WILLMAN

In the artist's words:

Gender roles? Nope! Complete curriculum vitae? Nope! Perfect morning routine? Nope! WILLMAN would much rather say "yes" to themselves, even at the risk of being uncool. Anyone who gets in the way of the duo on their way to uncompromising self-acceptance will be met with a snotty "Fuck you". With rap-smooched empowerment pop anthems, Jo (vocals, synth) and Felix (drums) give dusty norms, foreign expectations and constant self-optimization the middle finger on their new EP "Ich bin Ich" (release date 18.10.2024). True to the motto: "How I was / how I am / is already leading somewhere."

The songs by the Freiburg duo cling directly to the heart with powerful beats and honest lyrics. Once they've taken hold, they won't let go, making their way into your head and causing quite a ruckus. Who am I if I can really be anything? And what if it's not so easy after all? WILLMAN confidently wrap up questions about the search for identity, setting personal boundaries and mental health in danceable tracks and - equipped with a good dose of courage - also sing about self-doubt and insecurities. The duo has already proven in the past that this not only works excellently on record, but is also a blast live. From festival gigs (including Open Flair, Sound of the Forest, ZMF, Netflix Pride Hub) to performances in front of several thousand people at climate strikes and CSDs to supporting rapper Nura: WILLMAN's self-confident sound world embraces its listeners and shakes them up at the same time - musical group therapy meets empowerment circle.

WILLMAN - that's Jo (vocals, synth, songwriting & co-producing) and Felix (drums, producing & co-writing). Both were born in the 90s in different corners of the Black Forest, where they still live and make music today. Felix has been playing drums since childhood, while Jo tried her hand at the flute, piano and clarinet before developing a passion for songwriting and singing. The two crossed paths in 2019 when Jo was looking for a drummer for a debut album. The originally planned solo project turned into the idea of a joint pop duo and to the question "Do you want to or don't you want to?" they both answered "Yes, I do". WILLMAN is born.

With their successful debut long-player "100qm2", WILLMAN are nominated for the 2021 Pop Culture Award as the most exciting newcomer and receive three awards at the 2021 German Rock & Pop Award. A year later, the duo gained enormous attention with an awareness campaign for their song "Alkohol". This is followed by the all-FLINTA EP "Mein Thron" (2023), for which Jo and Felix collaborate with at least one female or non-binary feature artist on each song - including Charly Klauser (drums/percussion for Carolin Kebekus, Petery Maffay and many more), Vroni Frisch (bass for MINE and others) and rapper Finna. In addition to the release of the new EP "Ich bin Ich" on October 11, WILLMAN have planned their first headlining tour through Germany for fall 2024. The duo is also part of this year's PopCamp, a high-level support program for newcomers run by the German Music Council.