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Ginga

Augarten, 2010

One day in spring this year, Hubert Weinheimer of the Viennese band Das trojanische Pferd told us in utter excitement about a band he had discovered, an Austrian band that was strangely enough better known in Belgium than in Austria, although they had already released an album including compelling pop songs like „Fashion“ or „Cinnamon“. In May, Ginga played a memorable and much acclaimed show at Popfest in Vienna and since then can count on a steadily growing fanbase and jubilant press reviews, tagging the band as „the next big thing“ from Austria. We meet Alex, Klemens, Emanuel and Matthias in late August during their photo shoot for the Austrian pop-culture magazine The Gap (just in case you wonder about the white canvas) to film them perform the last two songs of their re-recorded and re-released debut album „They Should Have Told Us“ in the beautiful Augarten park. Despite the laid-back park setting the four guys easily get across the energy, intensity and great pop appeal of their songs; indeed so much that a group of excited kids follows them for a while after the end of the session, hoping for more songs to come.

Camera
Michael Luger
Sound Recording
Matthias Leihs
Post production
Michael Luger
Photography
Nikolaus Ostermann
Artist
Ginga

Augarten

The oldest baroque garden in Vienna is 52 hectares big and lies in the second district Leopoldstadt. The former meadow (“Au” in German) served as an imperial hunting ground and gardens before it was opened for the public in 1775. Along gravel paths various alleys lead through Augarten that offers besides beautifully-to-look-at gardens enough green space to chill, have a picnic or do sports. Most striking are the two Flaktürme (concrete bunkers – built during the German Reich – to protect from and fight bombers) that overtower the pleasant scenery. Since a blasting operation has failed in the 1960’s (the cracks can be seen on one tower, yet it proved to be indestructible), the grey colossi are left there as reminders of World War II. Nowadays cultural life has returned to the site, where once some famous morning concerts by Mozart took place. Classy institutions like Vienna’s boy’s choir or the porcelain manufacture can be found next to younger ones like the exhibition space for contemporary art Augarten Contemporary, the venue Bunkerei or the Filmarchiv Austria with an open air cinema during summer.