Medieval rock

The secret stars of the Kufstein Knights’ Festival

Fulminant music and impressive show elements characterize the "Koenix" concerts.

(Bild: Korbinian Seisenberger)

Since 2016, the Swiss medieval rock band "Koenix" has been attracting thousands of fans to the medieval spectacle at Kufstein Fortress - and Friday evening was no exception.

When instruments such as shawm, sitar, flute and bagpipes meet a backdrop of electric guitar, bass and drums, it's easy to imagine that you're in the deepest Middle Ages at a market festival or princely court. As soon as you get used to this melody, it changes into a hammering techno beat, which is seamlessly taken over by the riffs of an electric guitar and makes your feet dance.

Jazz, rock, blues and techno flow in
What we are trying to describe in words here is by no means a "cabbage and turnip potpourri" of different musical styles from different eras. It is a well-considered piece of music, the creation of which is the responsibility of Jonas Martin Schneider, the creative head of the Swiss alpine medieval rock band "Koenix".

In an interview with the "Krone", he emphasizes that the four other members of the band - Michael Hugi, Marco Piccapietra, Philipp Eichenberger and Ariel Rossi - contribute skills and knowledge from their original musical fields such as jazz, rock, blues and techno to each song.

The Swiss band "Koenix" in conversation with culture editor Hubert Berger.

(Bild: Korbinian Seisenberger)

Self-composed songs and grandiose shows
They already demonstrated the goal they are pursuing on their artistic path in 2010 with their first album "Us Em Gjätt" - a Swiss-German phrase for "someone who comes from a remote place". All the songs on it were written by the band themselves; the album can easily hold its own against other reworkings of Renaissance songs and has danceable entertainment value.

Five albums later, with their latest production "Eiland", Jonas Martin Schneider believes that "Koenix" have developed the sound described at the beginning. Sometimes unconventionally, they prove that you don't have to reach into the deep box of apparent intellectuality to be taken seriously as an artist. Instead, they prove that authenticity and joie de vivre paired with professional skill can bring joy and satisfaction across social classes.

The band members guarantee a perfect atmosphere.

Ritterfest-Veranstalter Christian Domeier

Grandiose choreographed show with fire
At the Kufstein Knights' Festival, the Helvetier have been the secret stars of the festival for visitors since 2016 with their breathtaking one-and-a-half-hour show, which is magnificently choreographed with the help of dancers and in which the element of fire plays a dramatic and important role.

(Bild: Korbinian Seisenberger)

From street music to "Wacken"
Ritterfest Kufstein organizer Christian Domeier: "The band members are a guarantee for a perfect atmosphere. Their performances at the fortress have earned them a large fan base in German-speaking countries, which now brings them to festivals such as this year's Wacken Open Air."

"Koenix" was founded in 2009 as a street music project and, with a slightly different line-up to today, formed the acoustic alter ego of the medieval rockers from "Des Koenigs Halunken". Their roots lay in a medieval festival in Sweden, where they rehearsed an acoustic set with bagpipes and drums.