Your Music - Rooftop Runners
This weeks Your Music selection comes from a pair of Canadian brothers (not street slang, but siblings) who are living and making music in Germany. Two weeks away from releasing their first EP, lets take a look and listen at Roof Top Runners.
Rooftop Runners is the Indy, Trip-Pop brother duo Benedikt and Tobias MacIsaac out of Berlin, Germany. Born and raised in British Columbia, the two grew up in a musical family complete with professional violinists, singers, flutists and more. Taught by their Dad and Aunts, Ben & Tobi played regularly with family and friends, often Celtic music and traditional Zimbabwe Marimba, later joining a band in high school.
At the age of 14 and 15 their attention turned towards dance and they moved to Toronto to attend the National Ballet School of Canada. This would lead Ben to Holland to study and work in choreography and Tobi to Germany where he found work as a dancer in Hamburg. Neither would lose their interest in music and when the itch grew strong enough they decided to drop everything else, join up in Berlin, and write some songs.
‘Streets’
We Are Here (EP)
Although Ben still does some choreography on the side, creating dance pieces that synergize music, visuals and movement, and Tobi dances for an independent theater as well as engaging in the Berlin street dance scene, both brothers are “Fully committed to our music right now”.
We Are Here was recorded in 3 days, a simple almost minimalist approach, involving a guitar, vocals, a piano and a beat machine. It is meant as “both an affirmation and a promise that RTR has arrived and they are here to stay.”
Rooftop Runners
‘Bang Bang’
We Are Here
The local Berlin music scene has been kind to RTR. They have been gaining exposure in various media spotlights and their fan base is growing. Preceding the release of their EP, a UK/German tour has been underway since Jan, which has landed them in Stuttgart & Neuchatel among other cities so far and has them heading to London, Liverpool and Hamburg later this month (March 3’rd for Hamburg).
I asked the pair what it was like being in a band as brothers, and their answer did not surprise me:
“It’s intense, inspiring, energizing, frustrating and one hell of a awesome experience”
I’m sure it’s all of those things and more.
We Are Here is scheduled for release on April 3’rd. You can catch up with Benedikt and Tobias on Rooftop Runners Website
