A warm sound and the groove that puts you in the best mood, the Haferflocken Swingers is a one of a kind party highlight! This underground swing band based in Berlin has gained the reputation of bringing its audiences high energy shows with great original music. The band keeps the music colorful by maintaining a fun mix between many genres ranging from big band swing, with a hint of Rock n’Roll to blues and boogie and a dash of Calypso and brass band music. Large influences have been New Orleans traditional jazz and Louis Prima´s jiving swing band of the 1950´s. From the beginning, one of the founders and existing member of the band Talis Mortalis developed a very authentic spirit of jazz close to the roots. The music at the start was traditional tunes from New Orleans but with a Berliner punk/rock twist appropriate for its surroundings. Throughout the years the band expanded its formation and its repertoire to klezmer, tango and balkan music, often mixing up to three styles in one song. This mix of music paved the way for original compositions and inspired a theatrical dimension to the live show adding to the authenticity of the sound. Today the band has flourished into a professional sextet delivering shows for all stages, ages and different audiences. Its members are from 5 nationalities and each brings his/ her little piece of culture to the group. Besides concerts and street performances the group has also taken part in many side projects such as theatre pieces, cabaret and short/ full length films. “Each time an uninhibited explosion of good vibes and spontaneity!” (Tagesspiegel Berlin)”. Come and see for yourself! Now a little bit about the band history. Created in 2001 with initially 2 members (Talis Mortalis & Jimmy Mohan) Haferflocken swingers was at first a side-show put together to sell second hand clothes, it was at the time called the rabbitz of breakdance, Jimmy is indeed a very strong player that will literally make a show out of anything and he is famous for busting the most crazy moves while playing the clarinet. Shortly after that Flocko Motion joined in on the upright bass founding the first rhythm section of the band. the firsts Albums of the bands have been recorded during this period also involving other players who joined in for some time (like Max on the drum-suit) or just happened to be around during the recording (like on ‘Nagazaki Stomp’ featuring the US saxophone player Kevin Buster). 2006-2008 The recording of ‘Hunting down Rambo in Texas’ assembled a new combo with a musical direction leaning more towards Gypsy swing with Dylan on the solo guitar and Hanna on the violin. Shortly after the recording Andrea entered the band as main vocalist and clarinet player. The band recorded then their first demo featuring their version of ‘undecided’ which they kept on playing for years after that. At this point the musical direction was already shifting and some tensions within the band led to new members coming in and other living. Florent happened to meet the band at this time and brought the saxophone tenor. very shortly after that arrived Ophelie who completed the rhythm section and thus allowed the band to take off creatively with a solid ground for home grown compositions. By the summer 2006, the 5 band mates went on to Amsterdam where Clay Windham, a New Orleans guitar/bass player just put together his own recording studio. He knew Talis and offered the opportunity to record their first original album ‘smells like jazzmen’ with songs like ‘Rue Blondel’, ‘Horny Walker’ or ‘Falafel Wrap’. In the coming fall, Gal on the trombone completed the band and brought the fire to the horn section establishing the sextet as the winning formula for the Haferflocken Swingers. The Bands grew a lot in the coming year with intense shows all over Berlin and around. By the next year, they were ready to record a new Album. The chance to to get a high quality recording was at this point a very illusive ambition considering the average income of the band but thanks to a music loving sound engineer they could record their new album on high hand equipment but it had to be over a period of three days… that’s how the album ‘Nightbirds’ came into existence with the songs ‘Heart Shaped Cake’, ‘Sheep Stomp’ and ‘Neuköllnski’. In this year the band went on traveling further than they ever did first with a trip to New Orleans where they got to meet local bands and perform for them during Mardi Gras. This was a particularly enriching experience for the band as far as spirit and musicality all together. They went after that to Nizza, Paris and eventually Israel each time relying on a couple of local contacts and make the most of their stay. 2009 and up The Band took on a new musical direction with the arrival of three new members in the band, first Toto on the drums brought a jazz touch to the drum sound allowing to dig up the vintage sound in a more careful way. Bots on the trumpet and trombone fit in right away. He was already familiar with the all crew and has a natural knack for stage performance which constitutes a Haferflocken requirement. Finally Johannes ‘Johnny Walker’ on the bass applied his intricate understanding of harmony and composition to take the bands original repertoire to a whole new level of musicality. Together they put the album “Midnight Boogie” which represent the labor of two years of touring and composition, an other great piece of music from this unique band.