried either way.

Author: André Leslie

Editor: Kate Bowen