“‘Schatten’ feels like walking home alone after midnight — not lost, just thinking.”
With Schatten, Deltawelle sharpen their identity and step further into their own sound. It’s a track that moves, but never rushes. It reflects, but never retreats. Founded by Franz Schneeweiß and Barney Riley in Berlin and now rooted between Berlin and Leipzig, the band has steadily carved out a space within the modern German indie-wave scene. Their second album, Wir sind Staub im Kosmos, already hinted at a deeper exploration of transience and self-awareness. Schatten feels like the emotional core of that evolution.
The song balances motion and melancholy in a way that feels natural. Synths pulse with a steady, danceable rhythm, while the atmosphere remains cool and introspective. There’s a clear lineage to the spirit of Grauzone and Ideal — that understated tension between minimalism and emotional weight — but Deltawelle avoid nostalgia. The production is clean, modern, and confident. Schatten explores the quiet pressure of existing in a world that never slows down. Lines like “My shadow runs ahead of me, I’m lagging behind the future” capture that generational unease — the feeling of always chasing something just out of reach. It’s not dramatic rebellion; it’s subtle resistance. A refusal to be swept away completely.
There’s something fitting about the song’s inspiration coming during a hike in the Austrian Alps — calm landscape, long shadows, warm evening light. That contrast lives inside the track. Movement and stillness. Urban pulse and private thought. Recorded at Shimmerdown Studios in Berlin, the sound feels refined but not overworked. The edges are intentional. The energy is controlled. It’s restrained yet bold — a late-night anthem for those balancing exhaustion with persistence. With a release show at Kramladen in Vienna and a run of dates through Prague, Brno, Dresden, and Leipzig, Schatten marks more than just a single drop. It feels like a statement. Deltawelle aren’t chasing trends. They’re shaping mood. And with Schatten, they prove that sometimes the quietest reflections carry the strongest weight.
Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, website, TikTok
English