For 15 years, Pedro Goncalves Crescenti and Peter Rubel have been making pop music together. For eight of those years, they have been under a band name that bears the name of a Rhineland metropolis – even though both live, work, and study in Bochum and Essen. Their unusual band name fits their unusual music: Peter Rubel and Pedro Goncalves Crescenti sway between melancholy and lightness. The full magic of their sound unfolds at the latest when you follow their ironically-revealing lyrics, which sometimes arise in the rehearsal room and sometimes over an evening beer at home.
With wit and irony, they tell stories of "hot cigarettes," "long paths from the hallway to the enclosure," and distant places of longing in the Atlantic. In just a few words, they often address the feeling of being overwhelmed – with the world and their own lives: "Keep me out, keep me out of trouble. Because I have a feeling it doesn't mean much," they express in “Oh Mama”.<br><br>Initially, the Düsseldorf Düsterboys played for a handful of friends. In 2016, their first single "Tenerife" was released – this caught the attention of the German music scene. A concert in Berlin paved the way for even more recognition and professionalism: Maurice Summen from the Berlin music label Staatsakt invited the two singers to perform at the club “West Germany” in 2017. Two years later, Olaf O.P.A.L. produced the group's first album, which now also includes Fabian Neubauer (organ, piano) and Edis Ludwig (drums).
"Call Me Music" was released in autumn 2019 by Staatsakt. The recordings were made in an old retail space in Waltrop. In 2020, the new EP “In Winter” followed. The Düsterboys rarely sound fast and scruffy. Instead, dreamy guitar chords meet poppy organ sounds, the soft beat of a drum set contrasts with the gentle voices of the two. There are numerous pauses and changes in rhythm, passages with choral singing, playful clarinet solos.
Over the past two years, the Düsseldorf Düsterboys have played around 50 concerts in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, many of which were sold out. In 2021, the next album from their second band, International Music, will be launched, which sounds faster, louder, and more powerful compared to the Düsseldorf Düsterboys – but is no less successful: in 2018, it won the popNRW award for Best Newcomer, and in 2020, it was awarded the GEMA Music Authors Award in the Newcomer category.
