Music “made in Steinmühle”: Philipp Stauzebach and his band Juno17 recorded a new album at the Forum

The German band “JUNO17” took advantage of the fact that schools were closed for the weekend to record parts of their new album at the Steinmühle Forum.

This extraordinary lineup has a history. The band, which has a large following on all social media platforms, has been around since 2015. Its members are Philipp Hofmann (vocals), Philipp Stauzebach (guitar), Joscha Mengel (bass), and Sebastian Schmitt (drums). Guitarist Philipp Stauzebach, from Marburg, was a student at Steinmühle himself. He graduated from high school here 13 years ago.

In 2016, the group celebrated its TV success in Germany when it provided the theme song for the season of *Celebrity Big Brother* with its song “Rebellen.” Since then, the musicians have been active primarily in Russia. There, they have built up a large fan base and have become an integral part of well-known music shows and the lineups of major festivals. With their cover version of the old Russian anti-war song “Beri Shinel, poshli damoy”—originally by Bulat Okudzhava—they performed on Victory Day in May 2019 (May 9), and have been traveling to Russia 5–6 times a year ever since. “We’re all working hard to learn Russian,” said singer Philipp Hofmann when asked how he and his colleagues were getting along with communication. “But we’re not quite there yet.”

Guitarist Philipp Stauzebach from Marburg still raves about the musical support he always received at the Steinmühle. He has remained in touch with his former school—especially with principal Björn Gemmer—to this day, and the sound of the Forum was one of the reasons Stauzebach chose to record parts of his new album right there, where, musically speaking, it all began for him.

(Angela Heinemann)