A folk music band from Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost region of Germany, Santiano is a five-piece act. The band has built up a considerable reputation for the music of seafaring people, and they are principally associated with singing and performing shanties. In addition, the group play Scandinavian and Irish folk tunes, and the members are known to play the occasional example of schlager music, an instrumentally-based version of pop music in Germany. The group is successful as a mainstream outfit and the members of Santiano have enjoyed chart success in their home country as well as Austria and Switzerland, where their popularity is enduring. The name of the group is said to derive from a song by Hugues Aufray, the French singer and songwriter, who is best known for his cover versions of Bob Dylan songs, sung in French.

Santiano's biography

Santiano was originally conceived by a German record producer by the name of Hartmut Krech. He had been releasing tracks on his own label, Elephant Music, for a number of years before suggesting to some local musicians that a sea shanty band might be a commercial hit. Eventually, the five members of Santiano got together and found that they had a like-minded approach to music making. Hans-Timm Hinrichsen was joined by Axel Stosberg and Bjorn Both. The band’s lineup was completed by Andreas Fahnert and Peter Sage. In early 2012, the band made its first major live performance when it appeared at We Love Music, an event promoted by Universal Music, among others.

Later in 2012, Santiano unleashed their debut album on the record-buying public. The work was entitled Bis and Ender der Welt, which roughly translates into English as 'To the Ends of the Earth'. Much to the band’s surprise, but not to Krech, the LP went to number one in the German album charts, marking them out for much of the future success the members would enjoy. A European tour was arranged off the back of the album’s success. A notable performance at the Wacken Open Air festival was included as a part of the band’s first major tour, and a DVD of this was later released, pleasing the band’s many fans who were eager for more.

As well as receiving a number of awards from the German music industry, Santiano went on to support Helene Fischer on her tour of 2013, raising the band’s profile even higher with a string of dates sharing the bill with one of Germany’s most popular artists. Mit den Gezeiten, or 'With the Tides' in English, came out as the band’s follow-up LP in 2013. It also topped the charts. After a stint working with the Danish entry for Eurovision, the band returned in 2015 with Von Liebe, Tod und Freirheit, their third studio album. A new collection of songs, Im Auge des Sturms, gave their band their fourth consecutive number one album in Germany in 2017.

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