The Hirsch Effekt
The Hirsch Effekt is a German band from Hanover, formed in 2008. Their music, characterized by a mix of styles, is often described as artcore.
Nils Wittrock and Ilja Lappin met at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media and, together with Philipp Wende, founded the band in 2008. The band’s name refers to the Hirsch effect, discovered by the German physician Rahel Hirsch.
In 2009, The Hirsch Effekt produced and released a self-titled demo recording with five songs. The band distributed it to fanzines, blogs, indie labels, and promoters in Germany, accompanied by handwritten letters. They gained attention partly due to their collaboration with the Hanover Chamber Choir and orchestral influences that diverged from the conventions of emocore and mathcore.
Their debut album and the first part of the Holon trilogy, "Holon: Hiberno", produced by Jens Siefert, was released on 19 March 2010 by Midsummer Records. Following a performance as the opening act for the emopunk band Adolar, the band established contact with the operators of Kapitän Platte, through which the vinyl edition of "Holon: Hiberno" was released in early February 2011.
In cooperation with Ampire Records from Frankfurt, they released the split EP "Perigæum / Apogæum" with the hardcore band Caleya in the same year. Kapitän Platte also released a split single with Adolar, featuring mutual cover songs. Through Adolar, the band connected with producers Tim Tautorat and Max Trieder (who had worked with Turbostaat, David Hasselhoff, and In Flames), with whom they recorded their second album, "Holon: Anamnesis", released in 2012 by Kapitän Platte and Midsummer Records.
The band opened for The Dillinger Escape Plan during the “Visions in Concert” series and was subsequently invited to join the band on tour the following year. They also performed numerous headlining shows and released another split with the band Zinnschauer. The LP featured orchestral arrangements of two album tracks and previously unreleased songs. The track "Fixum" was recorded with their new drummer, Moritz Schmidt, after founding member Philipp Wende left in 2013. With Schmidt, the band continued touring and recorded the third part of the Holon trilogy, "Holon: Agnosie", released in 2015 by Long Branch Records.
In early August 2017, The Hirsch Effekt performed at Wacken Open Air. Later that month, they released their fourth album, "Eskapist", which was featured in a cover story by Fuze Magazine and reached number 21 on the German album charts. In 2018, Nils Wittrock published a book, "Wer jetzt noch umblättert ist selber schuld", recounting the band’s history from his perspective, marking the band’s ten-year anniversary.
Following the 2020 studio album "Kollaps", the band released a limited EP, "Gregær", in March 2021, which included one new track and three previously released songs rearranged with orchestral elements. The recordings, featuring musicians from Hanover, were funded through a crowdfunding project, due to the inability to tour during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, The Hirsch Effekt released another EP, "Solitaer", notable for each of the three new tracks being written individually by one of the band members.
Nils Wittrock and Ilja Lappin met at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media and, together with Philipp Wende, founded the band in 2008. The band’s name refers to the Hirsch effect, discovered by the German physician Rahel Hirsch.
In 2009, The Hirsch Effekt produced and released a self-titled demo recording with five songs. The band distributed it to fanzines, blogs, indie labels, and promoters in Germany, accompanied by handwritten letters. They gained attention partly due to their collaboration with the Hanover Chamber Choir and orchestral influences that diverged from the conventions of emocore and mathcore.
Their debut album and the first part of the Holon trilogy, "Holon: Hiberno", produced by Jens Siefert, was released on 19 March 2010 by Midsummer Records. Following a performance as the opening act for the emopunk band Adolar, the band established contact with the operators of Kapitän Platte, through which the vinyl edition of "Holon: Hiberno" was released in early February 2011.
In cooperation with Ampire Records from Frankfurt, they released the split EP "Perigæum / Apogæum" with the hardcore band Caleya in the same year. Kapitän Platte also released a split single with Adolar, featuring mutual cover songs. Through Adolar, the band connected with producers Tim Tautorat and Max Trieder (who had worked with Turbostaat, David Hasselhoff, and In Flames), with whom they recorded their second album, "Holon: Anamnesis", released in 2012 by Kapitän Platte and Midsummer Records.
The band opened for The Dillinger Escape Plan during the “Visions in Concert” series and was subsequently invited to join the band on tour the following year. They also performed numerous headlining shows and released another split with the band Zinnschauer. The LP featured orchestral arrangements of two album tracks and previously unreleased songs. The track "Fixum" was recorded with their new drummer, Moritz Schmidt, after founding member Philipp Wende left in 2013. With Schmidt, the band continued touring and recorded the third part of the Holon trilogy, "Holon: Agnosie", released in 2015 by Long Branch Records.
In early August 2017, The Hirsch Effekt performed at Wacken Open Air. Later that month, they released their fourth album, "Eskapist", which was featured in a cover story by Fuze Magazine and reached number 21 on the German album charts. In 2018, Nils Wittrock published a book, "Wer jetzt noch umblättert ist selber schuld", recounting the band’s history from his perspective, marking the band’s ten-year anniversary.
Following the 2020 studio album "Kollaps", the band released a limited EP, "Gregær", in March 2021, which included one new track and three previously released songs rearranged with orchestral elements. The recordings, featuring musicians from Hanover, were funded through a crowdfunding project, due to the inability to tour during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, The Hirsch Effekt released another EP, "Solitaer", notable for each of the three new tracks being written individually by one of the band members.
