Gorilla Club

In the organizer's words:

Gorilla Club was founded by Stefanie Schrank and Björn Sonnenberg as the children's music incarnation of the Cologne indie pop institution Locas In Love. After contributing a song to the successful children's music series "Unter meinem Bett" in 2018, the band released their debut album 1-2-3-4! (Oetinger audio), the band presented a mix of styles and themes that struck a chord with children and parents - and became a surprise hit in children's rooms and family car radios. In their songs and at concerts, Gorilla Club meet children at eye level, a bit like cool big siblings with electric guitars, synthesizers and loud drums - and they completely leave behind categories such as 'for children' or 'for adults'.

Since then, a lot has changed for the band and in the world at large: Some Gorilla Club members have since become parents themselves, and a global pandemic has upended the everyday life we all knew, sometimes bringing it to a frustrating and exhausting halt. And during the corona lockdowns from spring 2020 to early 2021, the 13 songs from the second album OK COOL!

Producing new music became a consolation, pleasure, meeting and coping strategy for the band, whose activities were almost completely restricted - and they are now inviting everyone else to do the same. It is indeed a comforting album, one that is both embracing and entertaining. The Gorillas remain true to their stance: they do not offer an entertainment program for children, but a collection of unusual, colourful and smart pop songs with which they enter into conversation with children. They do this sometimes in an absurd, sometimes in a nerdy, sometimes in a jubilant, sometimes in an introverted way, starting with a non-fiction groove song about octopuses in "Facts about Octopods" and culminating in the lullaby "In Bed" performed in seven different languages. It becomes clear that the band members were equally socialized with the "Sendung mit der Maus", the Beastie Boys and Blondie, with the Pixies, The Cure and "Sesame Street", with the B-52s, the Flaming Lips, the "Muppet Show" and Kraftwerk. The gorilla cosmos around the characters Pina (a kiwi) and Kurt (a ringworm) is now expanded to include Gomi, a friendly creature from outer space who performs an entire song in outer space language. Both the poetic depth that keeps flashing up and the joy of anarchic nonsense are not an end in themselves with Gorilla Club: the clever and funny thing about their music is their knowledge of the cleverness and wit of children. This is where the Gorillas pick up their young fans, with melody-loving and playful stories about food, arguments, animals, cities, memories, movies and friendship. On OK COOL!, Gorilla Club present their listeners with a wonderful, surprising and extremely entertaining mix, accompanied by guests from fellow bands such as Arab Strap, Die Nerven, International Music, Jenobi, AnnenMayKantereit, Klee and Die Höchste Eisenbahn. (Not only) children's music album of the year 2021!

An event organized by the Youth Welfare Office of the City of Dortmund.

Children's tickets: €8.50 plus fees in advance. 10 € at the Box Office.
Adult tickets: €13.50 plus fees in advance. 15 € at the Box Office.

Price information:

Advance booking