''Expedition ins O'' is a 2013

German hip-hop German hip hop (locally known as ''Deutschrap'', ''Deutsch'' meaning German) refers to hip hop music in the German language. Elements of American hip hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the early ...

album by

Käptn Peng & Die Tentakel von Delphi Robert Gwisdek (born 29 January 1984) is a German actor and musician. The son of actors Michael Gwisdek and Corinna Harfouch, he began acting as a child in one of his father's films. Under the name Käptn Peng he has released three albums. ...

. It is the first album by the band, but Käptn Peng's second album, following his 2012 album '' Die Zähmung der Hydra''. It was published by the independent label Kreismusik. The album features lyrics focusing on themes such as the insignificance of humanity,

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

, and the origin of everything. The album received a generally positive reception, with reviewers complimenting the wordplay and themes.

Background and production

Käptn Peng, real name

Robert Gwisdek Robert Gwisdek (born 29 January 1984) is a German actor and musician. The son of actors Michael Gwisdek and Corinna Harfouch, he began acting as a child in one of his father's films. Under the name Käptn Peng he has released three albums. ...

, is also an actor. He had produced an album the prior year alongside his brother (Shaban), '' Die Zähmung der Hydra.'' Unlike their first album, ''Expedition ins O'' was created with Die Tentakel von Delphi, their live band with three others in addition to Gwisdek and his brother. They had played live together for some time before the creation of the album. This was in contrast to the previous album, which was mostly electronically produced. In creating the album, they used both traditional instruments like

bass guitars The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

and

acoustic guitars An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, but also buckets and suitcases.

Composition and themes

The album is primarily rapped, mostly by Gwisdek. The album has a mix of genre elements; ''Laut.de'' described it as a "fusion of

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and Rock music, rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters (American band), the Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the ...

and

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

", while ''Musikexpress'' said it "crash dbetween

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrume ...

and Augsburger Puppenkiste". The tracks have complicated lyrics and bizarre wordplay, mixing up many topics. ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...

'' interpreted the album as dealing with themes of humanity's insignificance, and not merely commentary on society, but instead the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

. ''Musikexpress'' viewed it as dealing with intellectual detachment and madness, where " manity itself is only a footnote out of seven billion idiots". Instead of humanity, the topics focus more on matters of space, the universe, and many other details. They noted it as focusing on Käptn Peng's

as a lyrical topic. Its songs explore existential questions, with "Liebes Lebem" and "Sockosophy" exploring the story of creation, with the latter discussing the "origin of the origin of the origin". The song "Monster" focuses on fear, with the monster in question being defeated after a chaotic ending.

Release

The album was released 12 April 2013 by Kreismusik. Pre-release, "Der Anfang ist nah" was released as a single, and received a music video. In performing, the band members dressed in homemade animal costumes, with performances including holograms. This album received more interest from the popular press than their prior album.

Reception

Musikexpress The ''Musikexpress'' is a monthly German magazine that mainly writes about the rock and pop music. In addition to detailed interviews and articles about important rock, electro, hip-hop, pop, and independent musicians, the magazine offers review ...

'' positively reviewed the album, giving it five out of six stars, and complimenting the wordplay, calling it a "second masterpiece" from Käptn Peng. They said Gwisdek translated his own inner thoughts with "desperate wit and insane wordplay in lyrics that have never been heard in this country before, oscillating so weightlessly between wisdom and madness." ''

Laut.de ''laut.de'' is a German online magazine covering music and entertainment. It was founded in Konstanz in 1996 by Rainer Henze ''

'' said the "dilemma of German head pop" was " taken to its presumable extreme" by the album, with the "music and message are so far apart that they almost span a world and meet again at the end". ''s Pascal Bremmer gave it a score of 8/10, describing it as mastering "the German language in its most wonderful facets" with Gwisdek putting "words on the puppet strings", though said it was not hip hop in the traditional sense. Langemann said it was a major improvement over ''Die Zähmung der Hydra'', particularly with the backup musicians Die Tentakel von Delphi, calling the result "wild determination and bubbling creativity" as well as "charming". Langemann specifically praised the tracks "Champagner & Schnittchen" and "U-Boot", which he described as higher energy compared to tracks like "Oha", "Absolem", "Monster" and "Liebes Leben". ''Musikexpress,'' while appreciative of the album, believed it would not appeal to the German rap scene, viewing Gwisdek as not fit for it, describing it as an album that would "not please the guardians of the hip-hop grail" in its confusion of genres. Pascal Bremmer also described the album as ostracized by the rap scene. Langemann viewed the album as not fitting the media's division of

German hip hop German hip hop (locally known as ''Deutschrap'', ''Deutsch'' meaning German) refers to hip hop music in the German language. Elements of American hip hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the ea ...

into either "friendly hipster music" or "vulgar street rap revival".

Background and production

Composition and themes

Release

Reception

Charts

Track listing

References

Further reading