Selection 2025

Hermit Crab
15 – 16 years
Berlin
Selected with the title
“Sardine Man”

Mira und Erdoan
11 – 15 years
Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg
Selected with the title
“Mitternacht”

This year’s selection presents a relatively young cohort of remarkably mature, skilled, and adventurous musicians, including numerous strong female artists. The musical genres span a wide spectrum, ranging from pop in its many diverse forms – incorporating references such as those from the Neue Deutsche Welle – through rock, hip-hop, folk, jazz, bossa nova, funk, post-grunge, punk, and alternative metal, all the way to electronic and instrumental compositions. The young artists demonstrate great creativity and experimental flair in their sound design, frequently incorporating natural sounds. Some of the tracks are extended in length, allowing space for intriguing dynamics and musical dramaturgy. The lyrics are predominantly in English and German, but Turkish and Albanian can also be heard. Alongside confident use of familiar song and harmony structures, scales beyond the Western tonal system are also employed, resulting in a very modern and distinctive sound. The craftsmanship of this year’s selection is impressive, with the vast majority of musicians producing their own tracks.

Content-wise, the songs narrate deeply personal experiences and interpersonal relationships almost like public diaries. Future plans and life goals are just as much in focus as self-doubt and questions about one’s societal position. Feelings of helplessness and despair regarding the state of the world, the planet, and its resources are expressed. There are also powerful feminist statements and messages of empowerment for women as well as for all people, accompanied by the reminder: you are beautiful simply because you are.

We look forward to an exciting Treffen Junge Musikszene 2025 with the selected prizewinners and warmly invite you to the concert on 20 November at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele!

We would especially like to thank all the musicians who applied for Treffen Junge Musikszene 2025. The creativity and quality of the submitted music made the jury’s selection a challenging task.

We wish all young musicians the very best on their future musical journeys and look forward to your submissions and hearing from you again in the next application round for Treffen Junge Musikszene 2026