4 Promille | support: The Spartanics

First started by today’s THE PORTERS leader Volker Grüner as a quasi solo project – with the support of singer Melanie Kölsch – in the mid-90s, then expanded/founded as a band in 1997. Inspired by the classic Oi! sound of the 70s and 80s by bands such as The Business, Cock Sparrer or 4 Skins (the latter contributed significantly to the naming of 4 Promille), the self-released single/EP “Die Jungs Von Nebenan” was released in the same year. Since then, singer/guitarist Thomas ‘Pommes’ Müller’ and Ralf ‘Basspromillo’ Schmidt have been at the start. The band recorded three albums together with Knock Out Records between 1999 and 2006 before disbanding on the 10th anniversary, naturally with a big farewell party at Conne Island in Leipzig (also filmed).

The various band members – drummer Ziad Moughrabi in addition to the four mentioned above – didn’t have much contact at first, but when the organisers of the Spirit From The Street festival came knocking in 2011, they couldn’t resist the temptation of a one-off reunion show. It became more, it had to go on.

Out went Volker, who preferred to just do THE PORTERS, but hello Martin Bayer, who learnt to play guitar with RONSDORFER 77 and became and remained a true 4 PROMILLEr. The label is also new: Sunny Bastards released an album (2014), which reached #64 in the German Official Album Charts, and an EP (2016).

The band is also busy touring again, only the drum stool is often replaced during these years: Ziad leaves at the end of 2015 to found FLEISCHWOLF and invent Mettcore, Sascha Blau (Sondaschule, Emscherkurve 77, among others) joins the band to stay until 2020, before current drummer Jason Kubke joins and re-inspires the band.

They will continue to play live and reposition themselves. More DIY than ever before, the band regained the rights to the old Knock Out albums, founded their own label Vier Promille and wanted to get back into the studio to record new songs. Only Melanie no longer wants to and announces her departure in 2022.

4 Promille had already sworn off pure rumpy Oi! and mangy street punk by 2006 at the latest, but there are still traces of it in their version of punk rock, German punk or simply punk.
The Spartanics from Leipzig will also be at the start!