Where is Home?

We are currently in Germany visiting family. As usual, we keep it short and sweet because we do not have a place to stay for long, since our parents live in small apartments. We did not grow up in these places, so there is no feeling of homecoming. It is just about seeing our remaining parents, which becomes more precious every year.

Home is, after all, relative. We’ve spent more years of our adult lives in the U.S. than in Germany. So, New York is our home, even though we have no family here. Do I envy those who gather with their relatives for the holidays? Sure, but everyone’s life is different, and I don’t regret our decision to move to New York.

As a music blog run by two Germans, we often think about featuring more artists from our home country. Sometimes, German artists catch our attention at festivals or through PR pitches. However, these are the few acts that put in extra effort to go international. Finding emerging local artists, though, remains difficult. Even our 20-something goddaughters and their sisters haven't been much help so far.

There is a global trend to favor local languages, which can limit international exposure. While protecting local culture is important, maintaining a global connection is also necessary. Maybe bilingual albums are the way forward? But please keep bilingual songs simple, as they can be irritating if you only understand one of the languages.

However, after some research, we identified five songs from our old home country that embody German music, at least from our point of view.

Next week we’ll be mostly traveling, so we’ll have a shorter newsletter.

Five Songs from Germany

Listen to glamglare five songs on Spotify, Apple Music, or below on YouTube.

• The Marlboro Man is long gone from the billboards, but people still smoke. That gives “Marlboro Mann,” a collaboration between the Dresden duo ÄTNA and Berlin rapper Romano, a nostalgic feel. The song also features minimalistic spoken lyrics, experimental electronic sounds, and a good dose of irony — all hallmarks of German music since Kraftwerk times.
• The Hamburg band TYNA can also be linked to the rise of German rock music as part of the Neue Deutsche Welle movement. Guitars, synths, and lyrics with social criticism bring Ideal to mind.
• In the 90s, German indie rock bands gained significant radio attention with English lyrics, polished production, and catchy songs that stuck in your head. The Munich band Kytes continues in that tradition.
• While techno and electronic dance music were not invented in Germany, Berlin has always been a global hub for powerful, club-ready tracks. The Leipzig-based singer, songwriter, and producer MARIA Die RUHE incorporates dance music production into pop songs, such as the collaboration with Le Lys, “Wonderland.”
• Aggressive Swans are a duo of two skilled musicians from Munich, who we featured several times on glamglare. Their latest single, “Overtryer,” starts with Radiohead vibes before turning into an energetic indie rock track.

Song Pick of the Day

Listen to/watch all seven songs on YouTube. Follow our daily updated playlists on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify for the 50 latest Song Pick of the Day features, or subscribe here to receive them in your mailbox in real-time. Thank you for following us and sharing the excitement.

• Jangly and joyfully defiant, “Born In The Wild End” plants a confident third flag for Hartlepool’s Champ — raw, melodic, and impossible to shake.
• Scarlet Nicole turns pain into power in her dark pop single “Poison,” singing, “I turn your poison into medicine.”
• “Reflex” drifts through memory and melody alike — a mellow, vocoder-kissed reverie where Micah Sage turns the ache of letting go into something beautifully haunting.
• Trust your instinct, not the plan. Casey Conroy’s “Long Drive” is a tender alt-pop anthem for anyone ready to take a leap.
• “Icarus” by Alex Frankel takes off from the heart of New York — shimmering, soulful, and ready for the dance floor.
• Beverly Hell steps out of the matrix and into the sunlight with “Neo” — radiant pop with heart and escape in every beat.
• Ellur turns pain into poetry on “The World Is Not An Oyster,” a lush, slow-burning anthem of growth, heartbreak, and healing.

Three Albums Out This Week

• DEATH HAGS, aka Lola G, is a Los Angeles/New York-based musician who has embarked on the epic seven-album project BIG GREY SUN. The fifth installment came out as an extended version this summer and is full of melodic, retro-futuristic tracks that transport you into a different world.
• The New-Orleans duo Mercy Land calls themselves “starcrossed lovers chasing a crumbling dream,” and that describes their music perfectly: romantic, nostalgic, with a dose of melancholy. Their debut EP Termites came out last Friday.
• The Amsterdam singer/songwriter néomí is a glamglare regular. Her new EP Another Year Will Pass is an intimate reflection of her personal struggles.

Nine Photos From Terminal 7 to the Alps

When we headed to JFK yesterday for our trip to Germany, I had no idea what photos to feature this week. Should I dive into the archives—or was something I’d recently captured good enough? Then Oliver suggested I focus on the journey itself, and I instantly regretted not having started to document it from the get-go.

But as it turns out, even a travel day offers its own little stories: a quiet moment at Terminal 7, the clouds and colors up in the air, a tricky digital puzzle of a Santorini sunset, and even a touch of Parisienne charm in a Dublin airport café.

Now, from our cozy hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, I’m glad I kept snapping along the way. I hope you enjoy these impressions from the road (and sky) as much as I do.