Moop Mama is a brass band based in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The ten-person group includes two percussionists and a rapper, and was founded in 2009. They describe their style as urban brass, mixing hip hop and the music of traditional marching bands. The band has played at festivals, for television and film, and at political events, with a focus on spontaneous concerts in public space. Beginning in 2011, the band has recorded albums, singles and videos.
History
Moop Mama was founded in 2009 at the initiative of the saxophonist Marcus Kesselbauer, as a group of seven brass players, two percussionists and a rapper.[1] Kesselbauer is also the band's composer and arranger.[2] Their first "public rehearsal" was at Munich's Englischer Garten in 2009.[1] They became recognized for many short unannounced concerts in public space (Guerilla-Konzerte), such as pedestrian areas and parks, using a megaphone to amplify the rapper's voice. Sometimes the concerts were regarded as unwanted noise (Ruhestörung [de]), causing conflicts with the police.[2]
In September 2012, the band played on an invitation of Goethe-Institut in Thessaloniki and Athens. In September 2018, the band played a spontaneous concert at the Hambach Forest to protest against its clearing by RWE.[10] On 21 June 2019, they performed as part of a large demonstration of Fridays for Future at the Aachen Tivoli for several thousand people.[11] The band played a 10th anniversary concert at the Tollwood in the Munich Musik-Arena on 18 July 2019, announced as playing "no finished beats, no samples, no electronic instruments" and "brute loud and secretly quiet".[12]