Country Music on the Frequencies of Radio Herford.
That sounds like a truism. But we just don't know the definite and final answer to the question what country music is.
One possible answer might be: country music is, what the American country radio stations are playing. That is the music that is on the country charts. But here you will find at best half of what we are playing. Of course we also play country music from Canada, Australia and the rest of the world (but only exceptionally from Germany!), but even all that is just a part of what we put on air.
There is also bluegrass: Acoustic Music, in its original form with mandolin, fiddle, banjo, guitar and acoustic bass, with harmony singing and often (but not always) performed at lightning speed. And although bluegrass first saw the light of day as a part of commercial country music, today there are many fans, both of country and bluegrass music, who segregate themselves from the other variant. And yet, many country starts like Vince Gill and Kathy Mattea have their roots in Bluegrass. Irrespective of whether you count bluegrass as a part of country or not, we are nevertheless playing it on Country Folk. But still, on the fringes of bluegrass music we encounter the same problem as with country music: Is this still bluegrass or not?
But we play even more! We are not just interested in artists, which should be on the charts, but aren't, but also the fringes of country music. That includes singer/songwriters with country leanings, Alternative Country (whatever that might be), but also old folk recording that became the predecessors of country music.
And let's not forget country oldies, that you will primarily find in Country Gold, but there will always be some on thei Country Folk playlist. But even here you will not only find well known songs, but unjustifiably (or justifiably?) forgotten tracks.
We have decided, not to play the usual German "mainstream" country music, because more often than not this is just »Schlager« and not really country music. (Schlager music is often called the German equivalent of country music. This is true in as far as both styles are relatively simple in lyrics and musical structure and they appeal to an older audience than pop music. But both styles are significantly different from each other in their structure, instruments used and subjects covered, so that both cannot be confused. the translator) German country music also panders to the old clichés (musically and lyrically), which we not only want to avoid on Country Folk, we want to counteract them. Additionally in our view, much of the country music made in Germany is just a poor copy of the American orginal. And although we will (occasionally) play songs, of which we know that the majority of our listeners will not like them, we need to note that German country music is an even stronger switch-off factor than that for many listeners who prefer international country music. Including for us, when we tune in to other country shows.
But we do not deny the truism that the Country Music business is first and foremost a business. And even the most important representatives of the German country music szene say, that they need to record songs with German lyrics in order to be successful enough to be allowed to make the next record. However, this sad fact does not prevent us from consciously addressing an audience that prefers a different kind of country music, mainly found outside of Germany.
But all does not mean, that we do a passport check before deciding whether to play a piece of music or not. Quite the opposite! If a German artist plays interesting music fitting our programme, of course we will play it!
But still, in spite of all that, we are interested in your opinion about our music. You can find our contact addresses here: »The Programme-> Contact Us«.
Our play lists can be found here: »The Programme-> Playlists« or directly under www.countryfolk.de/playlist.